Kyrie Irving stole a Championship away from the Warriors team that had the best-ever regular-season record in the NBA.
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The 2016 NBA Finals will perhaps be one of the best Finals of all time. A 73-9 Golden State Warriors that had the new NBA record for most wins in a season had the Cleveland Cavaliers down 3-1 in the series.
After a 15 point Game 1 loss in which Kyrie Irving had the game-high score of 26-points, the Cavaliers lost Game 2 by Thirty-Three points. It looked like the Warriors would run away with the Larry O’Brien and there wouldn’t any resistance from LeBron James’ side to stop them.
But the series was still anything but done. Cavs had made a statement after winning Game 3 by 30-points themselves, but they then lost the very next game, again by a double-digit margin (11 pts).
Suddenly, the road to glory became even narrower. Nobody in the NBA’s history had come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals. But that was about to change. Many credits to a 23-year-old Kyrie Irving.
Kyrie Irving turned into the best point guard on the planet in the 2016 Finals
Uncle Drew suddenly decided to become the best point guard. Not just the best dribbler that he is still considered to be, but the best scoring point guard on the planet. He would go on to make life difficult for Stephen Curry and Co in the next 3-games of the series.
— Ball Don’t Stop (@balldontstop) February 26, 2022
In Game 5, Irving put on a show along with James, both of whom scored 41 each to win the match 112-97 in Oracle Arena to suck out momentum completely of the Dubs and went back to Cleveland down only 3-2.
In Game 6, James again erupted for 41 points again while Irving chipped in 23 points which set the stage for a thrilling final game. Arguably the greatest Game 7 of all time.
That game unlike any greatest match lived up to all the hype and was not a blow-away win for any team. In a low-scoring game during the closing minutes, when both teams were finding it tough to get the scoreboard moving, Kai had the game in his hands with the score tied at 87.
A step-back three on Curry sealed the deal in the clutch for the Cavs and Irving finished the game with 26 points on 10-of-23 shooting. He led the Cavaliers in field goals made, had the second-best score behind the King (27) and second-best plus-minus (10) behind Kevin Love.
The man shot 40.5% from downtown, 93.9% from the free-throw line, and 46.8% from the field to put on one of the best and most efficient performances by a guard in the Finals.
