Together, James and Irving scored 82 of the Cavaliers' 112 points. He either scored or assisted on nine of Cleveland's 11 field goals in the period as the Cavaliers opened up a nine-point lead heading to the fourth. But the third quarter was James' masterpiece. James matched him point for point in his third-best Finals game ever, marking the first time a pair of teammates topped 40 points in a Finals game.īefore deferring to Irving down the stretch, James scored at least 10 points in each of the first three quarters, racking up 25 by halftime. Irving didn't do it alone back in Game 5 of the 2016 Finals. Stats: 41 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks Small forward: LeBron James | 2016 Cavaliers vs. Although the Heat's run came to an end with a Game 6 loss, Butler's performance is worth celebrating. ![]() Butler went a perfect 12-for-12 from the foul line and came up with a game-high five steals, matching his career high in the playoffs. He played more than 47 minutes while recording his second 30-point triple-double of the series. "I left it all out there on the court," Butler said postgame.īutler's tank was empty. Stats: 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 stealsīutler's Game 5 performance in the 2020 Finals gave birth to a meme: an exhausted Butler catching his breath on the scorers table before heading to the line for the go-ahead free throws with 46.7 seconds remaining.īutler gave Miami the lead at the line with 16.0 seconds left before Danny Green missed the potential winner on the Lakers' final full possession. Shooting guard: Jimmy Butler | 2020 Heat vs. "It's probably one of the greatest performances I've ever seen live," James said postgame. Irving's 81% effective field goal percentage, accounting for the additional value of his five 3s, also remains his second-best playoff performance in a game with more than two shot attempts. In the second half alone, Irving scored 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting as Cleveland turned a halftime tie into a 112-97 win to extend the series.įor the game, Irving's 41 points were a postseason career high, topped only once (Irving scored 42 against Boston in the 2017 conference finals). Golden State was without defensive stalwart Draymond Green, who was suspended for flagrant foul point accumulation in the playoffs, and then lost center Andrew Bogut to injury at the start of the second half. My ESPN colleague Dave McMenamin reported that James told Irving before the game, "Be special." He was just that. The Cavaliers, and in particular their star duo of Irving and LeBron James, had other ideas. After taking Game 4 in Cleveland, the Warriors were one win away from capping their record-setting 73-win season with a title. WarriorsĪ coronation awaited Golden State with a win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Point guard: Kyrie Irving | 2016 Cavaliers vs. The all-time great Game 5s feature Kyrie Irving kickstarting a historic comeback from a 3-1 Finals deficit, one of Michael Jordan's signature games and the highest-scoring performance in Finals history. There's no specific formula for what constitutes Finals greatness, though I will be leaning on the game score metric developed by John Hollinger for games for which it's available from since player turnovers were first tracked in the 1977-78 season. We'll be doing so on a game-by-game basis throughout the 2022 Finals, choosing a six-player team - all five positions plus a sixth man - from each game during the series (Game 1s, Game 2s and so on). And as the NBA concludes its 75th anniversary season, it's an ideal time to look back on the best individual efforts we've ever seen in the league's championship round. ![]() Players from the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors will try to add their names to the list of great performances in NBA Finals history. NBA, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks ![]() NBA Finals 2022: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Michael Jordan's flu game headline the Finals' All-Game 5 team You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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