LeBron and his Squad Somehow Pulled a Game 4 Win out of Nowhere

REFERENCE ARTICLE – https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/09/sports/nba-finals-game-4-score.html?mcubz=2

Last night, LeBron James led his — that’s right, LeBron has to have some degree of ownership after that performance — Cleveland Cavaliers to a 137-116 victory over the star-packed Golden State Warriors. LeBron’s performance is appropriately represented by his individual stats, posting 31 points on a 50% field goal percentage with 22 shots, serving up 11 assists, and commanding 10 rebounds off the glass. Further securing his team’s win were only two turnovers, nearly equaled out by one steal.

After their June 9th, Game 4 victory, the Cavaliers eliminated Golden State’s chance at setting history as the only NBA team to go undefeated throughout an entire year’s playoff. However, the entire roster of the star-studded Golden State Warriors agreed that setting such a record was not their goal. Last year’s record 73-win regular season set by Golden State may, in fact, have distracted them from winning the NBA Finals. This year, the Warriors are not seeking their names to be written in record books for X-legth win streaks, likely making it more difficult for the Cavaliers to earn another Finals victory.

One factor contributing to Cleveland’s win in Game 4 was their NBA Finals-record 49 points in the first quarter. Congruently, they also set an NBA Finals record for points in one half of play, at 86 points in only 24 minutes of action.

Kyrie Irving’s 40-point performance on only 27 field goals undoubtedly helped boost the Cavaliers ahead of Durant Green Curry & Company (doesn’t that sound like a good name for a CPA firm?). However, despite Irving’s outstanding performance, the Cavs posted only a +7 rating while he was on the court, suggesting that the Cavs could likely do better with other players on the floor. With or without a strong team performance, the Cleveland Cavaliers have plenty of players to help them bring home another W, or two, or — as most Cleveland fans long for — three.

The Golden State Warriors may not have been open to trash talking: Kevin Durant got into with LeBron James, then, shortly after, became very visibly frustrated; also, a fan was ejected for talking smack to the Warriors’ bench, which riled the entire Warriors team, distracting them from closing out Game 4.

The Cleveland Cavaliers face the Golden State Warriors Monday, June 12th, at 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.