NBA Finals Game 7: LeBron James leads Cavaliers to Cleveland’s first pro sports title since 1964

We’re not supposed to give reviews of sporting events. We leave that for our pals who write about restaurants and movies and television shows. We’re supposed to tell you who won and analyze why. But I’m convinced that the Warriors-Cavaliers NBA Finals was not a basketball series, but a movie, so allow me to give my review.

I realized this as I was watching LeBron James writhe on the ground in pain with under 30 seconds to go in Game 7. It was perhaps the most suspenseful, gripping scene I’ve seen in quite some time.

That performance followed up amazing outbursts in Games 5 and 6, when James went off for 82 points, 24 rebounds and 18 assists. If there was a question of who was the best player on the planet before this series started, James put an end to that conversation.

Now, he’s a three-time Finals MVP.

That did it. That one free throw is all the Cavaliers needed, and just like that, James won the third championship of his career. What a wait for Cleveland, and a Game 7 overall.

The score was tied at 89. The Golden State Warriors were just about to gain the lead with only a minute left in the game. But what’s that next to Andre Iguodala? LEBRON OUTTA NOWHERE!

LeBron will block everyone until the end of time and it will be glorious.

Stephen Curry had a relatively quiet first half of Game 7 ... and then he showed up all at once. First he single-handedly broke up one of the scariest 3-on-1 fast breaks in basketball and ran it the other way for a lay-in:

The box score called that a blocked shot, but I think Steph remembered J.R. Smith’s Game 6 alley-oop and read the duplicate attempt perfectly:

Harrison Barnes must have heard the same speech that the rest of the Warriors did during halftime of Game 6. Reeling from the Cavaliers’ first half blitz, Golden State trailed by 16 points, but the Warriors knew better than anyone they’re always a couple open shots away from getting back into a game.

The third quarter started. Andre Iguodala, doubled rolling to the rim, swung a pass to a wide-open Barnes on the left side. It was the open shot they needed, but the ball clanged off the iron, long and right. Klay Thompson, pressured on the very next possession, swung the ball around the line to Barnes again in the corner. The shot was off again, catching rim and caroming away.

Golden State is a 5-point home favorite in Game 7 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The spread hasn’t been a factor in the NBA Finals this season with all six games in this series being decided by 11 points or more.

Draymond Green’s return did little to slow down Cleveland’s suddenly red-hot offense as the Warriors allowed 115 points in a 115-101 loss as 2-point road underdogs in Game 6.