James and Irving save Christmas in Cleveland
CLEVELAND - One hundred eighty-nine days had passed since the Cleveland Cavaliers completed the most historic comeback in NBA Finals history, climbing out of a 3-1 hole to knock off the defending champion Golden State Warriors in dramatic fashion.
At Quicken Loans Arena on Christmas Day, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving picked up right where they left off.
Forget the fact that the Cavaliers were without starting shooting guard J.R. Smith, who is expected to miss the next 12-14 weeks with a thumb injury. And forget the fact that the Warriors’ newest addition, Kevin Durant, put on an MVP-type performance, finishing the game with 36 points and 15 rebounds. James and Irving weren’t going to let the Warriors steal Christmas in Cleveland.
Irving, who caught fire in the fourth quarter after struggling offensively for the majority of the game, hit the eventual game-winning jumper over Klay Thompson with 3.4 seconds left — a brutal reminder to Dub Nation of the lastminute go-ahead three he hit 189 days ago.
Irving had 25 points, 10 assists and seven steals, while James finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Cavs overcome a 14-point fourth quarter deficit for a 109-108 victory in a heavyweight bout that lived up to the half-year of hype.
“He’s just a killer on the court,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said of Irving after the game. “We put the ball in his hands at the end of the game to go one-onone against Klay, who’s a great defender.”
“The kid is special,” James said. “It was never in doubt.”
Though this was a statement victory that marked the Cavs’ fourth straight win over the Warriors, there was no sense of satisfaction after the game, nor was there talk of a Finals rematch.
“It’s December 25th,” Irving said. “We’ve got a ways before we even start considering the carryover or anything else like that. It’s just a Christmas Day game, another classic with a great team. It’s exciting. It’s just all respect when we go out there and play. Just high level players making high level plays.”
“The competition is what you live for,” James said. “It’s always fun when you get an opportunity to play on Christmas, and it’s even that much more fun to be home. It lived up to what everybody wanted it to.”
The two teams won’t have to wait quite as long to see each other again, as they’re set to face off on Jan. 16 in Oakland.