Cleveland’s 52 years wait for a major title ended in the early hours of today as LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to defeat the defending champion, Steve Curry’s Golden State Warriors in the game 7 of a thrilling NBA final 93-89.
LeBron James’ tears of joy were unstoppable as he held the Larry O’Brien championship trophy at Oracle Arena on Sunday (early hours of today).
He had just authored one of sports’ all-time greatest stories, a magical fairytale that Cleveland has longed for since 1964. James leading the Cavaliers back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals to beat the Golden State Warriors, the team that won an NBA-record 73 regular-season games, on the road for the NBA championship. Astonishing!
James scored 27 points, collected 11 rebounds, provide 11 assists, 3 blocked shots and 2 steals for his seventh Finals triple-doubles as Cavs dethroned the Warriors.
‘I’m true to the game, and I know what I bring to the table,” James said. “I came back for a reason. I came back to bring a championship to our city. I knew what I was capable of doing. I knew what I learned in the last couple years that I was gone, and when I came back, I knew I had the right ingredients and the right blueprint to help this franchise get back to a place that we’ve never been. That’s what it was all about.
“The game always gives back to people that’s true to the game. I’ve watched it. I know the history of the game, and I was just calm. I was calm. I was focused. I was locked in.”
It is the first time a team has won the title after falling behind 3-1 in a Finals series, and it took one of the best performances in Finals history from James to deliver Cleveland its first major pro sports championship since the 1964 Browns.
He was named Finals MVP for the third time in his career, averaging 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks. He led all players on both teams in all five categories in a Finals
The championship parade, the one James came back to deliver, is Wednesday. “It’s going to be the biggest party that Cleveland has ever seen ever,” James said.
