Cleveland Cavaliers beat Toronto Raptors to reach NBA finals
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James celebrates after Game 6 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals against the Toronto Raptors, Friday, May 27, 2016, in Toronto. The Cavaliers won 113-87 and advanced to the NBA Finals. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
NEW YORK—LeBron James scored 33 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers booked their place in the NBA finals with a 113-87 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
James contributed six assists and 11 rebounds as the Cavs completed a 4-2 series victory to advance to the finals for a second year running.
The Cavaliers will face either the Golden State Warriors or the Oklahoma City Thunder in next week’s finals. Oklahoma City currently lead the Western Conference series 3-2 ahead of Game Six on Saturday.
James will be playing in the NBA finals for the sixth straight year. The Cleveland star reached the finals for four years in a row with the Miami Heat before returning to Cleveland in 2014.
READ: Experience, LeBron make Cavs huge favorites over Raptors
The Cavaliers had taken a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series against Toronto before being jolted by back-to-back defeats as the Raptors leveled at 2-2.
But Cleveland reasserted their superiority on Wednesday to regain the initiative with a win in Game Five before ramming home their advantage to silence the home crowd in Toronto on Friday.
READ: NBA: Cavaliers bounce back at home to rout Raptors
It was James’s first 30-point game of the 2015 postseason, with the Cavaliers also benefiting from big contributions from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Irving finished with 30 points with Love adding 20 as well as 12 rebounds and four assists.
Toronto meanwhile brought the curtain down on their first ever appearance in the Eastern Conference finals with a 35-point display from Kyle Lowry, while DeMar DeRozan added 20 points.
