LeBron James may be the self-proclaimed “King” but after delivering an National Basketball Association title to long-suffering Cleveland on Sunday the best player of his generation will forever be considered royalty by Cavaliers fans.
Advertisement
“Hat’s off to him”, said Curry, who scored 17 quiet points and missed 10 of his 14 3s, “winning a championship is no easy task”. Curry, meanwhile, has a more complete supporting cast. So it was with King James on Sunday night – a triple-double in the clinching game.
“Eye Opener: LeBron James cements his legacy” – Cbsnews.com.
“He’s one of the great players of all time and obviously was the key to the turnaround and had a great series”, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. Neither team led by more than eight. “I can’t wait to get off that plane and hold that trophy up and see all our fans at the terminal”, said James. No athlete on the planet has been picked, parsed, or pummeled like Cleveland’s singular star.
The teams each went six possessions without scoring after that, time and again thwarting their rivals until Irving’s 3-pointer. The dunk wasn’t to be-I think I would’ve hulked up and flung my couch through a window if it had happened-but it showed Irving and James expending whatever last bit of energy they still possessed. And the needier town won it.
Cleveland fans, northeast OH and the city endured sporting heartache after sporting heartache with two word reminders: The Drive, The Shot, The Fumble, and yes, The Decision.
The Browns had “The Fumble”, and “The Drive”. They weren’t as athletic, but understood the maths: three is greater than two. Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians have not won a World Series since 1948, losing in 1995 and 1997.
It could not have been a better ending, and it could not have been a more incredible path to get there. One final ball from Stephen Curry had clanged harmlessly away, the final few seconds of a 52-year journey through the wilderness were grinding to dust. “Cleveland, Ohio, we’re coming back, baby!”
“The Cavs going to the Finals”.
Wade says the start will be key for both teams – if Golden State’s crowd gets really going, that could be hard for Cleveland.
Then Green got suspended for Game 5, giving the Cavs a window to slip through and win the next two games. So far in his Cavaliers tenures, James is 0-2 in Game 7s. That was back on June 20, 2013 when Lebron and the Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs to claim the Florida franchise’s second straight championship. The others are Bill Russell, Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Jordan. In recent history, when the Finals end with a for-it-all final showdown, the games are more battles of endurance than thrilling, free-flowing basketball. He is the first player with consecutive 40-point performances in the NBA Finals since Shaquille O’Neal did it in 2000. Magic isn’t from California. You have to be the best, or very, very close to the best, and hope that this is one of the years in which that’s good enough. That’s much better than his ranking throughout the regular season, when ROI ranked him as “overpaid” in comparison to other players.
Golden State had an opportunity to tie, but an offensive possession went nowhere and Curry was forced to try a well-defended 3-pointer that was off the mark.The Cavaliers rebounded, and after Irving nearly lost the ball going to the basket, he was able to find James, who was fouled while attempting a flying dunk.
Advertisement
It would have brought everything full circle: Who knows if this series goes longer than five games if Green weren’t suspended for assaulting James’s testicles?
