STILL ahead 3-1 in the National Basketball Association Finals against the reigning league kingpin Cleveland Cavaliers despite the Game 4 debacle, the Golden State Warriors look to capture their second championship in three years when they host Game 5 of their best-of-seven titular showdown today, June 13 (Manila time, 9:00 a.m.), before a friendly crowd at the Oracle Arena.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, face another elimination game, seeking a second straight victory in the series that will slice the Warriors’ lead to 3-2 and send the series back to Cleveland for Game 6, if ever on Friday, June 16 (MT, 9:00 a.m.).
Cleveland stayed alive with a stunning 137-116 thumping of Golden State in Game 4 at the Quicken Loans Arena behind a Finals single-game record of 24 three-pointers (out of 45 attempts) among seven men, a 40-point explosion by cat-quick guard Kyrie Irving, a second triple-double performance in the series from The King LeBron James (31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists), and an efficient shooting for a second straight game by rejuvenated J.R. Smith (back-to-back 16 and 15 scores on a combined 10-of-19 clip from beyond the arc).
After four Finals games, Kevin Durant leads the way for Golden State with a 34.3-point average on .523 (46-of-88) shooting along with 8.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.00 blocks and 1.0 steal every time out. Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry owns norms of 25 ppg (30-71 FGA, .423), 8.5 rpg and 9.3 apg while his Splash Brothers mate Klay Thompson is averaging 17.8 ppg (26-57 FGA, .456), 4.8 rpg and 2.3 apg. Draymond Green is contributing 11.3 points (16-45 FGA, .356), 9.8 boards and 4.5 dimes an outing.
For Cleveland, James continues to average a triple-double with 31.8 points (47-87 FGA, .540), 11.8 rebounds and 10.5 assists. Irving is right behind James in point production at 30.3 ppg (49-101 FGA, .485) along with 4.5 reebies and 4.0 assists. The third wheel in the Cavs’ three-ringed circus Kevin Love owns averages of 18.5 ppg (24-59 FGA, .407), 11.5 rpg and 2.50 steals a game.
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In past National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant massively punctured the hoops during their glorious Los Angeles Lakers days, and do-everything strongman LeBron James put together dominant performances with the Miami Heat and now with the league titlist Cleveland Cavaliers.
For all their scoring feats, no single player has come close to the offensive wizardry of the legendary Michael Jordan during his prime and in the biggest stage.
Until now, Jordan holds the all-time NBA record for the highest scoring average in a single NBA Finals series.
His Airness gained the distinction after he averaged 41 points per game (on .508 field shooting) for the Chicago Bulls in their 4-2 victory over the Phoenix Suns during the 1993 title playoffs.
Additionally, Jordan collected 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.7 steals every time out as he romped away with his third straight Finals Most Valuable Player hardware (known as the Bill Russell Trophy since 2009).
It was the first of two “three-peats” in his collection of an NBA-record six Finals MVP trophies during a storied NBA career (having also won the award in 1996, 1997 and 1998 with the Bulls).
Jordan’s record-setting offensive explosion came in the year that he was beaten by his close friend, Charles Barkley of the Suns, in the league’s regular-season MVP derby. The humbling experience served as the 6-foot-6 guard’s motivation.
In addition to Jordan, who’s now the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets (formerly Bobcats), two other Hall of Famers averaged at least 40 points during an NBA Finals. They are Rick Barry and Elgin Baylor.
A prolific scorer for the San Francisco (now Golden State) Warriors whose trademark was his unorthodox underhanded free throw stance, Barry chalked up 40.8 ppg during the 1967 Finals. The 6-foot-7 forward’s efforts, however, went for naught as mammoth center Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers crushed the Warriors in six games.
Los Angeles Lakers frontliner Elgin Baylor’s 40.6-point norm during the seven-game 1962 NBA Finals likewise was put to waste as Bill Russell, the winningest player in league annals with 11 title rings, and the Boston Celtics came through with a 4-3 win. During the epic series, Baylor also registered the highest individual score for a championship-series contest when he drilled in 61 points during the Lakers’ 126-121 Game Five triumph at the now-demolished Boston Garden on April 14, 1962 that temporarily gave LA a 3-2 lead.
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Did you know that seven of the last eight NBA regular-season Most Valuable Player awardees are seeing action in the 2017 Finals between Golden State and Cleveland? There’s the Cavs’ LeBron James, four (2009 and 2010 in his first tour of duty with Cleveland and 2012 and 2013 with Miami) and the Warriors’ Kevin Durant (2014 with Oklahoma City) and Stephen Curry (2015 and 2016 with Golden State).
The one out of the Finals party: New York’s Derrick Rose (2011 with Chicago, the youngest MVP in NBA history).