NBA Finals: 5 Standout Stats from Game 6

Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) walks off the court after loosing to the Golden State Warriors in game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Moments after the final buzzer of the season sounded, LeBron James was disconsolate as he walked to the locker room for the last time in the 2014-15 NBA season. LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers had just been dismantled by the Golden State Warriors 105-97 in the NBA Finals in front of the hometown fans.

There were the several missed open shots and the abundant “un-shot” open shots due to lack of confidence from the Cavs shooters that you didn’t see from the first three series. As the game progressed, you could tell that the Cavs were missing their superstars in Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving as they simply could not manufacture shots down the stretch.

In the end, the Warriors showed their superior talent and ability as they captured their first title in 40 years. But before we leave behind the 2014-15 season, let’s check out some of the stats that spelled the difference in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

1. LeBron James: 32 Points, 18 Rebounds, 9 Assists, 2 Steals, 13-33 FGs, 4-8 FTs, 6 TOs

As badly as James has been shooting in these Finals, this game was one of his worst not just percentage-wise but in terms of his confidence in his shot. His release was off both from the field and at the line. You can tell that he just willed himself to score more by shooting more. Also, LeBron was uncharacteristically passive on many occasions from the first quarter to the fourth. Even in defeat James still attacked the record books, placing himself above and among the league’s all-time elite players.

• First player in NBA Finals to lead both teams in points, rebounds, and assists.
• First player to average at least 35 points (35.8), 10 rebounds (13.3), and 5 assists (8.8) in the Finals.
• Became the 6^th player to score 5,000 points all-time in the NBA playoffs with 5,020 points total joining Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Tim Duncan.
• Became the youngest to reach the 5,000-point playoff mark at 30 years of age.
• Passed Karl Malone for 6^th place in all-time career field goals made in the playoffs with 1,746.
• Broke his tie with Karl Malone to occupy third place in all-time career free-throws made with 1,273.
• Recorded the 2^nd highest percentage of total points made by his team in an NBA Finals series with 38.3% (215 of Cavs’ 561 points). Jordan has the highest at 38.4% (1993).

LeBron tried his best to get his teammates involved but they just weren’t making their shots. He looked like he was giving his teammates the opportunity to make some plays on their own. However, it backfired on him as the Cavs simply could not create their own shots. Other than Tristan Thompson (5-9 FGs), the rest of the Cavs only made 2 out of the 15 field goals they took on their own.

This loss brings James’ Finals record to 2-4, a number that he is not proud of and one that he looks to improve on in the next few years. Overall, LeBron played well enough to be the Finals MVP and the voting showed that four of the eleven voters wanted him to win the award even though his team lost.