The Cleveland Cavaliers survived Sunday night in Oakland, hanging on 95-93 in overtime and knotting up the NBA Finals at one game apiece, and LeBron James added to his legend.
James had 39 points, ripped down 16 rebounds and dished 11 assists in the gritty victory, and he says that no one should expect the short-handed but defiant Cavs to play pretty ball.
Bron calls the Cavs the Grit Squad: "If you're looking for us to play sexy, cute basketball, that's not us right now" pic.twitter.com/cyifc2ReTT
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) June 8, 2015
Cleveland held MVP Stephen Curry to a mere 19 points on 5-of-23 shooting, but All-Star teammate Klay Thompson picked up the slack and poured in a postseason career-high 34 points.
It was all for naught, however.
Klay Thompson: "In the end, my 34 points is meaningless." pic.twitter.com/5hXm3c1C3k
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) June 8, 2015
The Q in Cleveland promises to be a mad house for Game 3 Tuesday night.
Per the Akron Beacon Journal:
The Cavs stole home court advantage from the heavily favored Warriors and will host Game 3 Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. […] “We didn’t make the NBA Finals for no reason,” coach David Blatt said. “We’re here because we deserve to be, and we’ve beaten some very, very good teams along the way.”
James said Saturday he could play between 40 and 42 minutes in a 48-minute Finals game, but pushed through to a staggering 50 minutes in Sunday’s 53-minute game. […] Much like he did in Game 1, James had a chance to win it at the buzzer. His left-handed drive to the rim rolled off and Tristan Thompson’s tap-in follow was too strong, sending the game again to overtime.
James pumped his fist, stomped his feet and roared in delight when the game was over, hugging his teammates and showing the world the Cavs aren’t dead yet. […] “We’re without two All-Stars,” James said. “I don’t know any other team in this league that would be able to do that, be without two All-Stars on their team and compete the way we compete and be a force. The guys are taking that very personal.”
