TORONTO — For LeBron James, it’s six straight trips to the NBA Finals. Maybe this one will end Cleveland’s long wait for a championship.
James scored 33 points, Kevin Love had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the Cavaliers advanced to their second straight finals by beating the Raptors 113-87 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday night.
The Cavs will be seeking to end Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought, the longest by any city with at least three professional teams. No Cleveland team has won it all since the Browns blanked the Baltimore Colts 27-0 to win the NFL championship in 1964.
James, who grew up in nearby Akron, is well aware of what a championship would mean to Cleveland.
“I know our city deserves it, our fans deserve it,” James said. “But that gives us no sense of entitlement. We’ve still got to go out and get it. We’ve still got to go out and prove ourselves.”
Kyrie Irving had 30 points and J.R. Smith added 15 for the Cavaliers, who will face the winner of the Golden State-Oklahoma City series on Thursday.
Cleveland would open at home against the Thunder, but would be on the road against the 73-win Warriors, who trail 3-2 against Oklahoma City heading into Saturday’s Game 6.
“We’re still not satisfied at all,” Irving said. “There’s still a goal at hand that we have to accomplish and I know these guys are going to be ready for it.”
It’s the third finals appearance in team history for the Cavaliers. Cleveland lost to the Warriors in six games last year and got swept by the Spurs in 2007.
James broke the 30-point barrier for the first time this postseason and finished with 11 rebounds and six assists.
“We needed LeBron to set the tone for us early and I thought he did that,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said.
James played in four straight finals with Miami before returning to Cleveland. He will be the eighth player in NBA history to appear in six consecutive finals and the first who didn’t play for the Celtics.
“He’s just a great player,” Lue said. “He’s a proven winner. He’s always won over the course of his career. To go to six straight finals is unbelievable.”
James got there by taking down a Toronto team that set a franchise record with 56 wins and reached the conference finals for the first time in 21 seasons.
After a second-quarter dunk, James shared some verbal barbs with rapper Drake, the Raptors’ global ambassador and the man who popularized the nickname ‘6ix’ for Toronto.
Kyle Lowry scored 35 points and DeMar DeRozan had 20 as the deepest playoff run in Raptors team history ended, much to the disappointment of a sellout crowd of 20,605 dressed in red and white T-shirts that formed a maple leaf pattern on either side of the court. Fans stood and cheered “Let’s go, Raptors! Let’s go, Raptors!” throughout most of the final three minutes.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey said reaching the conference finals was “a tremendous learning experience” for his young team, one that’s “a step ahead” in its process of becoming a championship contender.
“We’re learning,” Casey said. “We’re not where [the Cavaliers] are right now. We’re going to be.”
A dejected Lowry said it was hard to see the positive side of Toronto’s best season ever.
“Of course you’re going to look back at some point but right now I’m disappointed,” he said. “Simple as that, I’m disappointed.”