And in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Air Canada Center, LeBron James sealed his 6th consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, 7th overall of his career, by scoring 33 points and leading the Cavs to a 113-87 victory over the Toronto Raptors, and winning their second straight Eastern Conference Championship. But that gives us no sense of entitlement. In regard to the media, CBS, instead of typing the word “Raptors” into one of their polls, typed in “Other” when asking who was going to win the National Basketball Association championship of four selections. Even from the beginning of the season, most people were already expecting that LeBron James and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers will return to the NBA Finals after losing to last season’s champions, the Golden State Warriors. “We are not where they are right now but we are going to be”. He will be the eighth player in National Basketball Association history to appear in six consecutive finals and the first who did not play for the Boston Celtics. Cleveland lost to Golden State in six games previous year and got swept by San Antonio in 2007.
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“We’ve got 15 guys, we’ve got a coaching staff, we’ve got a fan base, we’ve got an organization and management and everybody on a day-to-day basis that we represent, and that’s all that matters”.
“We’ve covered a lot of ground and I still believe we can get better”, he said.
Although James had been to the NBA Finals five straight times before this postseason, he knows what a difference a year makes. The Raptors had solid players, but to win the championship you need at least one player that is clearly going to the Hall of Fame and Toronto didn’t have that in my view. “We’re going to be”.
In two seasons of action at Duke from 2002-03, he averaged 14.3 points and 4.8 rebounds, earning first-team All-ACC accolades in 2003.
“Of course you’re going to look back at some point but right now I’m disappointed”, he said.
The Cavs raced out to an 11-point first-quarter lead, but the Raptors ended the quarter on a 9-4 run, and trailed 31-25 heading into the second.
After two miserable performances in Toronto, Kevin Love was able to come close to replicating his Game 5 performance on Friday night.
After video review, the officials waved off a basket by Biyombo with 3:18 left in the period and gave him a flagrant foul for knocking down Love. The next two games were the exact opposite of that – as the Cavs suddenly turned to mush. Patrick Patterson came over and shoved Jefferson out of the way. The Raptors lost mainly because they lacked a Lebron James, a Steph Curry, or a Kevin Durant – players that are in a special category higher than just “All Star”.
Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista and Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban watched from courtside seats, while actor Jamie Foxx sat in a private suite. Irving finished one assist shy of his own double-double.
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Klay Thompson nailed a playoff-record 11 three-pointers and scored 41 points to spearhead Golden State’s triumphal push. The Raptors pushed the Eastern Conference finals’ series to six games.
