OAKLAND, Calif. — LeBron James has dropped many a jaw in his NBA career, but if he can continue to pull this off, then his legacy will have to be revised if not totally rewritten.
This is the NBA Finals, and the Cavaliers have no business at the present moment to be in a dead heat with the Golden State Warriors. They are without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, two All-Star starters. They’re without Anderson Varejao, once their best inside defender. They have a rookie head coach David Blatt, who is, well, a rookie head coach. The Warriors have all that depth and all that talent, not to mention Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry and four games at Oracle Arena, where they lose about as often as Curry blows a layup.
Yet the Cavaliers do have James, the modern-day Wilt Chamberlain, and in basketball, that kind of singular dominance gives them a chance to win any game, any series.
And after the Cavaliers got up off the deck in a 95-93 meat grinder of an overtime victory on Sunday, it’s safe to say the NBA Finals are not just a series now, but an epic drama.
After James missed the long-range shot that would have beat them in Game 1, the Warriors dared him to beat them again. James was unable to close the deal yet again late in the fourth quarter — this time from close range — but he was able to will his team across the finish line at the end.
“It’s the gritty squad that we have,” James said. “It’s not cute at all. It you’re looking for us to play sexy, cute basketball, then that’s not us. That’s not us right now. Everything is tough.”
Tough?
No, Game 2 was downright brutal at times, a mosh pit of missed shots (128), turnovers (35) and countless complaints to the referees. Everyone from James to the fiancee of Warriors owner Joe Lacob were in their ears. Then there was Mary Babers-Green, Draymond’s mother, who tweeted:
Highway ROBBERY..these REFS ARE MAKING THIS TOO OBVIOUS! #PAID
— Mary Babers-Green (@babers_mary) June 8, 2015
Indeed, this was playoff basketball at its best. Or maybe it was its worst (for Stephen Curry, anyway). Either way, the Cavaliers had no choice, really. They could not beat the Warriors at the Warriors’ game, which thrives on ball movement and 3-point shots and opportunities in transition. They had to slow the pace, get physical and force the Warriors out of their rhythm.
Even if the Cavaliers did all of this, the question remained: Who would pick up the slack for Irving, their only other dependable option on offense. Well, nobody did — the Cavaliers shot 33 percent from the field, the lowest total for a victorious team in Finals history. Once again, James was the offense for all practical purposes. He finished with a triple-double — 39 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists — and clearly got the best of Curry in the matchup of current and former Most Valuable Players.
Curry left his game in the tunnel, from where he launches a prayer before every game. He swished the 40-footer on his first try, only to miss 18 of 23 attempts when it counted. He finished with 19 points. Klay Thompson had a team-high 34 points, but Harrison Barnes (11) and Green (10) were the only others to score in double figures.
“I didn’t feel right, but there is no time to really about that,” said Curry, who appeared to be gassed physically and emotionally at times. “You’ve got to keep shooting and try to figure it out.”
“It happens,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It happens to everyone whether you’re an MVP or a role player. Sometimes the shots don’t go in. Sometimes things don’t go your way. Steph will bounce back. He’s a great player. We’ll help him. We’ll try to get him to a better groove. He’ll be fine.”
After Curry tied the game at 87-all on a layup with 7.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter, James had a chance to even the series on one shot. He was able to get to the basket but missed a left-handed layup on which Green appeared to hit his right arm.
When the game was over more than three hours after it began, the smallest man on the court had made some of the biggest plays.
Matthew Dellavedova converted 3 of 10 field goal tries and committed a half-dozen turnovers, but he was Hellavedova at the other end, where he made Curry work for every opportunity. The local St. Mary’s product also had the key offensive rebound of the game with 10 seconds left in overtime, when he beat Barnes to a loose ball and was fouled in the process. He sank two free to give his team a 94-93 advantage.
“I mean, that is a classic thing you practice as a kid growing up — down one, you need to make both free throws,” Dellavedova said. “So I felt like I’ve been in that situation a million times before.
The Warriors figured to have an easier time with Irving out of action, but it never materialized. They never led by more than eight points and were tied or trailed at the end of each quarter. As Blatt said, “I don’t think we’ll see any easy games in this series.”
Now the best-of-seven series will shift to Cleveland in a 1-1 deadlock on Tuesday night, when James will carry the hopes of a desperate city on his shoulders. He has attempted exactly 101 shots from the field and the foul line in the first two games of the series. Can he continue at this pace much longer? Clearly, the man has no choice.
Paul Ladewski is a veteran Chicago sports journalist who recently relocated to the Bay Area as the Warriors beat writer for the San Francisco Examiner. He is a regular contributor to SheridanHoops.com.