Once again, the Cleveland Cavaliers proved that when they are against the wall and on the brink of elimination in the NBA Finals, they grow in their game and shine especially if the rivals are the Golden State Warriors.
For the fourth time in two years, the Cavaliers avoided elimination in the NBA Finals by winning just when it looked like their season was over.
This time, the Cavaliers drew inspiration from the comments of power forward Draymond Green of the Warriors and offered their best game of the season.
They also surpassed three marks by scoring 49 points in the first quarter, 86 at halftime and 24 triples, which allowed them to win the fourth Finals game by 137-116 and avoid a historic sweep and elimination.
But now they are still down in the series to the best of seven, something that happened last year, and made history when getting the comeback with three consecutive wins.
His new challenge will be to achieve four consecutive if they want to revalidate the title of champions and also be the first that are able to overcome a partial adverse of 0-3.
That’s why the Warriors themselves must take the team in front of star forward LeBron James very seriously, but especially with Kyrie Irving, who like last year became the real surprise and winner.
“I do not like this situation,” admitted James after beating Magic Johnson in the record book with his ninth triple-double in a final series. “It causes a lot of stress and I am doing this every year, but at the end of the day we are a tenacious group.”
His challenge now to overcome a 0-3 has been an impossible in the NBA in 126 occasions that has given this marker, but if it has achieved in other professional leagues.
The Boston Red Sox bounced back in the 2004 American League championship series against the New York Yankees, heading to their first World Series title since 1918 by beating the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series of Baseball Of Major Leagues.
“We’re a strong, resilient team,” said Kevin Power, who pitched six of eight eight-pointers to take 23 points Friday night. “We have already been in this situation.Every year is different, every series of the final phase, every game.A fourth or a possession is important to us, because that can improve or break the team.”
The presence of James makes the Cavaliers a special team when it comes to showing a temper that can against any adversity.
In the last three years, since James returned from Miami, the team has been able to float despite injuries, constant scrutiny, drama and even a mid-season coaching change, not to mention the luck factor, and in Some cases the always questioned arbitration in the NBA.
There does not seem to be anything that shakes them, so it should come as no surprise that when they were about to be swept by Golden State, a team James referred to as a “monster” before they started this series, Cleveland did not crash.
“Every party is life or death and we know and understand that. We’re ready to live,” Irving said.
On Thursday, Green, whose suspension for kicking James in the groin in Game 4, after being provoked by the Cavaliers star, propelled the overturning of the series in favor of Cleveland, said he wanted to celebrate the conquest of the title On the home team’s court for the second time in three years.
Irving acknowledged that the Cavaliers were offended by those comments and were inspired by them.
The truth is that the Cavaliers, with the permission of the referees played to the limit of the allowed in the physical section, and won to be in a situation to which they are familiar, below 3-1.
But James does not think his Cavaliers would rather be in search of the comeback.
“No,” he replied. “At the end of the day, what we want is to try to stay in position to play another match, we did it and hopefully on Monday night we can do it again so we can come back here. There and get one more, “admitted James.
For their part, the Warriors were calm to the challenge and said that the abnormal would have been a 4-0 to the team that is the current champion of the NBA.
“Let’s be serious, aside from the difference in the scoreboard, which is somewhat fictional, the victory of the Cavaliers was completely normal and logical,” said Steve Kerr, coach of the Warriors. “What if it had a great merit was to have obtained us the triumph in the third party”.
