2006–07 Cleveland Cavaliers season

2006–07 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coach	Mike Brown
Arena	Quicken Loans Arena

Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	12–8, Eastern Conference Champions
Local media
Television	FSN Ohio, WUAB
Radio	WTAM
Cleveland Cavaliers seasons
< 2005–06	2007–08 >

The 2006-07 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 37th season of NBA basketball in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 50–32 record, a second place finish in the Central Division, and the champions of the Eastern Conference. LeBron James was the team's leading scorer and finished in 2nd place in league MVP voting.

Key Dates:

On June 28, the 2006 NBA Draft took place in New York City, New York.
In July, the free agency period began.
On October 10, the Cavaliers' preseason began with a 93–109 loss to the Boston Celtics.
On November 1, the Cavaliers' regular season began with a 97–94 win over the Washington Wizards.
On March 27, the Cavaliers clinched a playoff berth.
On June 2, the Cavaliers won their first ever Eastern Conference championship.
On June 14, the Cavaliers' season ended in an NBA Finals sweep to the San Antonio Spurs.

Contents:	Offseason Draft picks Roster Regular season Playoffs Game log Player stats Awards and records Transactions See also References

Offseason

Free agents

**Additions**
Player	Date	Former team
Scot Pollard	August 18	Indiana Pacers
David Wesley	September 5	Houston Rockets

**Subtractions**
Player	Date	New team
Flip Murray	July 18	Detroit Pistons
Stephen Graham	August 9	Portland Trail Blazers
Alan Henderson	September 8	Philadelphia 76ers
Eddie Basden	November	Fenerbahçe

Trades

August 18, 2008

To Cleveland Cavaliers

Eddie Basden

To Chicago Bulls

Martynas Andriuskevicius

October 13, 2008

To Cleveland Cavaliers

Dwayne Jones

To Boston Celtics

Luke Jackson and cash considerations

Draft picks

Main article: 2006 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	25	Shannon Brown	Guard	United States	Michigan State
2	42^*	Daniel Gibson	Guard	United States	Texas
2	55	Ejike Ugboaja	Forward	Nigeria	Union Bank Lagos (Nigeria)

^*2nd round pick acquired from Philadelphia in Lee Nailon deal.^[1]

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (Y–M–D)
2.0 !SG	6	USA !	Brown, Shannon	76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Michigan State
1.0 !PG	1	USA !	Gibson, Daniel	74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Texas
4.5 !PF	90	USA !	Gooden, Drew	82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Kansas
2.0 !SG	32	USA !	Hughes, Larry	77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	Saint Louis
6.0 !C	11	LTU !	Ilgauskas, Zydrunas	87 !7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Lithuania
3.0 !SF	23	USA !	James, LeBron (C)	80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	St. Vincent-St. Mary's*
1.0 !PG	19	USA !	Jones, Damon	75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Houston
6.0 !C	27	USA !	Jones, Dwayne	83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	251 lb (114 kg)	Saint Joseph's
4.5 !PF	24	USA !	Marshall, Donyell	81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Connecticut
3.0 !SF	14	USA !	Newble, Ira	79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Miami (Ohio)
2.0 !SG	3	Serbia !	Pavlović, Aleksandar	79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Serbia
6.0 !C	31	USA !	Pollard, Scot	83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	Kansas
1.0 !PG	20	USA !	Snow, Eric (C)	75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Michigan State
4.5 !PF	17	BRA !	Varejão, Anderson	82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Brazil
2.0 !SG	4	USA !	Wesley, David	73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Baylor

Head coach

Mike Brown (San Diego)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended

Injured

Regular depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve
C	Žydrūnas Ilgauskas	Anderson Varejão	Scot Pollard
PF	Drew Gooden	Donyell Marshall	Dwayne Jones
SF	LeBron James	Ira Newble	David Wesley (PG)
SG	Sasha Pavlović	Daniel Gibson	Shannon Brown
PG	Larry Hughes	Damon Jones	Eric Snow

