On Thursday night, the Cavaliers did something that hasn’t been done in 50 years – sending the NBA Finals to Game 7 after trailing the series, 3-1.
But the Wine and Gold aren’t interested snapping a mark that’s lasted 50 years. The one they’re chasing has extended for 52.
That’s how long it’s been since any Cleveland team has won a major sports championship – something the Cavaliers can change when both squads square off for the 2016 NBA title on Sunday night in Oakland.
After drawing to within a game of Golden State with a win in Game 5 on Monday at Oracle Arena, the Cavaliers needed a win on Thursday night to stay alive and send the series back to the Left Coast.
And that’s exactly what they got – holding the league’s highest-scoring squad to just 11 points in the first period and holding them off the rest of the way – going wire-to-wire for the 115-101 victory in Game 6 at The Q.
LeBron James posted his second straight 40-point Finals game – his fifth over the past two Finals matchups against Golden State – unleashing a 17-point fourth-quarter barrage to ice the biggest home victory in franchise history.
On the night, James again put up mind-boggling numbers – finishing with 41 points on 16-for-27 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long-range and 6-of-8 from the stripe – adding 11 assists, eight boards, four steals and three blocked shots.
After becoming the first player in Finals history to lead both teams in scoring, rebounding and assists in last year’s six-game set, the four-time MVP has dominated again this June – averaging 30.2 points, 11.3 boards and 8.5 helpers through the first six games of the series.
James and the Cavaliers were the aggressors from the opening tip in Game 6 – pouncing on Golden State in the opening quarter, holding the team that averaged nearly 115 points per game this season to 11 points on 23 percent shooting, including 11 percent from deep.
The Warriors snapped out of their funk in the second period – cutting Cleveland’s 21-point edge to just eight, 46-38, with 4:40 to play before half. But, as they did all night, the Wine and Gold weathered (then answered) Golden State’s run – closing the half on a 13-5 spurt to take a 16-point lead into intermission.
The Cavs were just as resilient in the second stanza and after Klay Thompson keyed a 10-0 run to close the third quarter, Cleveland came right back in the fourth, with LeBron scoring the first four points of the quarter and keeping his foot on the gas the rest of the way – finishing the fourth 6-of-9 from the floor, 4-of-4 from the line, with four of the team’s six assists and both of its blocked shots.
Kyrie Irving – who’d averaged 35.0 points per over the previous three games – followed up with 23 points in Thursday’s victory, going 7-for-18 from the floor, 2-of-5 from deep and 7-of-7 from the free throw line, adding four boards, three assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.
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