LeBron made sure that his work allowed him to hear the two words that, as he said the day before, seemed to him the most beautiful in the world: “Seventh game”.
James had 41 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers forced a decisive game in the NBA finals, beating the Golden State Warriors 115-101 on Thursday.
“Of course I want to win,” James said. “But I also wanted to give everything I have and see what happened. We have forced a seventh game and it will be fun.
James, who scored 18 straight points in a stretch of Game 6 of the series, had 41 points for the second straight game. He thus gave another invaluable contribution to the Cavs, who are attempting a historic comeback.
For the second time in four days, Cleveland triumphed in a game that threatened elimination. Neither team has recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the league final.
If the Cavs win Sunday in Oakland, they will accomplish something more important than break that curse: They will end Cleveland’s title drought in professional sports since Dec. 27, 1964.
The Warriors never imagined they would find themselves in this do-or-die situation. The defending champions posted an unprecedented 73 regular-season wins and won the first two games of the finals by a combined 48-point lead.
But Stephen Curry, the season’s MVP, has lost his touch. His companions also look erratic. Now, they are at risk of a historic campaign ending in the abyss, with a failure in the attempt to conquer the two-time championship.
Curry had 30 points for the Warriors but was ejected in the fourth quarter after committing his sixth foul. Curry tossed out his mouth guard as he discussed the decision.
The image showed the desperation in which the Warriors have fallen in a series that they seemed to control calmly.
And the frustration rubbed off even on Curry’s wife, who questioned the referees’ decisions.
“I have lost all respect. I’m sorry, this is absolutely manipulated for money… or for the ‘rating’, Ayesha Curry tweeted just before the end of the match, when her husband was already in the locker room. “I won’t shut up…”
Minutes later, the tweet was deleted, as was the Warriors’ lead in the series. AP
Cavaliers beat Warriors and the NBA final will be defined in game seven
