Three reasons why Cleveland topped Golden State in Game 6
The Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that entered Monday having lost eight of nine against the defending champion Golden State Warriors, have pushed the 2016 NBA Finals to the brink. On the back of the team’s superstar, the Cavaliers took Game 6 by a 115-101 score, forcing a Game 7 and winner-take-all contest on Sunday to decide the NBA’s 2015-16 champion.
Here are three reasons why Cleveland was able to prevail on Thursday.
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LeBron Freakin’ James
With five minutes left in the third quarter, LeBron James hit a driving layup to put his Cavaliers up by a 74-57 score. That would seem like a comfortable lead, but with Stephen Curry warming up and Klay Thompson in the middle of what would turn into a 15-point quarter, the Cavaliers needed their franchise player to let loose.
The guy came through. Following the layup, James would go on to either score or assist on the next 35 Cavalier points, 36 if you count the Stephen Curry ejection (and subsequent Kyrie Irving technical free throw) he helped influence, helping keep the defending champs at arm’s length. The streak was broken by a loose ball and subsequent J.R. Smith layup with just over two minutes left in the contest, prior to an intentional foul that let James hit the bench with his team up 110-88.
LeBron’s night ended with him scoring 41 points, turning the ball over just once in 42 minutes of action, contributing 11 assists, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Goodness, gracious, sakes alive.
His was a masterful performance in what has been nearly a dominant Finals turn despite the series’ 3-3 mark. James is now averaging 30.2 points, making over half his shots along the way, 8.5 assists, 11.3 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.2 blocks in these Finals through six games. He’s the reason Cleveland has yet another game to play on Sunday.
Small Start, Big Scrap
The Warriors, working without the injured Andrew Bogut, went with Andre Iguodala in its starting lineup. Iguodala’s insertion alongside Bogut did not pay off in the Game 5 loss, but his presence in GSW’s small ball lineup paid big dividends in the 2015 NBA Finals, with the Warriors taking three consecutive games against Cleveland to end that series with Bogut mostly watching from the sidelines.
The collective was not as composed this time around. The Cavaliers raced out to take a 20-point lead, finishing the quarter on a 31-11 run, holding the defending champs to their lowest point total of what so far has been a 88-17 (playoffs included) season thus far. Poor communication defensively led to easy passing lanes and open shots for a confident Cavaliers team, as Golden State missed look after look on the offensive end.
By the time the quarter was over, both Klay Thompson (who would miss 9-12 shots in the first half) and Andre Iguodala would have played the entire 12-minute term. Thompson would recover, his shooting helped Golden State knock the Cavalier lead down to eight points in the fourth quarter, but Iguodala was clearly pained for his effort – his back tightened up, and his inability to provide his usual defensive panache helped LeBron James go off on his game for the ages in the second half.
Meanwhile, Tristan Thompson managed nine first quarter rebounds as the Cavaliers overcame Kevin Love’s two early fouls to throw off the scent almost immediately.
No Help
Harrison Barnes has now missed 15 consecutive shots in the NBA Finals, and his 0-8 night from the floor in Game 6 put the Warriors on the ropes almost immediately. Shaun Livingston came off the Golden State bench to miss his first five looks, while Andre Iguodala was passing up shot after shot in the lane as his pained back prevented him from making the leaps needed to lay the rock in. Iguodala used smarts and size to attempt to force LeBron James into bad shots, but nothing was stopping James on this night.
Meanwhile, reserve swingman Brandon Rush (who started 25 games during the regular season, ahead of Iguodala and often when Barnes sat due to injury) was a +18 in only 8:28 minutes of work. For whatever reason, Warriors coach Steve Kerr refused to go to Rush down the stretch of James’ performance, in spite of Iguodala’s clearly pained gait.
The return of Draymond Green (eight points, six assists, 10 rebounds, a steal and a block) did little to make up for the absence of Andrew Bogut, and the ineffectiveness of Iguodala. Golden State’s entire rotation has quite a bit to figure out in advance of Sunday’s Game 7.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
