OAKLAND – After producing a monster line of 41 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocked shots, LeBron James — who was subjected to boos and baby bottles after his shenanigans with Draymond Green in Game 4 — relaxed and calmly munched on a salad like it was a game in the middle of January.
He heard all of the talk from the past two days, deflecting the jabs from Klay Thompson and his dad Mychal, the tweet from Steph Curry’s wife Ayesha, and the baby bottle emoji directed his way from Marreese Speights.
James blocked that those punchers with a devastating counter and produced one of the best games he’s had in his illustrious playoff career. However, he received a big hand from his point guard, Kyrie Irving.
Facing elimination, James, and his sidekick put a hold on Dub Nation’s party plans and took advantage of a Warriors team without their heart and soul. Defensive stalwart Draymond Green had to watch his teammates take a 112-97 loss from a suite at the A’s-Rangers game.
James and Irving cooked for 41 points each (73% of the Cavs’ points), mixing in an array of three-pointers, silky-smooth jumpers and grown man finishes at the rim, becoming the first pair of teammates in the history of the NBA Finals to drop 40 or more in the same game.
“Being a big part of our success, I had to come out and do some things to help us win that ballgame, and tonight was just another example of that,” James said. “Understood the magnitude of this game. I knew how great of a team we were playing, but I just had to come out and just – I know my teammates trust me, I trust them, and that was the result of it.”
After a blistering first half, in which the four-time MVP scored 25 points and snatched nine rebounds, his most impressive stretch was in the third quarter. Knotted up at 61 at halftime, James helped kick-start the Cavs by assisting or scoring on eight consecutive possessions.
That’s also when he, alongside Irving, took over Game 5 and ruined everyone’s plans.
Irving and James scored 11 apiece in that pivotal third quarter, which helped Cleveland take a commanding 93-84 lead going into the fourth.
“I think our spacing was pretty good tonight in terms of where guys were positioning, and out weakside action, which I’ve been talking about almost this whole series waiting for it to happen, and it happened,” Irving said.
The Warriors threatened to rally, but with 6:20 left in the game and his team leading 104-96, Irving put this game to bed, going on a personal 7-0 run in just 47 seconds, including a dagger three-pointer to give the Cavs a commanding lead.
“It’s probably one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen live,” James said of Irving.
With Green back in the fold for Game 6, the Cavs will find it tough to shoot 53 percent again. James and Irving combining to score 80-plus again is unlikely, however, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue wants his two playmakers to continue to be aggressive.
That may be the only chance for Cleveland to rally from a treacherous 3-1 deficit to the defending champs. Riding James and Irving is their only path to the city of Cleveland’s first title since 1964.
“Well, we just want them to be aggressive, continue to attack like we’ve been talking about all series,” Lue said. “They had two great games, two breakout games, and we need those two guys to give us confidence early. And they both did that.”