LeBron James just brought Cleveland the "two best words" - game seven. After leading by as many as 24, the lead cut back to seven in the fourth quarter, LeBron James led his team on a fourth quarter blitz to force a Game 7. The Cavaliers won 115-101. It was elimination game LeBron James at his finest, 41 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, four steals, and three locks. His block on Steph Curry in the fourth may have been the dagger. After a postseason sharing the spotlight with his teammates averaging a career low in playoff points, back-to back 41 point games from James have brought the Cavaliers all the way back from a 3-1 hole and a shot at a championship.
The Cavaliers came out aggressive on defense to start the game, and frustrated Golden State, who missed their first six attempts from the field. Led by James and Kyrie Irving they built a 31-11 first quarter lead. A big key to the Cavaliers first half success was Tristan Thompson, who had a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in 23 minutes. Thomson finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 22-points before the Warriors showed up in the second quarter and cut the lead to 16. But not all of the starters were active. Kevin Love played just over three minutes after getting three quick fouls and just 1 point. It was a physical half, with 27 combined team fouls from both teams, with Curry and Draymond each earning three personal fouls in the first half. The early fouls would spell trouble for Curry who played 35 minutes before fouling out of the game and being assessed a technical for throwing his mouth guard. Curry finished the game with a team high 30 points, two rebounds, and just one assist.
In the fourth, the Cavaliers allowed the Warriors to hang around. With the offense slowed down and a flurry of three-pointers from Steph Curry the lead was cut to seven. LeBron scored the first 18 points for the Cavaliers in the fourth quarter before a JR Smith three-pointer with 6 minutes remaining finally got the team going. From there, it went all Cavaliers, who now will head back to Oakland for the first Finals Game 7 in franchise history, and the team's first shot at a championship.
The challenge now is just one game, all the way back from 3-1 to 3-3, and a decisive Game 7. Between six years of LeBron James in the NBA Finals and a even more motivated Steph Curry waiting with his home crowd, the ending will be storybook either way.