Player salaries

Rank	Player	Salary
1	Larry Hughes	$13,363,012
2	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	$9,422,697
3	Drew Gooden	$6,645,402
4	Eric Snow	$6,093,750
5	LeBron James	$5,828,090
6	Donyell Marshall	$5,633,037
7	Damon Jones	$3,884,678
8	Ira Newble	$3,196,050
9	Scot Pollard	$2,200,000
10	Sasha Pavlović	$1,962,206
11	David Wesley	$1,750,000
12	Shannon Brown	$971,280
13	Anderson Varejão	$945,600
14	Dwayne Jones	$664,209
15	Daniel Gibson	$412,718

Regular season

Standings

Central Division
Team	W	L	Home	Road	PCT.	GB
Detroit Pistons*	53	29	26–15	27–14	.646	-
Cleveland Cavaliers*	50	32	30–11	20–21	.605	3
Chicago Bulls*	49	33	31–10	18–23	.598	4
Indiana Pacers	35	47	22–19	13–28	.427	18
Milwaukee Bucks	28	54	18–23	10–31	.341	25

^*Qualified for playoffs

Eastern Conference
Team	W	L	Home	Road	PCT.	GB
Detroit Pistons*	53	29	26–15	27–14	.646	-
Cleveland Cavaliers*	50	32	30–11	20–21	.605	3
Toronto Raptors*	47	35	30–11	17–24	.573	6
Miami Heat*	44	38	27–14	17–24	.537	9
Chicago Bulls*	49	33	31–10	18–23	.598	4
New Jersey Nets*	41	41	24–17	17–24	.500	12
Washington Wizards*	41	41	26–15	15–26	.500	12
Orlando Magic*	40	42	25–16	15–26	.488	13
Indiana Pacers	35	47	22–19	13–28	.427	18
Philadelphia 76ers	35	47	21–20	14–27	.427	18
Charlotte Bobcats	33	49	20–21	13–28	.402	20
New York Knicks	33	49	19–22	14–27	.402	20
Atlanta Hawks	30	52	18–23	12–29	.366	23
Milwaukee Bucks	28	54	18–23	10–31	.341	25
Boston Celtics	24	58	12–29	12–29	.293	29

^*Qualified for playoffs

Game log

November

Record: 9–6; Home: 7–2; Road: 2–4

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record
1	November 1	Washington	97–94	Cleveland	NA	Larry Hughes (27)	20,562	1–0
2	November 3	Cleveland	88–81	San Antonio	NA	LeBron James (35)	18,797	2–0
3	November 4	Cleveland	88–92	Charlotte	NA	Drew Gooden (21)	19,147	2–1
4	November 7	Atlanta	95–104	Cleveland	1	LeBron James(34)	20,562	2–2
5	November 9	Chicago	113–94	Cleveland	NA	Drew Gooden (20)	19,947	3–2
6	November 11	Boston	94–93	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (38)	20,562	4–2
7	November 13	Cleveland	102–96	New York	NA	James, D.Jones (29)	18,468	5–2
8	November 15	Portland	100–87	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (32)	20,096	6–2
9	November 17	Minnesota	92–76	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (37)	20,562	7–2
10	November 18	Cleveland	99–111	Washington	NA	LeBron James (20)	20,173	7–3
11	November 21	Memphis	97–94	Cleveland	NA	Drew Gooden (22)	20–562	8–3
12	November 22	Cleveland	87–95	Toronto	NA	LeBron James (30)	19,800	8–4
13	November 24	Cleveland	87–97	Indiana	NA	LeBron James (30)	18,165	8–5
14	November 25	Philadelphia	108–95	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (25)	20,562	9–5
15	November 29	New York	98–101	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (27)	20,192	9–6

