It was a dominant performance, and the city of Cleveland is set to get another chance to snap the professional sports championship curse that they have been under. And this time, he can give it to The Land.
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A long, arduous and at times exhilarating run through the National Basketball Association playoffs is over, the Raptors eliminated after a 113-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the usually raucous Air Canada Centre in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final on Friday night.
The Cleveland Cavaliers nearly swept their way to the NBA Finals.
Toronto brought the curtain down on their first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals with a 35-point display from Kyle Lowry, while DeMar DeRozan added 20 points. Those Celtics famously won eight straight titles, the last of which came in 1966 – marking 50 years since anyone has accomplished what James did with Friday’s win.
In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder has a 3-2 lead against the reigning champions Warriors. “We’re not where (the Cavaliers) are right now”.
“I just didn’t appreciate it. It’s definitely a different feeling”. Golden State and the Oklahoma City Thunder are locked into a tight series of their own, but the Cavaliers are ready to take on either team.
The Raptors were within 13 points on a Lowry three with 8:21 to play, but barely two minutes later, Irving hit a dagger three that had the Cavaliers up by 21, and finally sucked any last hope the Raptors and their fans had of forcing a Game 7.
Yes, he’s lost three of those so far, and the Cavs could very well be underdogs once again this season. “I knew once my shots started going in I could start getting my team-mates involved and they were able to carry me down the stretch”.
“There is only one LeBron James, and he makes a difference on any team he plays on, and he’s proven that”, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said postgame.
By the end of the night, he finished with 11 rebounds and 6 assists to go along with his 33 points.
With so much at stake deep in this postseason, James didn’t have to carry the load all by himself.
“They did what we want to do, and they’ve been to where we want to get to”, Lowry said.
“We are not poppin’ champagne, we are not kissing babies”, said veteran forward Richard Jefferson, who is making his first appearance in the Finals since he went two straight times with the New Jersey Nets in 2002 and 2003. After back-to-back first-round playoff eliminations to lower-seeded teams the past two years, as well as 15 straight seasons without a playoff series win, there were questions about what the Raptors were capable of accomplishing this year.
That’s why James and Lue kept pushing everyone with the a Cleveland uniform to keep the pressure on Toronto.
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The Raptors trailed 88-78 on a jumper by DeRozan with 10:23 remaining, but James scored six points in a 14-3 run that gave the Cavs a 102-81 lead with about six minutes left.
