Cleveland – As his teammates danced and carried on while wearing baseball caps and T-shirts proclaiming “Champions,” LeBron James walked around in a daze with a smile on his face.
“This is like a dream,” he said, shaking his head. “This is probably the best feeling that I’ve ever had in my life.”
An entire city felt the same.
For the first time in a long time, championship-starved Cleveland has something to feel good about.
The Cavaliers, once the punch line to jokes and Michael Jordan’s favorite foil, are Eastern Conference champions – and on their way to the NBA Finals.
Lugging an entire region’s hopes with him on every trip to the basket, James had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and unflappable rookie Daniel Gibson added 31 points – 19 in the fourth quarter – to give the Cavaliers a 98-82 victory in Game 6 against the Detroit Pistons.
Cleveland, a city that hasn’t celebrated a world championship since the Browns won an NFL title in 1964, has the next closest thing. And now the Cavs, who won only 17 games the year before James arrived from just down the interstate in Akron, will meet the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday night.
James, who scored 48 points in Cleveland’s double-overtime win in Game 5, didn’t have to carry the Cavs by himself.
Gibson gave him all the help he needed. The slender second-round pick from Texas, who didn’t become a major contributor until March, outshined his superstar teammate.
Gibson made three 3-pointers in the first 2:16 of the fourth and drilled another long-range jumper with 6:52 left, setting off a massive celebration in Quicken Loans Arena.
“If I’m dreaming, please don’t wake me up,” Gibson said. “This was perfect, to win it for Cleveland.”
The Cavs are only third team to come back from an 0-2 deficit in a conference finals, joining the 1971 Baltimore Bullets and 1993 Chicago Bulls.
The season couldn’t have ended worse for the top-seeded Pistons, making their fifth straight appearance in the conference finals.
Rasheed Wallace fouled out and then got thrown out after being slapped with two technicals by referee Eddie Rush with 7:44 to play. Rip Hamilton fouled out after scoring 29 points.
The loss could signal an end of an era for the Pistons, who lost in Game 6 of the conference finals for the second straight year after being the East’s top-seeded team.
With Chauncey Billups and Chris Webber bound for free agency, coach Flip Saunders’ security could come into question in Detroit.
“It’s disappointing,” Billups said. “I feel bad for the guys on the team to have it end like this again after a great year.”
As the final seconds ticked away, James flung the ball into the crowd and jumped into the arms of center Zydrunas Ilgauskas as the Q quaked. The moment was particularly sweet for Ilgauskas, the club’s 7-foot-3 center who was drafted by the franchise in 1996 and spent two seasons on the sideline with major foot injuries.
“We said we loved each other,” Ilgauskas said. “We’ve gone through so much as a team. For some reason we sought each other out and the emotions took over.”
With wine-and-gold confetti falling from the rafters, James walked to midcourt for the trophy presentation and thanked Cleveland fans.
“This is the best thing that ever happened to me, man,” James said, addressing the 20,562 delirious fans. “But look here, look here. It doesn’t stop.”
