LeBron James cradled the shiny gold trophy and struggled to sum up what might be his sweetest championship yet, the one he is so proudly bringing home to his native northeast OH just as he promised he would when he returned to the Cavaliers two summers ago.
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Later, flanked by his three children on Father’s Day, a cigar between his lips and winning net as a necklace with the lingering stench of champagne, James began to understand the magnitude of his accomplishment for Cleveland after a half-century wait.
“I was just hoping it goes in”, said Irving.
LeBron James delivered one of his mightiest all-around performances on Sunday and the Cleveland Cavaliers completed the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, dethroning defending champion Golden State 93-89 to capture their first league title. My guys believe in me as their leader and I was true to that. “Everybody counted us out and that’s when we strived, that’s when I got off”. He told Burke, ‘I gave everything I had…. It wasn’t easy what we accomplished, and it’s not an easy pill to swallow what we didn’t accomplish.
Cleveland’s Terminal Tower downtown lit up in the Cavaliers’ colors of wine and gold after the win.
The score remained the same with 1:09 remaining as Andre Iguodala and James blocked each other’s shot attempts.
For the Golden State Warriors, the defeat was the first time they have lost three consecutive games since November 2013. I was calm. I was focused.
Lue himself stepped into the head coaching gig in the middle of the season, after former head coach David Blatt was sacked.
“We made history tonight”, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said.
But the Cavaliers fought back, tying the series 3-3 after a 115-101 win at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Thursday night.
Kyrie Irving scored 26 points to cap his brilliant finals, including a 3-pointer over Curry with 53 seconds left.
“It hurts, man”, Curry said of the loss. “I’m proud of every single guy that stepped foot on the floor for our team this year….”
Last night’s NBA Finals Game 7 is the highest-rated NBA game ever on ABC, drawing an 18.9 overnight rating, according to Nielsen.
The city of Cleveland will party like never before to celebrate this win and will likely luxuriate in it for a long time. But if they win, the Warriors will go down in the record books as the best team ever after finishing the regular season with a league record 73 wins.
With its 100th postseason victory, Cleveland became just the fourth team to win an NBA Finals Game 7 on the road.
Curry had a disappointing 17 points on 6-19 shooting, including just 4-14 three-pointers while Thompson had 14 points on 6-17, and 2-10 on three-pointers. It’ll haunt me for a while because it means a lot to me to try and lead my team and do what I need to do on the court and on big stages.
The winner-take-all showdown captured the attention of US President Barack Obama, who watched the end on Air Force One after returning from a family trip and tweeted, “What a game and what a series for the cavs”. He watched until the end and did not come down the stairs until moments after the Cavs won. It last held a victory parade in 1991, when the Twins won their second World Series title in five seasons. The Golden State Warriors, of course, beat James’ Cavaliers, so he never elaborated… until Sunday.
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Asked about a Cavaliers’ title repeat next season, Irving smiled and said, “Let’s not move too fast”. Stephen Curry’s first basket of the night for the Warriors was a 3-pointer, giving him one of those now in all 58 postseason games of his career.
