Last night, the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers dispatched the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a 135-102 runaway victory. As a result of their closeout win, the champs will now meet the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, beginning June 1st at 9 PM EST on ABC.
On a walk-up three-pointer during the third quarter of last night’s game, LeBron James passed Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan for the No. 1 spot on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list. Just a few moments later, Kyrie Irving barked at James, who was now seated on the bench, to congratulate him for his iconic achievement.
https://twitter.com/TheFuzzNBA/status/867928634874449921
Via Joe Wolfond of thescore.com:
“I told him not to take the moment for granted,” Irving said after the game. “Passing MJ in scoring, that’s an iconic moment. What he did for the culture, and honestly for the game of basketball, is nothing short of legendary. And I wanted him to enjoy it. He always shows great humility for all his accomplishments, but this one was one he really wanted. I’m glad he’s accomplished it.”
In his 35 minutes of playing time last night, James scored 35 points on 13-of-18 shooting, eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals, one block, and a plus/minus rating of +36. Through Cleveland’s first 13 games of the 2016-17 NBA Playoffs, James, now in his 14th season, has averaged 32.5 points (56.5 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from beyond the arc), eight rebounds, seven assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks.
“He’s been the driving force this whole entire playoff run, and all of us have just really helped him along the way, just being the teammates that we’re supposed to be,” Irving continued. “As much criticism as the guy takes, he just continues to perform, and continues to come back and come back, again and again and again. And that’s the echo of greatness. And when you’re around that, you have a choice: Either you can kind of sit back and just watch and observe, or you can pick your game up as well. …
“I’m just eternally grateful to have a guy like that.”
https://youtu.be/X05a27ZUAKY