For three rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers relied on a dominant but inefficient LeBron James, offensive rebounds, stout defense and opponents missing 3-point shots to go 12-2 and reach the NBA Finals.
Even before they lost starting point guard Kyrie Irving to a fractured kneecap, there was skepticism that the Cavaliers could keep it up against the tougher Golden State Warriors. But on Sunday night, that same formula allowed them to win Game 2 and tie the Finals at 1-1 heading back to Cleveland for Tuesday's Game 3.
Let's take a look at the Cavaliers' keys to victory.
A dominant but inefficient LeBron James
Insider's Tom Haberstroh wrote about James' Rorschach test of a postseason after the Eastern Conference finals. The four-time MVP is carrying a heavier load than he ever has in a playoff run, which has resulted in him playing the least-efficient basketball of his postseason career. The Warriors' approach to defending James and Irving's absence have only heightened the extremes, and Game 2 was probably the apotheosis of James' postseason.
James had a historic night in terms of raw statistics. Playing more than 50 minutes, he recorded his fifth career Finals triple-double, the most of anyone besides Magic Johnson (eight). He scored 39 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and handed out 11 assists, accounting for 22 of Cleveland's 29 field goals between his own makes and those he set up.
From the other perspective, James missed an incredible 24 shots -- including 10 of the 12 he attempted in the fourth quarter and overtime -- and needed 44 shooting possessions (35 field goal attempts and nine trips to the free throw line) to score 39 points. His .454 true shooting percentage was far worse than his Game 1 mark (.518), which already was the lowest in a 40-point game all season. (There were a couple of less-efficient 39-point performances, by Kobe Bryant and Russell Westbrook.)
For better or worse, this version of James has been a critical factor in the Cavaliers' postseason success.
Offensive rebounds
After Golden State did a good enough job on the defensive glass to win Game 1, the Warriors got overpowered in Game 2. Tristan Thompson alone secured 17.5 percent of all available offensive rebounds while on the court -- not far off the Atlanta Hawks' league-worst 21.4 percent offensive rebound rate during the regular season.
As a team, Cleveland grabbed 28.6 of available offensive rebounds, a mark that actually understates the one-sided nature of the board battle. The Cavaliers also drew five loose-ball fouls on Golden State.
Add those, along with rebounds that bounced out of bounds, and Cleveland recovered 23 of its 62 available misses (missed field goals and missed second free throws): 37.1 percent. As in Game 1 (1-of-11), the Cavaliers didn't shoot particularly well on second chances (3 of 17), but still scored 15 points on those opportunities thanks to free throws.
It's only fitting that two second-chance points, Matthew Dellavedova's free throws with 10.1 seconds remaining, ended up winning the game.
Stout defense
As I detailed before the Finals, Cleveland's defense had made one of the biggest jumps from the regular season to the playoffs in recent memory. Skeptics pointed to the relatively weak slate of offenses the Cavaliers faced in the East, particularly after the Atlanta Hawks lost Kyle Korver midway through the Eastern Conference finals.
No such caveats apply now, after Cleveland held the Warriors to their lowest offensive rating (94.1 points per 100 possessions) of the postseason and third lowest all year. (Golden State had a 91.7 offensive rating in a loss to the L.A. Clippers on Christmas Day and a 91.5 offensive rating in a win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 9.)
The one change to their postseason formula was the Cavaliers forcing turnovers: 19 of them, four more than any Cleveland opponent had committed in any game in the playoffs. Beyond that, however, the Cavaliers relied on a key factor throughout their postseason run ...
Opponents missing 3-point shots
The Warriors' 22.9 percent accuracy from beyond the arc was their fourth-worst mark this season, but because they attempted so many 3-pointers (35 in all), their 27 misses tied a season high. Cleveland continues to lead all playoff teams by allowing 28.2 percent shooting from 3-point range, including 29.0 percent for Golden State in the Finals so far.
The Warriors settled offensively at times, and the Cavaliers made them work. Dellavedova played terrific defense on Stephen Curry, holding him to 0-of-8 shooting when they were matched up in half-court sets, per ESPN Stats & Info. At the same time, Golden State missed shots it would normally make. According to SportVU camera tracking available on NBA.com/Stats, the Warriors shot 12-of-38 (31.6 percent) on what they call uncontested shots with no defender closer than 3.5 feet. Golden State had been shooting 48.0 percent in the playoffs on shots with no defender closer than 4 feet, a similar sample.
Naturally, the biggest discrepancy belonged to Curry, who shot 1-of-9 on uncontested attempts. He had shot 48.8 percent with no defender close than 4 feet in the playoffs, and 46.1 percent during the regular season.
Such poor shooting by such good shooters probably isn't sustainable. Nor is playing effectively a seven-man rotation with James carrying such a huge load offensively. Of course, Cleveland doesn't need it to continue over the course of a full season. Three of the next five games will be sufficient.
At the same time, the Cavaliers haven't won anything yet. Remember, this series is in exactly the same place -- tied 1-1 after two games that could have gone either way -- as the Miami Heat-San Antonio Spurs Finals was this time a year ago. What happens over the remainder of the series will determine whether Game 2 is remembered as a fluke or a turning point.