09 Jun. 2016 – Well it was about time LeBron was LeBron, meaning the best basketball player in the world. No not Steph Curry, but LeBron James. From start to finish, the man just dominated. He attacked the basket, created for teammates, and was aggressive on both sides of the court. James went 14/26 from the field dropping 32 points, to go with 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block and 2 steals. Although impressive numbers, his stats alone don’t truly show how important he was last night, his performance inspired his team to finally show up and play like they deserve to be in the finals.
Right before the game, LeBron grabbed his teammates screaming the following. “Follow my lead from the beginning!” “And do your job!” Well Irving scored 30 points, and had 8 assists. J.R Smith finally made his presence felt adding 20 points, making 5/10 threes, and leading both teams with a net rating of +33. Tristan Thompson continued to dominate the boards and play well in the paint finishing the game with 11 points and 13 rebounds, seven of them being offensive rebounds. Veteran Richard Jefferson was inserted into the starting line-up replacing injured Kevin Love also played well adding 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Comparing each team’s stats, the Cavaliers did better in pretty much every aspect. They scored 54 points in the paint compared to Golden State’s 32, and grabbed 52 rebounds while Golden State only had 32. The Cavs also had 15 fast break points, while the Warriors had a measly 8. Golden State shot 42.1% from the field, 27.3% from behind the arc, and 65.4% from the line. Cleveland meanwhile shot 52.7% from the field, 48% from three point range, and 70.6% from the line. They also had 5 fewer turnovers than the Warriors committing 13 throughout the game. However, possibly the most impressive stat of the night, was that not a single player for the Golden State Warriors posted a positive net rating. The Cavaliers on the other hand, minus Dellavedova, all posted positive net ratings.
To sum it up, the momentum has shifted, the confidence is back, along with the much needed sense of urgency. Now they take that to game 4, with a chance to tie the series and make this finals as interesting as ever. The only question that remains is which Cavs team will show up for game 4. The Cavaliers that were kicked off the court in the first two games, or the one that just defeated the reigning champs by 30?
Article by: Nick Husni
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