Cleveland Cavaliers are heading
back to the NBA Finals.
A
year after their chase for a championship was derailed by
season-ending injuries to All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, the
Cavaliers are hungry for the title they feel cruelly eluded them.
They
crushed the Toronto Raptors 113-87 in Toronto on Friday to clinch the
Eastern Conference title series 4-2.
James
was on a mission to extinguish the Raptors with 33 points, 11
rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.
"I
don't think last year I appreciated it enough getting back to the
finals," James, who has been to six straight finals series with
two different teams, said.
"This
year I am going to appreciate it."
The
Cavaliers will play the winner of the Western Conference Finals
between the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma
City Thunder.
The
Thunder lead the series 3-2 and can eliminate the Warriors on
Saturday with a win in game six in front of their wild Oklahoma City
home crowd.
If
the Warriors win, the series will be decided on Monday in Oakland.
Australian
point guard Dellavedova emerged as a cult hero in last year's finals,
stepping up to be James' sidekick before losing the title to the
Warriors, which feature Melbourne-born centre Andrew Bogut.
It
will be the fourth straight year Australians will be part of the
Finals with Patty Mills and Aron Baynes winning the championship in
2014 with the San Antonio Spurs and losing to the Miami Heat in 2013.
If
the Thunder beat the Warriors and make the finals it will become an
Australasian battle between Dellavedova and the Thunder's New Zealand
centre Steven Adams.
Dellavedova
played just eight minutes against Toronto, with Cavaliers' coach
Tyronn Lue rarely resting starting point guard Kyrie Irving who
played 40 minutes and James who was on the court for a marathon 41
minutes.
Game
one of the NBA Finals will be played on Wednesday.
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