Cleveland Cavaliers have overcome a 3-1 series deficit against Golden State Warriors to clinch their first ever NBA title – and the city of Cleveland’s first major sporting triumph in 52 years.
Inspired by their talismanic star LeBron James, the Cavs handed Steph Curry and the Warriors three successive defeats to clinch the series at the death with a 93-89 victory – the first time that the Warriors have lost three in a row since 2013.
James once again overshadowed the league’s MVP Steph Curry, bagging 27 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds - and this massive block you can see below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N11oeH0Ihgg
What was even more remarkable was that the Warriors came into the finals with the best form of any team in NBA regular seasons history. Their record of 73 wins from 82 games overshadowed even the great Chicago Bulls side of 1995.
James’ rivalry with Steph Curry was the chief subplot going in to last night’s decider and it was the Ohio native who came out on top. Speaking after the match, James said:
I poured my heart, my blood, my sweat and my tears into this game. This is special.
To continue to be an inspiration to our city, it means everything. I’m happy to be part of it.
Cleveland’s five decade stretch without any sporting titles represented the longest barren spell in any US city. The city’s last major success was an NFL title for the Cleveland Browns all the way back in 1964.
Curry, whose output was disappointing by his standards, claimed 17 points in the decider and spoke after the game that his side must use this series defeat as motivation to rebound next season.
It sucked to watch them celebrate and we wish that would have been us, but at the end of the day, you congratulate them for accomplishing what they wanted to do.
It will be a good image for us over the summer and all next season to remember that we can come back stronger.
While Curry and the Warriors have already begun thinking of next season , the city of Cleveland will be celebrating this one for a long time.