December

Record: 8–6; Home: 6–1; Road: 2–5

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record
16	December 1	Cleveland	106–95	Atlanta	NA	LeBron James (31)	19,650	10–6
17	December 2	Cleveland	63–81	Houston	NA	LeBron James (21)	18,260	10–7
18	December 6	Toronto	95–91	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (26)	20,119	11–7
19	December 9	Indiana	107–75	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (27)	20,562	12–7
20	December 11	Cleveland	89–95	NO/OK City	NA	Anderson Varejão (17)	19,164	12–8
21	December 13	Charlotte	104–101	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (22)	20,562	13–8
22	December 15	Seattle	106–84	Cleveland	NA	Larry Hughes (25)	20,562	14–8
23	December 16	Cleveland	74–81	Orlando	NA	LeBron James (29)	17,451	14–9
24	December 20	Cleveland	111–113	New Jersey	NA	LeBron James (37)	17,270	14–10
25	December 21	Detroit	71–87	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (26)	20,562	14–11
26	December 23	Orlando	86–83	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (32)	20–562	15–11
27	December 27	Cleveland	89–76	Atlanta	NA	LeBron James (27)	19,467	16–11
28	December 29	Milwaukee	109–99	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (32)	20,562	17–11
29	December 30	Cleveland	96–103	Chicago	NA	LeBron James (33)	22,965	17–12

January

Record: 9–7; Home: 3–3; Road: 6–4

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record
30	January 2	San Antonio	82–78	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (19)	20,214	18–12
31	January 3	Cleveland	107–104	Boston	NA	LeBron James (32)	18,624	19–12
32	January 5	Cleveland	95–86	Milwaukee	NA	Drew Gooden (31)	18,717	20–12
33	January 6	New Jersey	96–91	Cleveland	NA	Hughes, Gooden (21)	20,562	21–12
34	January 9	Cleveland	108–98	Sacramento	NA	LeBron James (34)	17,317	22–12
35	January 11	Cleveland	90–109	Phoenix	NA	LeBron James (34)	18,422	22–13
36	January 13	Cleveland	104–92	LA Clippers	NA	LeBron James (28)	20,027	23–13
37	January 16	Cleveland	96–101	Seattle	NA	LeBron James (30)	15,619	23–14
38	January 17	Cleveland	76–94	Portland	NA	LeBron James (23)	19,228	23–15
39	January 19	Cleveland	99–110	Denver	NA	LeBron James (30)	19,155	23–16
40	January 20	Cleveland	106–104	Golden State	1	LeBron James (32)	19,864	24–16
41	January 22	Orlando	79–90	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (18)	20,562	24–17
42	January 24	Philadelphia	115–118	Cleveland	2	LeBron James (39)	20,562	24–18
43	January 26	Cleveland	105–97	Philadelphia	NA	Drew Gooden (21)	19,523	25–18
44	January 28	Phoenix	100–115	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (30)	20,562	25–19
45	January 30	Golden State	124–97	Cleveland	NA	Sasha Pavlović (24)	19,443	26–19

February

Record: 7–5; Home: 5–2; Road: 2–3

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record
46	February 1	Cleveland	89–92	Miami	NA	Daniel Gibson (19)	20,125	26–20
47	February 2	Charlotte	101–81	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (18)	20,562	27–20
48	February 4	Detroit	78–90	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (21)	20,140	27–21
49	February 7	LA Clippers	94–77	Cleveland	NA	Zydrunas Ilgauskas (16)	20,129	28–21
50	February 9	Miami	103–79	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (29)	20,562	29–21
51	February 11	LA Lakers	99–90	Cleveland	NA	Sasha Pavlović(21)	20,562	30–21
52	February 14	Cleveland	98–99	Utah	NA	Larry Hughes(33)	19,911	30–22
53	February 15	Cleveland	114–108	LA Lakers	NA	LeBron James (38)	18,997	31–22
54	February 21	Cleveland	86–85	Toronto	NA	LeBron James (29)	19,800	32–22
55	February 22	Chicago	78–84	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (29)	20,562	32–23
56	February 25	Cleveland	81–86	Miami	NA	LeBron James (29)	20,225	32–24
57	February 27	NO/OK City	97–89	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (35)	19,619	33–24

