CLEVELAND _ Pride and history collided Friday night, and pride prevailed.
The Golden State Warriors had been all but crowned NBA champions since they brought a 3-0 lead into Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. With their second title in three seasons all but wrapped up, arguments were already starting whether the Warriors were the greatest team of all time.
But those who know LeBron James don't underestimate his determination, even stronger in the face of adversity. They don't overlook his leadership, his ability to convince his teammates what is required at the highest level of the playoffs.
The Warriors, though, made those mistakes in the first half. Their lapse proved to be the chink in the armor the Cavaliers could attack, and they did so with an amazing shooting display in the first 24 minutes.
The second half turned into the wild, wild west, marred by double technicals, replay reviews and a collision between James and teammate J.R. Smith that both survived apparently unscathed.
But the Cavs kept their heads. As a result, the Warriors' undefeated postseason run came to a halt with a Cavs' 137-116 victory. The triumph sets up Game 5 Monday at Oracle Arena, where the Cavs will face the same 3-1 deficit they carried to Oakland a year ago.
And we all know how that turned out. It's the reason so many Ohio license plates now bear some form of 31.
Finally in the Finals, the Cavs' Big Three all put it together at the same time and the point barrage was staggering.
The Cavs scored 49 points in the first quarter, the most given up by the Warriors in this postseason, shattering the previous high of 37, last by the Spurs. It was a Cavs' franchise record for the most points in any quarter, regular season or postseason.
At halftime, the Cavs had 86, the most given up in a half by the Warriors in the playoffs. That also blew away an opponents' previous best of 67 by the Trail Blazers in Game 3 at Portland on April 22.
The Cavs led by as many as 22 and were up 86-68 at the half. They had never led by more than seven in any of the first three games.
With 5:27 left in the first quarter, Kevin Love had 10 points, more than his nine in Game 3. He poured in 14 points in the first quarter and finished with 23.
In the second quarter, it was Kyrie Irving's turn, as he scored 17 of his 28 first-half points, and James was right on his heels with 14 of his first-half 22.
Irving totaled 40 points, seven rebounds and four assists. With 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, James recorded the third triple-double of his career in elimination games and his ninth in the Finals, passing Magic Johnson for first all-time.
The Cavs continued the formula they found in the third quarter of Game 3, when they turned up the intensity and the physicality. Only this time the urgency began in the first quarter.
The physicality took over the third quarter. Things got ugly at the 7:26 mark when James and Kevin Durant got into an argument after Love fouled Durant, hitting him in the head and knocked him to the floor as Durant was going in for a layup. James and Durant were assessed double technical fouls.
At the 6:18 mark of the period, Draymond Green was called for a foul on Love, with Green waving and saying something to the official. Green received a technical, believed to be his second, and his ejection was announced. But after a review, it was announced an earlier technical was called on coach Steve Kerr and Green was allowed to remain in the game.
Then with 1:10 remaining in the third quarter, Zaza Pachulia battled Iman Shumpert for a jump ball, with Pachulia on the floor and Shumpert above him. Pachulia twice punched Shumpert in the groin, resulting in another review that resulted in another double technical.
The tension on the court should make for a fitting Game 5. Last year the Warriors played that one without Green, suspended after kicking James in the groin in Game 4.
Something was different about the Cavs and their crowd even before tip-off. Chants of "Let's Go, Cavs!" started three minutes before the game began. The Cavs' front office was forced to stand in their end zone box for the entire first half to see over those in front of them.
At shootaround Friday, Richard Jefferson insisted that ending the Warriors' undefeated run was not their motivation.
"No. Our goal was not trying to stop a team that broke Michael Jordan's regular-season record. We're not trying to stop a team from going undefeated. None of those things matter," Jefferson said.
"Our only goal is it's about us. It's about trying to be the best form that we can be and trying to win a championship for ourselves. If your motivation is other people, then you're probably doing this for the wrong reasons."
Whatever the motivation _ pride, history, each other � the defending champion Cavs summoned everything they had Friday. They followed up a game they should have won Wednesday with a victory in what felt like a bloodbath.
The Cavs may fly to California eagerly, knowing last year that's where their historic comeback from a 3-1 deficit began. No team has ever captured a championship down 3-0, either.
