CLEVELAND: J.R. Smith lofted the pass toward the sky and LeBron James soared through five decades of rot and rust to catch it.
When he landed, when the crowd roared and James swung from the rim like a pendulum, the Cavaliers’ lead was 19 and this series was headed to the Bay Area for the most delicious event in all of sports: Game 7.
Fifty-two years of misery are four quarters from distant memory. The Cavs beat the Golden State Warriors on Thursday 115-101 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, evening the series at 3-3 and handing the Warriors consecutive losses for just the second time this season.
No NBA team has ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a championship. The Warriors haven’t lost three consecutive games in more than three years. None of that matters anymore. LeBron James is big-game hunting. The championship is four quarters away.
James was magnificent again with 41 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. He scored or assisted on 27 consecutive points in the second half, including scoring 18 straight. He is at his best when his team is facing elimination, and he dazzled again Thursday.
“I wish that every game was an elimination game,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. He has his wish.
Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 15 points and 16 rebounds and J.R. Smith scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers.
The Cavs have rattled the Warriors like few others can. If they doubted themselves after falling behind 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, they’re surely wondering a bit again.
Steph Curry shot the Warriors within striking distance twice Thursday night, but he fouled out of his first game this season and was so disgusted he fired his mouthpiece at a fan and was ejected.
A 3-pointer by James pushed the Cavs’ lead to 80-61 with 3:19 left in the third, but the Warriors scored the final 10 points to pull within 80-71 entering the fourth. The Warriors cut a 21-point lead to eight in the second quarter and James pulled them through. The Warriors got as close as seven in the fourth, but the Cavs withstood every punch.
Curry scored 30 points, including six 3-pointers. He was 5-of-10 from the 3-point line at one point in the third quarter, while his teammates were 2-of-18. Curry picked up his fifth foul with 9:48 left but stayed on the floor since the Warriors trailed by 11. He fouled out with 4:22 left as the arena erupted.
Curry shot the Warriors back into the game in the second quarter, cutting a 19-point deficit to 46-38 in less than six minutes. Little-used Dahntay Jones played a critical role in pumping the lead back to 59-43 at the half.
Jones, who was signed on the last day of the regular season and only appeared in garbage time in the playoffs, entered with 2:18 left in the half. He drew two fouls on Draymond Green (his second and third of the game) and scored five points (including an and-1) in less than 90 seconds.
The Warriors’ woeful start left them in a 31-11 hole at the end of the first quarter, the lowest first-quarter total by any team in the NBA Finals in the shot clock era. They didn’t score their first points until 5:06 into the game and their five baskets for the quarter were just one more than James scored by himself.
A series that looked all but over a week ago is very much alive today. The Cavs are headed back to Oracle Arena.
“It’s going to be the hardest thing we’ve ever done in our lives,” Irving said after the game.
He might be right. A championship awaits.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs.