LeBron James and Kyrie Irving led the way as the Cleveland Cavaliers completed a historic comeback to win the NBA title.
Trailing 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors after four games of the finals, the Cavaliers became the first team ever to overturn such a deficit to win the finals.
James had a triple-double of 27 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, following back-to-back 41-point hauls to take the series the distance, and Irving added 26 points including a crucial late three-pointer to earn a 93-89 win in a tense decider.
While James and his team celebrated, Warriors star Stephen Curry’s tough finals series continued with a 17-point day including just three in the fourth quarter.
Curry was named league MVP as his team finished with a record 73-9 record but he was overshadowed on Sunday by team-mate Draymond Green, who allied his trademark fierce defence – 14 of his 15 rebounds came at that end of the court – with 32 points and nine assists.
LeBron goes ALL IN for the @SAPSports Performance of the Night. https://t.co/9ABPfSLBGx
— NBA (@NBA) June 20, 2016
The game was close throughout, though Golden State led 49-42 at half-time with 22 points from Green.
At 54-54 early in the third quarter, Curry snuffed out a three-on-one Cleveland break and raced straight up the court to score, adding a three-pointer moments later.
The Cavs opened up a seven-point lead only to be pegged back by an 8-1 Warriors run and the home team led 76-75 after the third quarter.
LeBron's last 3 games:
— ESPN (@espn) June 20, 2016
109 points
3 wins
1 triple-double
2 more trophies pic.twitter.com/utmB2sHcFh
It was locked at 89-89 with 3:40 left, the lead having changed hands 20 times, and the score remained the same at a timeout with 1:09 remaining as Andre Iguodala and James blocked each other’s attempts.
Irving’s tremendous three-point jumper finally broke the tie and after Curry missed, James took a heavy fall when fouled by Green and made one of the two free throws to clinch a four-point winning margin.
