Monday, June 04, 2007 Air-apparent James, 22, brings Cavs to first NBA finals
CLEVELAND—For the first time, the Cleveland Cavaliers are Eastern Conference champions—and on their way to the NBA finals.
Lugging an entire region’s hopes with him on every trip to the basket, LeBron James had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and unflappable rookie Daniel Gibson added 31 points—19 in the fourth quarter—to give the Cavaliers a 98-82 victory in Game 6 against the Detroit Pistons.
Cleveland, a city that hasn’t celebrated a world championship since 1964, has the next closest thing. And now the Cavs, who won just 17 games the year before James arrived from just down the Interstate in Akron, will meet the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the finals on Thursday night.
James, who scored 48 points in Cleveland’s double-overtime win in Game 5, didn’t have to carry the Cavs by himself.
Gibson gave him all the help he needed. The slender second-round pick from Texas, who didn’t become a major contributor until March, outshone his superstar teammate. Gibson made three 3-pointers in the first 2:16 of the fourth and drilled another long-range jumper with 6:52 left, setting off a celebration in Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavaliers are only the third team to come back from an 0-2 deficit in a conference finals, joining the 1971 Baltimore Bullets and 1993 Chicago Bulls.
The season couldn’t have ended worse for the top-seeded Pistons, making their fifth straight appearance in the conference finals.
Rasheed Wallace fouled out and then got thrown out after being slapped with two technicals by referee Eddie Rush with 7:44 to play. Rip Hamilton, too, fouled out after scoring 29 points.
The loss could signal an end of an era for the Pistons, with Chauncey Billups (9 points) and Chris Webber (13) both bound for free agency.
As the final seconds ticked away, James flung the ball into the crowd and jumped into the arms of center Zydrunas Ilgauskas as the Q quaked. The moment had to be particularly sweet for Ilgauskas, the club’s 7-foot-3 center who was drafted by the franchise in 1996 and spent two seasons on the sideline with major foot injuries.
Not over
With wine-and-gold confetti falling from the rafters, James walked to midcourt to thank Cleveland fans, some of whom were wiping away tears at finally seeing a Cleveland team win something significant.
“This is the best thing that ever happened to me, man,” James said, addressing the 20,562 delirious fans. “But look here, look here. It doesn’t stop.”
Moments later, James was handed the Eastern Conference trophy by Hall of Famer Bill Russell, who had advice for the 22-year-old.
“You are representing the Eastern Conference,” the Boston Celtics great said. “Make me proud.”
Gibson, the hero of Game 4 when he scored a season-high 21, drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first 1:14 of the fourth quarter, giving the Cavs a 73-67 lead and forcing the Pistons to call time. (AP)