March

Record: 11–5; Home: 6–2; Road: 5–3

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record
58	March 1	Cleveland	92–95	Dallas	NA	LeBron James (39)	20,428	33–25
59	March 3	Toronto	120–97	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (36)	20,562	34–25
60	March 5	Houston	91–85	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (32)	20,562	35–25
61	March 7	Cleveland	101–97	Detroit	1	LeBron James (41)	22,076	36–25
62	March 10	Cleveland	94–92	Milwaukee	NA	LeBron James (32)	18,081	37–25
63	March 11	Indiana	99–88	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (26)	20,562	38–25
64	March 13	Sacramento	124–100	Cleveland	NA	Hughes, Pavlović (25)	20,562	39–25
65	March 14	Cleveland	118–96	Memphis	NA	LeBron James (29)	14,561	40–25
66	March 17	Utah	82–73	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (24)	20,562	41–25
67	March 20	Cleveland	100–108	Charlotte	1	LeBron James (37)	17,043	41–26
68	March 21	Dallas	90–98	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (31)	20,562	41–27
69	March 23	New York	90–68	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (21)	20,562	42–27
70	March 25	Denver	93–105	Cleveland	NA	James, Ilgauskas (18)	20,562	42–28
71	March 27	Cleveland	105–94	Indiana	NA	LeBron James (26)	14,024	43–28
72	March 28	Cleveland	93–97	New York	NA	LeBron James (24)	19,763	43–29
73	March 31	Cleveland	112–108	Chicago	1	LeBron James (39)	22,960	44–29

April

Record: 6–3; Home: 3–1; Road: 3–2

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record
74	April 1	Cleveland	96–98	Boston	NA	Larry Hughes (24)	17,204	44–30
75	April 3	Cleveland	101–88	Minnesota	NA	LeBron James (31)	16,118	45–31
76	April 5	Miami	90–94	Cleveland	1	LeBron James (35)	20,562	45–31
77	April 6	Cleveland	99–94	Washington	NA	LeBron James (25)	20,173	46–31
78	April 8	Cleveland	82–87	Detroit	NA	LeBron James (20)	22,076	46–32
79	April 12	New Jersey	94–76	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (35)	20,562	47–32
80	April 14	Atlanta	110–76	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (23)	20,562	48–32
81	April 17	Cleveland	98–92	Philadelphia	NA	Larry Hughes (22)	17,693	49–32
82	April 18	Milwaukee	109–96	Cleveland	NA	LeBron James (24)	20,562	50–32

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; GS = Games started; MIN= Minutes; FG% = field goal %, FT% = free throw %, 3FG% = 3 point % STL= Steals; BLK = Blocks; AST = Assists; REB = Rebounds; PTS = Points

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	MIN	FG%	FT%	3FG%	STL	BLK	AST	REB	PTS
LeBron James	78	78	40.9	47.6%	69.8%	31.9%	1.60	.71	6.0	6.7	27.3
Larry Hughes	70	68	37.1	40.0%	67.6%	33.3%	1.27	.37	3.7	3.8	14.9
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	78	78	27.3	45.5%	80.7%	0.0%	.62	1.26	1.6	7.7	11.9
Drew Gooden	80	80	28.0	47.3%	71.4%	16.7%	.88	.35	1.1	8.5	11.1
Sasha Pavlović	67	28	22.9	45.3%	79.4%	40.5%	.82	.25	1.6	2.4	9.0
Donyell Marshall	81	0	16.8	42.4%	66.3%	35.1%	.48	.53	.6	4.0	7.0
Anderson Varejão	81	6	21.9	47.6%	61.6%	0.0%	.94	.64	.9	6.7	6.8
Damon Jones	60	0	19.6	38.6%	68.2%	38.5%	.27	.03	1.6	1.1	6.6
Daniel Gibson	60	16	16.5	42.4%	71.8%	41.9%	.38	.13	1.2	1.5	4.6
Eric Snow	82	45	23.5	41.7%	63.7%	0.0%	.67	.20	4.0	2.3	4.2
Shannon Brown	23	5	8.8	37.8%	71.4%	28.0%	.30	.13	.4	.9	3.2
Ira Newble	15	1	8.6	43.2%	60.6%	53.3%	.40	.00	.1	2.0	3.1
David Wesley	35	5	10.1	29.3%	79.4%	23.7%	.34	.11	1.1	1.0	2.1
Scot Pollard	24	0	4.5	42.3%	50.0%	0.0%	.17	.04	.1	1.3	1.0
Dwayne Jones	4	0	4.5	0.0%	50.0%	0.0%	.00	.00	.0	1.5	.8

