Before the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, the Cleveland Cavaliers put together the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history.
No team had rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the finals until Cleveland did so last season against the juggernaut Golden State Warriors.
So, when watching the New England Patriots come back from 25 points down to win the Super Bowl on Sunday night, the Cavaliers could share similar feelings.
“It was right there,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said Monday morning. “Being down 3-1 where no team in NBA history has ever come back from in an NBA Finals and then I think the largest lead (overcome) in a Super Bowl was 10 and they were down 25. And to come back being down 19 to start the fourth quarter, I mean, everyone counted them out. They counted us out the same exact way and for those guys to come back and win was just unbelievable.”
Lue is aware there is one significant key for each of those teams. Have the best players on the planet.
“Well, I’m a very big supporter of [Patriots coach Bill] Belichick and I think he’s one of the greatest of all-time in all sports,” Lue said. “But last night, he didn’t have much to do with that. It was all about Tom Brady. And that’s the luxury you have when you have LeBron James and Kyrie Irving who you can just give the ball to and say, ’Listen: Make it happen. Put us on your back.’ That’s what Tom Brady did last night.”
The Cavaliers arrived in Washington on Sunday following their Saturday night win in New York. They play the surging Washington Wizards on TNT at 7 p.m. The early arrival gave them a chance to watch the game at their hotel, or in various spots around the District. Lue watched with assistant coach James Posey, a fervent Patriots fan.
“Posey was going crazy,” Lue said. “He was loud, going crazy. We watched it at the MGM. So we watched it over there in a suite and it was nice. But there was a lot of people there, they couldn’t believe it. A lot of people were just standing and shocked. But he was going crazy.”
New England’s comeback capped a bevy of recent stunning rallies during the biggest moments in sports. Cleveland came back from 3-1 down. The Chicago Cubs came back from 3-1 down to the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series last season. Last season’s Stanley Cup Finals went a ho-hum six games.
“I guess you’d rather have a lead than not have a lead, but at the end of the day, the two teams in that championship final are there for a reason,” James said Monday. “They both have an uncanny ability to just not give up no matter the circumstances. Just look at what’s been going on in our major sports, let’s just say it’s been great for the fans.”
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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