Cavs, Warriors s to go toe to toe

LeBron eclipses Jordan’s playoffs points record

GOLDEN State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers will clash in the NBA Finals for the third straight season.

The Cavs beat Boston Celtics 135- 102 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals to book their spot, inspired by LeBron James, who eclipsed Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan as the NBA’s all- time leading playoffs scorer.

A three- pointer with 2min 42sec to go in the third quarter gave James his 5989th playoff point. The bucket was part of a 35- point effort that also included eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

Kyrie Irving had 24 points and seven assists, while Kevin Love enjoyed a double- double, adding 11 boards to 15 points.

Deron Williams added weight off the bench, scoring all of his 14 points in the first half as the Cavs led 75- 57 at the main break in Boston yesterday.

For Boston, guard Avery Bradley was the only player to fire, most of his 23 points coming in the first half.

Both Golden State and Cleveland have enjoyed almost perfect playoffs records, the Warriors going 12- 0 in the Western Conference while the Cavs dropped just one game.

James, in his seventh straight NBA Finals series, is arguably the premier player in the game and leads a Cavs side that features the sublime talents of point guard Irving and sharpshooting big man Love.

But the Warriors have some serious strength in numbers, with back- to- back MVP Steph Curry leading a quartet of All Stars including Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

James is under no illusions about the monumental task facing the Cavaliers.

“We want to enjoy this. We’re never going to take it for granted,” James said of the Game 5 win.

“I’ve been very blessed the last few years to be a part of this league and play at the big stage, but we’re going to enjoy this for a couple more days before we have to lock in on that juggernaut out west.

“We’re going to face adversity. They’ve been the best team in our league the last three years and they’ve added an unbelievable player in Kevin Durant this year, so it makes it even more difficult.

“They’re going to challenge us a lot offensively, defensively and mentally, physically, but we have to be ready for the challenge. “We’ll be ready to go.” It’s 1- 1 between these two super teams.

The Warriors won the 2015 title 4- 2 before the Cavaliers fought back from 3- 1 down to turn the tables on Golden State last season.

It is the first time the same teams have squared off in three straight NBA Finals series.