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Will The Cavaliers Need Another Record Breaking Performance In Game 5?

By Tevin Williams

Jun 9, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) reacts after making a basket against the Golden State Warriors during the first half in game four of the 2017 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 9, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) reacts after making a basket against the Golden State Warriors during the first half in game four of the 2017 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Can the Cavaliers sustain this type of play in Game 5?

Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Cleveland on Friday night was a game to remember. The Cavaliers came out like a team possessed, breaking multiple records in the process. It was pandemonium in the Q.

The Cavaliers scored 49 points in the first quarter, breaking an NBA Finals record for the most points scored in any quarter. By halftime, the Cavs were leading 86-68 as everything seemed to be going well for Cleveland. The 86 points and 13 three-pointers made were the most in any half in NBA history.

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It takes a concerted effort for 48 minutes to beat the Warriors, and that is what the Cavaliers did, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

"“We have a great opportunity to give ourselves another opportunity to keep going,” James said. “This was as close to a 48-minute game as we played in the postseason. … It was big for us.”"

The Cavs should be confident going forward in this series. In Game 3, they outplayed the Warriors for 46 minutes, and this series very well could be tied at 2-2.

LeBron James had yet another record-breaking performance. He scored his 9th Finals triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists to pass Lakers great Magic Johnson on the all-time Finals triple-double list. After passing Elgin Baylor in Game 3, James passed Michael Jordan in Game 4 with his first bucket on the all-time Finals scoring list.

Do the Cleveland Cavaliers have to play this way to win the series?

Will Cleveland have to play the next three games this way to come out as NBA champions? Well, yes and no. Yes, the Cavs will need to maintain the aggression, the defensive intensity, and the blue-collar mentality that they showed in Game 4.

No, the Cavaliers don’t have to break scoring and three-point records again to win this series.

The common belief among basketball pundits is that the Cavaliers would favor a low-scoring, slug out match to win. Perhaps, the Warriors would prefer a more high scoring game.

No, for the Cavaliers to beat the Warriors, they will need to score a lot of points. The Warriors low for this series is 113 points. Although Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson scored a combined 27 points, the Warriors still managed to drop 116 points in Game 4. Even in the face of good defense, this team has too many weapons to be held in the 90’s.

The Cavaliers will need to score between 110-120 points for the rest of the series in order to win.

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If the Cavaliers can bring a similar fire to Game 5 in Golden State, “Cavs in 7” will look even more realistic.

We came back from a 3-1 deficit last year, and we can do it again this year.