On Monday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in their second straight must-win situation, as the team must beat the Golden State Warriors three games in a row or they will lose the 2016-17 NBA Finals. The Cavaliers had to win three consecutive games to win the championship last season as well and they pulled off the miracle come-from-behind victory to secure the NBA Championship. However, in an interview with the press at the NBA Finals, LeBron James said that his team must play “20 times better” in Oakland if they want to continue to a Game 6 back in Cleveland.
NBA Finals: Game 4
The Cleveland Cavaliers faced elimination in Game 4 of the NBA Finals but Kyrie Irving stepped up and played the game of his life. While LeBron James was not surprised, saying that Irving was special and always stepped up in big “close-out” games, Irving and James will have to do it three more times in order to beat the Golden State Warriors and win back-to-back NBA Championships.
In Game 4, Kyrie Irving finished with 40 points on 55-percent shooting, including hitting 11 of his first 14 shots to put the Cavaliers out in front of the Warriors. LeBron James wasn’t too bad himself, finishing the game with a triple-double, scoring 31 points with 10 rebounds and 11 assists. This added onto James now NBA-record nine triple-doubles in the NBA Finals, passing Magic Johnson’s eight in the fourth game victory.
Kevin Love also remained hot in the game. While rumors still persist that the Cleveland Cavaliers might move Love if they lose the NBA Finals this year, he continues to play strong. While his rebound numbers in Game 4 were down (5), he still scored 23 points in the game. J.R. Smith also added 15 points, which is a huge deal since the Cavaliers were relying too much on LeBron James in the first three games.
The Golden State Warriors
Of course, the Cleveland Cavaliers don’t just have to play great to win, but they also have to stop the super team of the Golden State Warriors if they want to capture their second consecutive NBA Championship. While LeBron James publicly said that he has no problem with Kevin Durant leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to make the Warriors stronger, it does present a difficult challenge that wasn’t there last year when the Cavaliers came back to win.
Last season, the Cavaliers had to stop Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson to win the NBA Finals. This season, it is Kevin Durant who is the superstar on the Warriors team and not Curry. In the Game 4 loss, Durant still scored a Warriors’ high 35 points and is averaging 34.25 points a game against the Cavaliers in the first four games. If the Warriors win, Durant is almost assured of winning the NBA Finals MVP award and it is up to LeBron James to stop KD if the Cavaliers want to win.
