It was going to take a spectacular, season-preserving effort from the Cleveland Cavaliers to survive a road closeout Game 5 against a Golden State Warriors team fired up to collect its second straight title and avenge Draymond Green's suspension.
Kyrie Irving and LeBron James didn't have a problem with that.
They became the first teammates in NBA Finals history to score at least 40 points in the same game. Thanks to that incredible (and totally necessary) tandem effort, the Cavs extended the series with a 112-97 win.
James poured in a season-high (playoffs or otherwise) 41 points, adding 16 rebounds (also a season high), seven assists, three steals and three blocks on 16-of-30 shooting. By the end of the third period, his dialed-in approach and sudden trust in his perimeter shot had him in territory he'd never reached at any previous point in his career, per Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com:
James hadn't hit five shots outside the paint in any game of these playoffs, either. He had that many by halftime, per John Schuhmann of NBA.com.
With jumpers raining down and blow-by layups ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Grant Hughes
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving Display Necessary Greatness to Save Cavaliers’ Season
June 13th, 2016 by Grant Hughes Leave a reply »
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