LeBron James has a history of playing excellent in elimination games, and he lived up to that reputation with his best game of the season – 41 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists in Game 5.
On the road.
Where the Warriors had lost two games all season.
LeBron hadn’t scored 40 points in a game all season. But he scored 26 in the first half. What changed in Game 5?
Draymond Green, who Ty Lue called the Warriors best defensive player, was suspended. The question that can’t be answered: Can LeBron duplicate a 41-16-7 game with Green on the floor Thursday in Game 6 at home?
Given how LeBron’s played in this series – struggling to score at times against Andre Iguodala with Draymond Green helping – the guess here is no.
Yes, LeBron is a cyborg, and and yes he had three 40+ point games in last year’s Finals. But he hadn’t scored 40 in a game this entire season. Ah, the beauty of debate: How much of 41-16-7 was Green’s absence?
What you can’t debate is that Kyrie Irving, after two clunkers to start the series, has been an offensive juggernaut. Here’s what he’s done to Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, both of whom have struggled to stop him from finishing:
Game 3: 12-for-25, 30 points
Game 4: 14-for-28, 34 points
Game 5: 17-for-24, 41 points
Kyrie scored 10 straight in the 4th quarter of Game 5 when the Warriors pulled within six. He’s a clinical finisher – there’s no better point guard in the NBA in finishing at the rim – and the Warriors have no answer for him. I can’t recall a player who does such a good job of creating contact, then creating just enough space to score.
For the series, Irving is shooting 48/40/90 and averaging 28.2, 3.4 rebs, 4.6 assists per game.
For the series, Curry is shooting 42/42/94 and averaging 22.2 ppg, 5.4 rebs, 4.6 assists per game.
No team in NBA history has gone down 3-1 and rallied to force a Game 7. The Cavs can do that Thursday.