In 2016, LeBron James led his then-Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA title at the expense of the Golden State Warriors in a historic season and final series like no other had seen before.
The series got off to a great start for the then-title holder Golden State, who won the first two games at home and among their fans, led by their star Stephen Curry and his colleague Clay Thompson, then Cleveland won Game 1 at home, 120-90. to cut the score to 2-1 in the series.
In Game 4, Golden State took their third win and were on their way to a third title in a row, especially since no team in history had been able to close a 3-1 gap in the final series to win the title thereafter. .
But in Game 5 and Game 6, Cleveland did the unthinkable and took advantage of Golden State’s Draymond Green suspension to win two games in a row to turn the series 3-3.
In Game 7, which took place at the Warriors stadium in the Oracle Arena, the match was very close between the two sides and neither team was able to extend their control over the other to take the initiative, but the difference between them remained small. until the last minutes.
The first quarter ended in favor of the visitors with a one-point difference at 23-22, but the hosts rose in the second quarter and managed to finish the first half of the match with a seven-point lead, 49-42.
Excitement came to a head in the second half, with Green starring on the Warriors side and James on the Cavaliers side, and the two teams went into the final quarter just one point apart.
Signs of tension began in both teams in the final quarter due to its historical importance to the two teams and it did not feature a large number of points as it had in previous matches.
The result remained tied for long minutes without points until neither team scored a point before it was the turn of Cleveland star Kyrie Irving with a fatal hat-trick with a minute and 50 seconds left in the game, and after a historic block -shot. from James about Andre Iguodala.
Cleveland maintained their lead despite attempts by the opposition and scored an extra point thanks to Captain James, finishing the game with a 93–89 victory for Cleveland, thereby capturing their first title in their history and becoming the first team to make up a 3–1 deficit. in the final series to win the title.
James was named Finals MVP, averaging 29.7 points, 8.9 assists and 11.3 rebounds per game in the Finals.
Source: El Iktisad