The Cleveland Cavaliers Game 6 win over the Golden State Warriors puts them in position to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win an NBA title. No other NBA team has ever done that.The 115-98 victory Thursday night made the Cavaliers only the third team to come back from 3-1 down to force a Game 7.
Cleveland’s victory took place at a Quicken Loans Arena packed with wild Cavs fans.
But the two teams travel back to Oakland for the deciding game.
The Cavaliers dominated Game 6 from the opening tip-off, says USA Today . LeBron James led Cleveland with 41 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds. He also added four steals and three blocked shots. One of those blocked shots ended up looming large.
The Warriors’ Stephen Curry, who was already in foul trouble, tried to get James to foul him on a pump fake. James didn’t take the bait, smacking Curry’s left-handed flip into the stands instead. Cleveland.com says James then taunted Curry .
“Get your **** out of here,” James reportedly said.
FINAL: The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors 115-101. #NBAFinals #ALLinCLE pic.twitter.com/9QKTnAaq3M
— Cavaliers Nation (@WeAreCavsNation) June 17, 2016
Within minutes, the miffed Curry fouled out, throwing his mouthguard at the Cleveland fans.
But Cleveland Cavaliers fans shouldn’t expect the Game 6 mouthguard incident to turn into a suspension of Curry for Game 7. At most, say sources at ESPN , Curry faces a fine.
The Cavaliers know James is capable of a great performance every time he steps onto the court. But they also know a team effort is needed, especially against Golden State. Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, and Tristan Thompson’s 15 points and 16 rebounds made life tough for the Warriors inside. But though Golden State seemed flustered most of the night, the Warriors still managed to whittle a 24-point deficit in the third quarter down to seven with 8:06 to go in the game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers widened the Game 6 gap again when James scored 18 straight points and made nine assists.
The Warriors didn’t help themselves in the contest. Golden State shot just 29.5 percent from the field in the first half, and only 23.8 percent on three-pointers. The poor shooting helped put them in a massive hole. Curry’s early foul trouble didn’t keep him from scoring 30 points, but likely limited his aggressiveness.
Game 7. Who will win the NBA Championship? RT – Golden State Warriors LIKE – Cleveland Cavaliers pic.twitter.com/gV7hoRS1ke
— BallersHype (@BallersHype) June 17, 2016
Given the history of this Finals’ officiating, chances are slim that Cleveland will benefit from early Curry foul trouble in Game 7.
Cleveland’s Game 6 win generated plenty of buzz on social media. Ayesha Curry, Stephen Curry’s wife, tweeted her frustration as her husband was called for a late foul.
“I’ve lost all respect sorry this is absolutely rigged for money… or ratings in not sure which,” she wrote. “I won’t be silent. Just saw it live sry.”
Response was swift.
“Ayesha Curry says game is ‘rigged for money,’ ” Tweeted a fan. “Warriors just guaranteed themselves another $13M+ in Game 7 revenue.”
Ayesha Curry deleted her post, claiming she wrote it in the “heat of the moment.”
LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers have an opportunity to not only make NBA history, but also to end a Cleveland professional sports championship drought that extends back to 1964. Other Cleveland teams have come close. The Cleveland Browns won the 1964 NFL title before the AFL merger and subsequent Super Bowls. They nearly went to the Super Bowl three times in the mid 1980’s, but never made it. the Cleveland Indians did get to baseball’s World Series a couple of times in the 1990’s, but also fell short.
The Cavaliers have won Game 6, and now head back to the unfriendly environs of Oakland’s Oracle Arena to try to win a championship for themselves, and for the city of Cleveland. The Warriors, owners of the best regular season record, stand in their way.
Will the Cleveland Cavaliers make history? What do you think?
[Photo by Pool/Getty Images]