Cavs Hold Home Court; Send Series to Game 7

For the first three games of the NBA Finals, home cookin' reigned supreme.

In fact, victory might even have been considered an understatement.

Whether it was the Warriors in Oakland or the Cavaliers in Cleveland, the host was basically an annihilator.

This all changed in Game Four, when Golden State became the first team to beat the Cavs at Quicken Loan Arena in the playoffs.

Up 3-1 and going back to home to the Oracle -- a place where the Dubs have lost only three times all year -- it was looking like the Finals were done like dinner.

Sure, Cleveland has LeBron and Kyrie Irving, but the lack of production from the remaining Cavs -- Kevin Love being case Numero Uno -- didn’t paint a hopeful picture for a comeback.

That is, until the Jagged C got a gift from the gods in the league’s suspension of Draymond Green for Game 5.

Dudes didn't waste the opportunity. LeBron, Kyrie, and their 82 combined points led their crew to a blowout Game 5 victory in front of a stunned OakTown crowd.

The script had flipped; the road team in this series had won back-to-back games.

With Green returning to the fray, fans were expecting the Warriors to continue this trend, and yet again clinch the Finals in a Game 6 finale back in Ohio.

Thing is, the Dubs were having trouble staying in one piece. Starting center Andrew Bogut was ruled out for the remainder of the proceedings with a knee injury.

Then again, the addition of Green heavily outweighed the loss of Bogut, as the ex-Spartan plays an integral role in Golden State's small-ball lineup of death.

With the best 5 dude in basketball back, how could the Warriors possibly lose?

The answer:

LeBron James.

Say what you will about James. He's a front-runner. He's a cry baby. Whatever.

Just don’t forget to call him King James.

In a win-or-go-home game, dude made sure his presence was known.

The Cavs got up early in the contest, compiling a 31-11 first-quarter lead. The Warriors were able to cut that to single digits in the fourth, but the game was nothing short of utter domination. The Cavs were able to hold home court for a 115-101 Game 6 victory.

James did his thing to the tune of a 41-point, 11-assist, and 8-rebound performance. Yet again, Irving put up solid numbers, posting 23 points of his own. Cleveland also got a major contribution out of Tristan Thompson, who had a double-double before the end of the first half.

The Dubs staged many potential comebacks during the night, but they were never able to close the gap enough to earn a real chance getting back into it.

In what was supposed to be his big return, Green scored a mere eight points, although he did grab 10 boards.

The bigger story for the Warriors was MVP Steph Curry. Dude’s 30 points were peachy-keen and all that, but dude didn't do his image any favors after fouling out in the fourth.

It's just where we are as a nation these days, with the incredibly inane everything happens for a reason being replaced by echo chambers and conspiracty theories at every turn.

So it's no surprise that even Ayesha Curry got into the act.

Yeah, right. As if the league doesn't take pains to keep its stars in a game.

Seeing as how this is the first NBA Finals to go to seven in since 2013, don’t look for Curry to receive any greater penalty than a fine.

In a series that seemed all but over a few days ago, we now have a Game 7 showdown on our hands.

• Will the Warriors be able to salvage their record-breaking season?
• Will the Cavs be able to finish off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history?
• Will somebody -- anybody -- please high-five Kevin Love?

Tune in Sun 19 Jun to find out.

In the meantime, try to contain your enthusiasm for what may be a Game 7 hype of the century.