OAKLAND – Oracle Arena rocked like never before Sunday night in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. And then the rocking stopped. Cold.
There will be no repeat championship for the Warriors.
Playing by far the best pure basketball of the series, the Warriors and Cavaliers shot fire and dropped sweat for a full 48 minutes, with the Cavs prevailing 93-89 to win Cleveland’s first championship in any sport since 1964.
The Warriors became the first team in NBA history to take a 3-1 lead and drop three straight and lose The Finals.
Draymond Green brought his best game of the postseason, submitting 32 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. Stephen Curry scored 17 points, Klay Thompson tossed in 14 and Harrison Barnes finished with 10.
The game featured 20 lead changes and 11 ties. No lead ever reached double digits. Cleveland owned the paint, outscoring the Warriors 48-28 inside, while the Warriors dominated beyond the arc, outscoring the Cavs 45-18 from deep.
Cleveland closed it out by holding the Warriors scoreless over the final 4:39. The Warriors missed their last nine shots.
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LeBron James scored 27 points to lead the Cavs, while Kyrie Irving totaled 26.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
Nobody did more for the Warriors in this game than Green, who delivered his best game of the postseason when it was needed most.
Green’s line: 32 points (11-of-15 shooting from the field, 6-of-8 beyond the arc), 15 rebounds, seven assists and two steals. He played 47 minutes and finished minus-1 in the plus-minus column.
TURNING POINT
This one was in doubt from opening tip until the final seconds. An Irving 3-pointer with 53 seconds left snapped an 89-89 tie, giving the Cavs the lead for good.
James dropped in a free throw with 10.6 seconds left to close out the scoring.
