On Tuesday, Cleveland was center of sports galaxy
Cavs get NBA title rings, beat Knicks
CLEVELAND — Blinking back tears, LeBron James extended his right ring finger, the one sparkling with 400 diamonds, and touched the championship banner.
As it rose from a golden, miniature Cleveland skyline toward the ceiling, Queen’s “We Are The Champions” filled Quicken Loans Arena, and Cavs fans sang along with Freddie Mercury just as they did in June.
And, incredibly, this was just the warm-up act for a night this city won’t soon forget.
Welcome to the center of the sports galaxy — Cleveland, Ohio.
On the same night the Cavs celebrated their historic comeback in the NBA Finals, winning a title that not only ended a 52-year drought in Cleveland but energized an entire region, the Indians beat the Chicago Cubs 6-0 in Game 1 of the World Series next door at Progressive Field.
A perfect sports storm on the shores of Lake Erie.
This type of thing never happened in Cleveland, where sports heartbreak was passed down from generation to generation like family heirlooms. But those days are over. This is a new Cleveland — city of champions.
The Cavs flipped that tired sports script, storming back from a 3-1 deficit to shock the 73-win Golden State Warriors and give Cleveland its first title since 1964, when the Browns won the NFL championship. Before receiving their rings Tuesday night — about an hour before the Indians and Cubs got started — Cleveland relived those special days from earlier this summer when one of its teams finally fought its way all the way to the top.
James was the final player to be introduced and handed his 6.5-karat ring by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. After slipping it on his hand, James, the kid from Akron who delivered on his promise to win a title for Cleveland, looked at the jewelry with admiration and perhaps some astonishment.
“This is for you guys,” James told the crowd, repeating a message he screamed after the Cavs won Game 7 at Oracle Arena in Oakland on June 19. “This is all for you.”
James paused and then reminded Cleveland that it remains underdogs — even in victory.
“At this point, if you’re not from here, live here, play here … then it makes no sense for you to live at this point,” said the three-time champion. “Cleveland against the world.”
James made sure to wish luck to the Indians, who overcame adversity all season and won their first AL pennant since 1997. They’re trying to end a 68-year Series title drought against the Cubs, 108 years removed from their last championship.
In the moments before they took the floor for the ceremony, the Cavs, wearing new white-and-gold warm-ups with 2016 NBA Champions written on the back, looked like little kids getting ready to storm the Christmas tree and tear open presents. Kyrie Irving did a little dance in the hallway outside Cleveland’s locker room and shared a big hug with Kevin Love before James joined them and the team headed into the darkened arena where 20,000-plus fans roared.
And they roared throughout the game, too. CAVALIERS 117, KNICKS 88: James had his 43rd career triple-double and Irving scored 29 points as Cleveland rolled past New York.
James scored 19 points and added 11 rebounds and 14 assists. Irving scored 19 points in the third quarter, when Cleveland used a 20-4 run to take a 74-53 lead. Love scored 23 for the Cavaliers.
Carmelo Anthony led New York with 19 points and Derrick Rose had 17.
Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert was taken to the locker room late in the third quarter with concussion-like symptoms after colliding with Kristaps Porzingis.
The Knicks, who missed the playoffs the last three seasons, are expecting major improvement after acquiring Rose from Chicago to run the offense and signing center Joakim Noah, who was scoreless in 21 minutes.
New York, playing its first game under new coach Jeff Hornacek, trailed by 13 in the second quarter but rallied to cut the lead to 45-43 at halftime. A pair of dunks by James and 3-pointers from Irving and Love pushed the lead to 61-49.
Cleveland’s spurt continued as Irving hit three 3-pointers for a 74-53 lead. Other openers
SPURS 129, WARRIORS 100: In Oakland, Calif., Kawhi Leonard scored a career-high 35 points as San Antonio emphatically spoiled Kevin Durant’s long-awaited Warriors debut Tuesday night with a rout that sent Golden State fans for the exits early.
Durant had 27 points and 10 rebounds, but little looked in sync for MVP Stephen Curry and the reigning Western Conference champions in a forgettable first game — and quite a different one after the Warriors dominated at home and came out of the blocks last season with a record 24-0 start. TRAIL BLAZERS 113, JAZZ 104: In Portland, Ore., Damian Lillard scored 39 points as Portland extended its winning streak in home openers to a leaguerecord 16 straight games with a victory over Utah.
CJ McCollum added 25 points for the Blazers, who trailed 83-77 at the start of the fourth quarter. They were still down 102-99 with under 5 minutes left before McCollum made a pull-up jumper and 3-pointer to give Portland a 104-102 lead before pulling away.