VIDEO Cavaliers vs. Warriors Game 7: Highlights Of 2016 NBA Finals; LeBron James Wins MVP To Bring Cleveland NBA Championship
In one of the most riveting deciding games in basketball history, the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals, winning Game 7 on the road against the Golden State Warriors 93-89 on Sunday night. LeBron James was named the series MVP, leading the Cavs with a triple-double as they clinched their first ever championship.
The game went back and forth for 47 minutes, tied at 89-89 with less than a minute to go. After both teams failed to score for nearly four minutes, Kyrie Irving gave Cleveland the lead for good by hitting a three-pointer with Stephen Curry’s hand in his face, scoring his 26th point of the night.
But just as Curry was named the unanimous MVP of the regular season, James received every vote for the award in the finals. In one fell swoop, James ended the city of Cleveland’s title drought, made the Warriors' historic regular season seem much less important and staged the greatest series comeback in NBA history.
“Cleveland! This is for you!” James exclaimed in the postgame interview.
James became the third player ever to record a triple-double in an NBA Finals Game 7, joining Jerry West and James Worthy. His 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists were an exclamation point on one of the best finals performances the NBA has ever seen. The three-time champion became the first player ever to lead both teams of any playoff series in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
James struggled from the field down the stretch, missing five of his eight shots in the fourth quarter. His biggest moment, however, came with 1:50 remaining in regulation. With Andre Iguodala poised to give the Warriors a two-point lead, James came from seemingly out of nowhere to block his layup attempt, keeping the game tied.
The Cavaliers entered Sunday’s game as five-point underdogs on the road. With Sunday’s victory, they completed the biggest comeback in NBA history against a team that lost just nine games before the playoffs.
Draymond Green was Golden State’s top shooter, scoring 32 points on 15 shots, adding 15 rebounds and nine assists. Curry failed to break out of his slump, scoring just 17 points on 19 shots.
It's the City of Cleveland's first championship since 1964 when the Browns won the NFL title.
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