On the brink of getting swept in the NBA Finals the Cleveland Cavaliers had arguably their best offensive performance of the season, as it simply seemed like every single shot they took went in. Cleveland got off to the hottest start in Finals history and simply never looked back as they easily handled the Golden State Warriors 137-116. Game 5 will take place at Oracle Arena on Monday night, where the Warriors will have a chance to win in front of their home crowd.
The Cavaliers tore up NBA record books with their performance
In the first half of this do-or-die game, the Cleveland Cavaliers simply came out of the gate on fire.
They set the record for most points in a quarter in NBA Finals history by dropping 49 in the first. By halftime they had set the playoffs and Finals record for most point in a half, pouring in 86. They also made the most three-pointers in Finals history, with 13 by halftime. The Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors also had the most combined points in any half in Finals history and in the first half of playoffs history with 154 points. Lastly, the 24 threes the Cavs rained down were the most ever in an NBA Finals game.
LeBron also made more Finals history
Following last night's performance, LeBron James passed Michael Jordan for the third most points in NBA Finals history. He now has 1,206 points in the Finals, only behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,317) and Jerry West (1,679).
He also recorded his ninth triple-double in the NBA Finals with 31 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. This moved him past Magic Johnson for the most in Finals history. With teammate Kyrie Irving dropping 40 points, they became only the second duo in Finals history to drop 30 or more points in at least four games. The only other duo to accomplish this was Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.
Speaking of Kyrie, his 7 threes last tied him for second most in a Finals game.
The Warriors ran into an improbable buzzsaw
The Golden State Warriors may have lost the game by 21 points but the 116 points that they scored would have won them any of the first three games. Game 4 of the NBA Finals was only the second game all season in which the Warriors never led, with the other one being all the way back on November 4th against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Cleveland Cavaliers' three-pointer shooting was also out of this world. Last night they were 24-45 (53.33%) on threes, whereas, in the first three games they were 31-104 (29.80%).
