And you know it in your bones[2].
In a city
that’s not Cleveland, for a fan base that’s not us, one might appraise the Cavaliers’
108-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals and move
on, seeking some comforting perspective.
It’s still only Game 1, after all.
The best anyone could have hoped or was to get a split in those first two away
games. Which is still possible![3]
Hey, the last time things looked
this grim was less than a month ago, when Derrick Rose hit an accidental
bank-shot three-pointer buzzer-beater and the Bulls went up 2-1 on the Cavs and
the season looked downright over. But
was it? No! Everything worked out great! Not only wasn’t it over, the Cavs
never lost again to the Bulls, winning three straight and breaking their spirit,
or to the Atlanta Hawks in the next round either, winning four straight and
breaking their spirit, too.
For two different and increasingly
thrilling moments last night, that winning streak couldn’t have come any closer
than it did to stretching to a full month. Couldn’t have more exhilaratingly
teed Cleveland up for its first championship in 51 years[4].
With the score tied at 98, seconds
left in the game, LeBron James drives to the hoop, shoots a contested jumper
that seems utterly fits the improbable miracle of his Coming Home season.
And misses.
But wait!
Somehow, the ball finds its way
into the corner, where a wide-open Iman Shumpert heaves a three that everybody watching is absolutely sure is
good.
Somehow, it bounces out.
Somehow, before you can catch your
breath, in an overtime that feels like it never should have been played, the
Warriors are blowing Cleveland out and Kyrie Irving is suffering a season-ending[5]
injury and the Cavs score zero, zip, nothing until LeBron glides in at the end
of the game for an uncontested layup — one as pointless as, somehow, this whole
series suddenly feels. // Mark Winegardner
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