Cavs refuse to lose title in sweep on home court
LeBron and Irving power Cleveland to win, forcing series back to Bay Area for Game 5
They did it again.
Not just LeBron and Kyrie this time but Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson and all the Cavs you are accustomed to seeing carry the load.
They did it staring elimination in the face and needing a perfect game to overcome the Warriors and they just about delivered the perfect game in a 137-116 win that extended an NBA Finals most had destined for a sweep.
There was no quit within the Cavaliers’ locker-room, though, and they found a way to go toeto-toe with one of he best scoring teams in NBA history and bettered them.
Front and centre, as he always is when the Cavs are doing special things, was James, the best player in the world. He had his NBA-record ninth triple double with 31 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds.
But the scoring sensation of the night was Kyrie Irving, who had a game-high 40.
Through a half the Cavs were shooting 61 per cent from the field and just over 59 per cent from three-point range. They had the high-flying Warriors in an 18-point deficit and had won every statistical category. They won the rebound battle, they won the assist battle and they won the steal battle. They shot more free throws and turned the ball over five fewer times than the Warriors.
Individually, Irving flirted with perfection as well, hitting 11 of his first 14 shots. Two of the misses were from three, although he hit four from distance as well. On the night he finished 15-for-27.
The lively Cleveland crowd ate this one up, finishing the night chanting “Cavs in seven, Cavs in seven.”
Many of Irving’s baskets were the kind that made defence irrelevant — Irving is a magician when it comes to finding the tiniest of spaces to get to the rim — but Golden State’s defence was nothing close to what it had been the first three games of the series.
Kerr acknowledged as much in his halftime speech to his team, a speech shown on the broadcast. Kerr said the team had to get defence into the game, words not necessary as the Warriors built that 3-0 series lead.
Playing a huge part in the Cavs’ rebirth in this series was Cleveland’s redemption at the threepoint line.
Through the first three games, Cleveland was shooting just 29.8 per cent from distance, a huge drop-off from their regular season numbers and a big drop-off from what they were shooting in the first three rounds before the Finals.
Part of the credit goes to the Warriors, obviously, who were running the Cavs off the line with regularity through three games. But there were open shots there, too, that just didn’t fall — until Game 4.
It didn’t seem possible the Cavaliers had the personnel to match the Warriors basket for basket, but in the highest-scoring game of the series it was the Cavaliers setting the pace.
This time, Irving and James had Love and, to a lesser degree, J.R. Smith, along for the ride.
The Warriors got 35 from Kevin Durant but sub-par scoring games from Splash Brothers Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, who combined for just 28 between them.
What it means for the Finals is the series heads back to the Bay Area with the Warriors still well ahead with a 3-1 lead.
Against any other team, that lead might feel safe — but not against LeBron and Co.
It was only a year ago that Cleveland faced this exact deficit with the Series heading back to Oracle Arena.
The difference this time is Draymond Green will not be suspended for Game 5, a hardfought Cavs win in 2016 that changed the entire complexion of the series.
Green did pick up another technical in the Game 4 loss but he will take part in Game 5.
This game had a little bit of everything, except perhaps a defensive stand by the Warriors.
The game saw seven technicals called, skirmishes, an apparent punch to the groin by Zaza Pachulia to Iman Shumpert that somehow, in this day and age of overzealous replay use, avoided punishment.
So many records were broken in this one it would take another page of newsprint to list them all.
But the bottom line was simple. The Cavs refused to let this one end on their home court.
The perfect 16-0 playoff run is no longer a possibility.
There is still work to be done.