On this day five years ago, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers completed one of the most memorable comebacks in NBA history.
Down 3-1 after four games to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, James and Kyrie Irving used a strong Game 5 performance to accumulate momentum for the final two games.
In Game 6, James led all scorers with 41 points to go with 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Cavaliers won, 115-101. After just one quarter, Cleveland developed a 31-11 lead.
Then in Game 7, on the road, James and Irving delivered incredible moments.
James had the sensational chasedown block on Andre Iguodala’s layup attempt. Irving drilled the stepback three over Stephen Curry with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter to seal the game.
James led Cleveland with 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and three blocks in 47 minutes. Irving dropped 26 points and six rebounds in 43 minutes.
Draymond Green led the Warriors with 32 points as he hit six 3-pointers on eight attempts. Curry and Klay Thompson, however, combined to shoot 6-of-24 from deep.
The Cavaliers won, 93-89. The title marked the franchise’s first in its history, and James came through on his promise to bring a title to his home team.
James reflected on the moment on Twitter:
WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE! https://t.co/kJ8dbe0yJN
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 19, 2021
Check out the highlights from the thrilling Game 7:
“CLEVELAND, THIS IS FOR YOU!”
FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY
LeBron’s Block
Kyrie’s Shot
The 3-1 Comeback
A Cavs Championship
End of a 52 Year Droughtpic.twitter.com/0MTSIyrQ5u— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) June 19, 2021
[pickup_prop id=”8034″]
[vertical-gallery id=40179]
[mm-video type=video id=01f7q12wyzrqnkt84xav playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f7q12wyzrqnkt84xav/01f7q12wyzrqnkt84xav-f9bf7747db7c09ec9ede4a48deb97bff.jpg]