Finals postgame notes: Cavs make history

The following are postgame notes from the NBA following the Cavaliers' 93-89 win over the Warriors in Game 7 of the Finals. Amico Hoops did not edit nor re-write any portion of the press release.

Cavaliers 93, Warriors 89 (Cavs win series, 4-3)
Sunday night, June 19, 2016

THE BEST LOCATION IN THE NATION … AND THE NBA: Behind one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Playoff history, the Cleveland Cavaliers climaxed a 46-year odyssey that began with an ignominious 15-67 mark in 1970-71 by winning their first NBA World Championship with a 93-89 victory over the 73-win Golden State Warriors in Game Seven of The 2016 NBA Finals.

SPIRIT OF ’64. . .18,802 DAYS LATER: Cavaliers won their first NBA title in their third trip to The Finals (second straight). . .They won Eastern Conference crowns in 2007 and 2015, only to lose in The Finals to San Antonio (in 2007) and Golden State (in 2015). . .They delivered the first overall major league sports championship to the city of Cleveland since the Browns won the NFL Championship in 1964, beating the Baltimore Colts in the title game, 27-0, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on Dec. 27, 1964. . . In baseball, the Cleveland Indians won their last World Series in 1948 (beating the Boston Braves), although they have since won American League titles in 1954, 1995 and 1997. . .In basketball, the Cleveland Pipers (owned by George Steinbrenner and coached by Hall of Famers John McLendon and Bill Sharman) won the only championship of the short-lived American Basketball League in 1961-62.

FROM 3-1 DOWN: Cleveland made NBA history by becoming the first team ever to rebound from a 1-3 deficit to win The NBA Finals. . .This year marked the 33rd time that a team had fallen behind three-games-to-one in The Finals, and in each of the 32 prior instances, the team facing the 1-3 deficit had lost The Finals. . . In overall NBA Playoff history, the Cavs became the 11th team to rebound from a 1-3 deficit to win a seven-game series, and the second this year (also Golden State in the Western Conference Finals against Oklahoma City). This year marked the first time in NBA Playoff history that two teams came back from 1-3 deficits to win a seven-game series in the same season. . .Cavs also became just the third team in NBA Finals history to force a Finals Game Seven after trailing three games to one. They joined the 1951 New York Knicks (vs. Rochester) and the 1966 Los Angeles Lakers (vs. Boston), both of whom lost Game Seven.

M-V-P: Cleveland’s LeBron James was voted the unanimous winner of the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. . .LeBron won his third career Finals MVP award, as he also took the honor in 2012 and 2013 in leading the Miami Heat to NBA titles in both seasons. . . LBJ averaged 29.7 ppg, 11.3 rpg and 8.9 apg in this year’s Finals. . .With his third Finals MVP award, LeBron joins the select company of Michael Jordan (six), Shaquille O’Neal (three), Tim Duncan (three) and Magic Johnson (three) as the only players in NBA history who have won at least three Finals MVP awards.

THE TRIPLE: LeBron James (27 pts, 11 reb, 11 ast) recorded the third triple-double in a Finals Game Seven, joining Lakers’ James Worthy in 1988 vs. Detroit (36 pts, 16 reb, 10 ast) and Lakers’ Jerry West in 1969 vs. Boston (42 pts, 13 reb, 12 ast). . .LBJ recorded his 16th career Playoff triple-double, his second this year (also Game Two of East Finals vs. Toronto; 23-11-11, May 19) and his seventh in the NBA Finals, one shy of all-time Finals leader Magic Johnson (8).

ROOKIE AT THE HELM: Tyronn Lue, who was named head coach on January 22 and guided the Cavaliers to a 27-14 (.659) mark en route to the team’s second straight Central Division title, became the seventh head coach to lead his team to a championship in his first year as an NBA head coach, joining Steve Kerr (2015 Warriors), Pat Riley (1982 Lakers), Paul Westhead (1980 Lakers), George Senesky (1956 Warriors), John Kundla (1949 Lakers) and Eddie Gottlieb (1947 Warriors). . . Kundla (who celebrates his 100th birthday on July 3) coached the Lakers in the old National League (winning the 1948 league title); and Gottlieb had an extensive career as a coach and executive in Philadelphia prior to the formation of the NBA. . .This year marked the second straight year in which a rookie coach won the League title (Kerr last year). . .As a player, Lue was a member of two Los Angeles Lakers championship teams, in 2000 (not on post-season roster) and 2001.

RINGMASTERS: Finals MVP LeBron James and James Jones each won their third NBA Championship rings, to go along with the back-to-back titles they won as teammates with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013. . .Each of the other 13 players on Cleveland’s roster won their first NBA titles. . .As a player, head coach Tyronn Lue won two championship rings with the Lakers, in 2000 (not on postseason roster) and 2001. . .Assistant coach James Posey won NBA titles as a player with Miami (2006) and Boston (2008).

