Cleveland Cavaliers Handle Business, Force Game 6

The Cleveland Cavaliers won one of their biggest games  in franchise history on Monday as they defeated the Warriors 112-97 to stay alive in the NBA Finals.

What a showing by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With their backs against the proverbial wall, in a loud, tough environment in the Oracle Arena, they accepted the challenge and won. Most people had already handed the Golden State Warriors their fifth championship, but they were wrong.

In one of the best NBA Finals games in a while, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James completely took over the game. They scored 82 points combined and teamed to will the team to a win. They are the only two teammates in Finals history to score 40-plus points in the same game.

While it was an all-time great performance by Irving and James, it was an abysmal showing by Kevin Love. Coach Tyronn Lue  inserted him back into the starting lineup with Draymond Green out due to suspension.

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Lue most likely figured that Love would have an easier time scoring on the perimeter and making an impact inside, but he struggled for most of the game.

He was hounded defensively by Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut and it led to turnovers and numerous missed opportunities. He finished the game with just two points and three rebounds.

If the Cavaliers are going to win the championship, they’re are going to need their “third option” to play better.  Old man Richard Jefferson has added some much needed scoring off the bench and is even making up for the struggles of Love, but he is not being looked upon as the third scorer.

Players such as J.R. Smith, Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert also have to step up and contribute on the offensive end. It is also up to Lue to go deeper into the rotation to counter the Warriors’ matchups.

Mo Williams got a little playing time towards the end of the third quarter, but Channing Frye, who has been one of the top three-point shooters for the team, didn’t play a minute.

He’s a matchup nightmare for the Warriors just due to how he spreads out the offense and being a big that can shoot.

With the struggles of Love, I expect Lue to use Frye in Game 6 to at least keep the defense honest. He’s averaged 6.7 points per game during the playoffs, but against the Warriors only 0.5 points per game.

It’s likely hard for him to get into any kind of rhythm when he’s barely getting any minutes.

Although those are much needed adjustments, the biggest surprise of the game was the three-point percentage.

The Cavaliers shot 41.7 percent from three-point range, while the Warriors shot 33.3 percent. Irving and James went 10-of-15 combined from the perimeter alone. I guess those narratives of James not being able to shoot anymore can be put to rest.

While the “Big 2” played great, the biggest key was the Cavaliers’ team defense. They didn’t fall for the switches and they went over most of the screens instead of under them.

Some people will say it was due to the absence of Green, but it was just a great all-around defensive performance from Cleveland.

Stephen Curry had a good game, but he was only 5-of-14 from three-point range. It just proves that when you shut him down from the perimeter and he isn’t making bad shots, he’s ineffective.

Klay Thompson was the only one that was keeping the Warriors into the game, going 6-of-11 from three-point range.

This game was what most thought the series would have been once it began.

With the series heading back to Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday, the Cavaliers will have a chance to force a Game 7. They will  have to play with the same intensity and will that they did in Game 5, only with contributions from other players.

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The fans will be loud and supportive as they have been all postseason long and the Cavaliers will have a chance to make history, or at the very least, force the series back to California for a decisive seventh game.