Escorted by family members and friends, LeBron James walked out of Quicken Loans Arena cradling his sleepy youngest son with his left arm.
It was time for one James to go to bed, the other to get some much-needed rest.
The NBA Finals lie ahead.
Taking his magnificent game to a higher level, James sent the Cavaliers into the Finals for the second time in franchise history on Tuesday night with a 118-88 romp over the Atlanta Hawks, who couldn’t stop the four-time league MVP and were swept in four straight.
Driven by the chance to end the city’s half-century-old championship drought, James was brilliant from start to finish. He averaged 30.3 points, 11 rebounds and 9.3 assists, the first player in post-season history to put up that statistical line. He’s never been better in the play-offs.
The Cavs don’t have a Finals opponent yet as Golden State and Houston still have to settle things out West. But in the East, one team stand above all the others – the one with James, who will appear in his fifth consecutive Finals after going four times in a row with Miami.
He came back to Ohio to win a title for his home region, where second place has been as good as it gets since the Browns ruled the NFL in 1964. There has been heartbreak in the years since as baseball’s Indians lost two World Series, the Browns were denied in three AFC championship games by Denver’s John Elway and the Cavs were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007.
With four wins, James can change that.
“We all know how long it’s been since a champion has been in this city,” he said. “We will give our best shot.”
In the delirious moments after Game 4, James stood at mid-court as adoring Cleveland fans chanted: “N-B-A Finals (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap).” He pulled a conference championship T-shirt over his head and put on a cap before turning to teammate JR Smith with a simple message.
“Four more,” he said.
The Finals don’t start until June 4, giving the Cavaliers nearly eight full days to get healthy – or as close to healthy as possible.
James has been battling an assortment of injuries and Kyrie Irving returned to the line-up after missing Games 2 and 3 with knee tendinitis. The break will also give the Cavs a chance to recharge mentally for their toughest challenge yet.
Irving has battled knee soreness and a sprained right foot throughout the play-offs. The all-star scored 16 and had five assists in 22 minutes in Game 4. There’s a good chance Irving won’t be fully healed until after the season, so he might be more a role player in the Finals.
Sitting again wasn’t an option.
“I knew that I wasn’t gonna sit on the bench and watch our guys go through a close-out game,” he said. “I just wanted to be out there so bad. These last four days have been kind of hell for me. Just icing, icing, icing.”
Backup Matthew Dellavedova stepped up against Atlanta, pestering the Hawks with his belly-to-belly defence and knocking down big shots. Besides Dellavedova, the Cavs have gotten major contributions from several role players. Tristan Thompson has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in seven of his nine starts; Smith made eight three-pointers in Game 1 and four in Game 4 with 10 rebounds; Timofey Mozgov had 14 points; and Iman Shumpert is the team’s best perimeter defender.
The Cavs have become selfless.
“That’s what trying to accomplish a dream is all about,” James said.
*Associated Press
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