LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are heading back to the NBA Finals.
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The Cavaliers eliminated the Toronto Raptors from the playoffs on Friday in Toronto with a lopsided 113-87 win to claim the Eastern Conference title series 4-2.
The Raptors just did not have the pieces to compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers, three-pointers killing them in the first half.
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan did their best to get Toronto back in it – particularly Lowry with 35 points. But the two of them simply could not compete with the full Cavs roster. Not enough Raptors stepped up.
Lebron James is going to his sixth straight Finals (first player to do so in 50 years) and he was brilliant in this match. He looked to attack early and had 21 in the first half – giving the Cavs an early cushion. He finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
“I don’t think last year I appreciated it enough getting back to the finals,” James said. “This year I am going to appreciate it.”
The Cavs had James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, JR Smith and Channing Frye to rely on when needed and that depth really secured it for them.
The Cavaliers were beaten by the Golden State Warriors in last year’s championship series, and it may be Golden State who they face again in this year’s series, though that remains to be seen.
The Warriors are currently down 2-3 in the Western Confernce finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but have the chance to level that record and force a deciding seventh game when they take on the Thunder tomorrow at 11am AEST.
Australian point guard Dellavedova emerged as a cult hero in last year’s finals, stepping up to be James’ sidekick before losing the title to the Warriors, which feature Melbourne-born centre Andrew Bogut.
It will be the fourth straight year Australians will be part of the Finals with Patty Mills and Aron Baynes winning the championship in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs and losing to the Miami Heat in 2013.
If the Thunder beat the Warriors and make the finals it will become an Australasian battle between Dellavedova and the Thunder’s New Zealand centre Steven Adams.
Dellavedova played just eight minutes against Toronto, with Cavaliers’ coach Tyronn Lue rarely resting starting point guard Kyrie Irving who played 40 minutes and James who was on the court for a marathon 41 minutes.
Final score
Toronto Raptors 87
Cleveland Cavaliers 113
With AAP.
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