THE LEGACY OF GAME SEVEN: Cavs’ series-clinching win came in the 19th Game Seven in NBA Finals history, the first since 2013 (Miami over San Antonio) and the fourth since 2005. . .Cleveland’s stunning win tonight is just the fourth Game Seven road win in NBA Finals history, and the first since Washington won at Seattle in Game Seven in 1978. . .The list of all-time Finals Game Sevens:

DUB NATION: Warriors fell one game short in their quest to repeat as NBA Champions. . .Warriors recorded the winningest regular season in NBA history (73-9), breaking the mark of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (72-10) and earning 2015-16 NBA Coach of the Year honors for Steve Kerr. . .Their 88 overall wins (73+15 in Playoffs) broke the NBA mark of 87 by the 1995-96 Bulls (72+15). . .Back-to-back Kia NBA MVP Stephen Curry led the league in scoring (30.1 ppg). . .Warriors set an all-time NBA record with 1,077 3PT FGM, while Curry set an individual League mark with 402 three-pointers. . Tonight’s Game Seven was the 189th consecutive home sellout at Oracle Arena. . . Warriors’ three losses to end The Finals marked their first three-game losing streak (regular season or Playoffs) since November 20-23, 2013, when they lost three in a row (Memphis/at Lakers/Portland).

LBJ AMONG THE ALL-TIMERS: Averaging 29.7 ppg in The Finals, Cavs’ LeBron James continued to climb among the greatest of the great in NBA Playoff history. . .At the conclusion of the 2016 Finals, he ranked fifth all time Playoff ppg (5,572 points, 199 games, 28.0 ppg, based on 25 games or 625 points), ninth in all-time Playoff games (199), fifth in Playoff 3PT FGM (287), ninth in all-time Playoff rebounds (1,758), third in all-time Playoff assists (1,348) and fourth in all-time Playoff total points (5,572). . .On the all-time career Finals lists, LeBron ranks first in 3PT FGM (68), 15th in games (40), fifth in assists (289), ninth in rebounds (396), seventh in points (1,079) and seventh in points per game (40 games, 1,079 points, 27.0 ppg). . .and in this year’s Finals, LeBron became the all-time NBA Playoff career leader in 20+ point games (176), passing Michael Jordan (173); thanks, Elias.

LBJ IN G7: LeBron James recorded his 16th career Playoff triple-double (27-11-11), and is now averaging 33.2 ppg in six career Game Sevens in the NBA Playoffs (4-2). . .The rundown of LeBron’s career Game Sevens:

2006 East Semis -- Cleveland at Detroit (L, 61-79): 27 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast; 11-24 FGA
2008 East Semis -– Cleveland at Boston (L, 92-97): 45 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast; 14-29 FGA
2012 East Finals --- Miami vs. Boston (W, 101-88): 31 pts, 12 reb, 2 ast; 9-21 FGA
2013 East Finals --- Miami vs. Indiana (W, 99-76): 32 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast; 8-17 FGA
2013 NBA Finals --- Miami vs. San Antonio (W, 95-88): 37 pts, 12 reb, 4 ast; 12-23 FGA
2016 NBA Finals --- Cleveland vs. Golden State (W, 93-89): 27 pts, 11 reb, 11 ast; 9-24 FGA

FESTUS FOR THE REST OF US: Warriors’ Festus Ezeli (0 pts, 0-4 FGA, 11 mins) made his first start of the 2016 Playoffs in tonight’s Game Seven. . .Ezeli made 13 starts during the regular season, including 10 straight from October 30-November 12. . .Warriors were 13-0 in Ezeli’s starts during the 2015-16 regular season. . .

GREEN DAY: Draymond Green scored a game-high 32 points, his second 30+ scoring game of the 2016 Playoffs (had a career Playoff high 37 vs. Portland in Game Three of this year’s West Semis, May 7). . .He fell one assist shy of his third career Playoff triple-double. . .

RECORD WATCH: Warriors’ Stephen Curry notched 32 3PT FGM in The Finals, a record for a Finals of any length and tying his own overall NBA Playoff series record (32 3PT FGM in the seven-game Western Conference Finals vs. Oklahoma City). . ..Curry’s 80 3PT FGA in The Finals were not only a record for a Finals of any length, but also an overall Playoff series mark (breaking his own mark of 77 3PT FGA in the seven-game Western Conference Finals vs. Oklahoma City).

Warriors’ 94 3PT FGM were a record for a Finals of any length and also a record for an overall NBA Playoff series (prior mark was 90 by Warriors in seven-game West Finals vs. OKC). . .Warriors’ 252 3PT FGA were a record for a Finals of any length and also a record for an overall NBA Playoff series (prior mark was 230 by Atlanta vs. Indiana in the seven-game First Round in 2014). . .Cavs’ 225 defensive rebounds were a record for a seven-game Finals (old mark was 223 by Seattle vs. Washington in 1978). . .Cavs’ 65 steals tied the mark for a seven-game Finals (also by Boston vs. Lakers in 1984). . .

For the third straight game, the two teams combined for 66 3PT FGA (Golden State 41, Cleveland 25), a single-game Finals mark. . .Warriors’ 15 3PT FGM fell two shy of their Finals record of 17 set in Game Four. . .As a frame of reference, Golden State recorded 21 3PT FGM twice in the post-season (Game Four of First Round vs. Houston; Game Six of West Finals vs. Oklahoma City). . .Cleveland recorded three games of 20+ 3PT FGM in this year’s Playoffs (including all-time Playoff record 25 3PT FGM in Game Two of East Semis vs. Atlanta, May 4).