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MIN	FG%	FT%	3FG%	STL	BLK	AST	REB	PTS
LeBron James	20	20	44.7	41.6%	75.5%	28.0%	1.70	.50	8.0	8.1	25.1
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	20	20	32.5	49.2%	83.8%	0.0%	.45	.80	.9	9.7	12.6
Drew Gooden	20	20	30.3	49.3%	76.9%	0.0%	.50	.45	1.0	8.0	11.4
Larry Hughes	18	18	35.5	34.7%	74.6%	35.2%	1.39	.44	2.4	3.9	11.3
Sasha Pavlović	20	20	30.8	38.1%	52.8%	34.5%	.95	.25	1.6	2.6	9.2
Daniel Gibson	20	2	20.1	43.1%	88.4%	40.9%	.60	.20	1.1	1.6	8.3
Anderson Varejão	20	0	22.4	51.1%	56.3%	0.0%	1.05	.55	.6	6.0	6.0
Donyell Marshall	19	0	10.7	33.3%	63.6%	31.1%	.16	.21	.3	2.2	3.5
Damon Jones	11	0	12.6	30.8%	1.000%	31.8%	.00	.00	1.0	.8	2.4
Eric Snow	19	0	12.8	31.6%	57.1%	0.0%	.58	.11	1.5	1.5	1.7
Ira Newble	6	0	1.7	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	.00	.00	.2	.2	0.0
Scot Pollard	3	0	1.0	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	.00	.00	.0	0.0	0.0
Shannon Brown	1	0	1.0	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	.00	.00	.0	0.0	0.0

Awards and records

Awards

LeBron James was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played from November 13 through November 19.
LeBron James was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played from March 5 through March 11.
LeBron James was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for the month of March, the fifth time he has won the award.
After the season, LeBron James was named to the All-NBA second team as a forward.

Records

On November 25, Zydrunas Ilgauskas tied a franchise record for offensive rebounds in a half (10) and in a game (12) in the Cavs' 108–95 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
On December 6, Zydrunas Ilgauskas became the all-time offensive rebound leader in Cavs history in a 95–91 win over the Toronto Raptors.
In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James set or tied franchise playoff records for: points in a game (48), points in overtime (9), field goals made and attempted in a game (18, 33) and field goals made in overtime (4).
In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Daniel Gibson set or tied franchise playoff records for: points in a quarter (19), points in a half (25), rookie points in a game (31) and three pointers in a half (5).
With his 19th playoff win, coach Mike Brown set the franchise record for playoff victories.

Milestones

On December 23, LeBron James became the youngest player in NBA history to score 7,000 career points (21 years, 359 days).
In the 2006-07 season, the Cavaliers swept all four California teams for the first time in team history (Golden State, Sacramento, LA Lakers, LA Clippers)
On March 14, LeBron James became the youngest player in NBA history to score 8,000 career points (22 years, 74 days).
On April 6, LeBron James became the 2nd faster player to record 8,000 points, 2,000 rebounds and 2,000 assists in a career. LeBron did it in 311 games while it took Oscar Robertson 269 games and Michael Jordan 339.
On April 14, the Cavaliers played the 3,000th game in franchise history

All-Star

LeBron James led all players in votes received and was voted in as a starter for the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. His 2,516,049 votes were the second most in NBA history. He became the first player in team history to lead the league in votes.
LeBron James led the Eastern Conference All-Stars with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the 132–153 loss.
Damon Jones participated in the Three Point Contest and finished in 5th place.
LeBron James participated in the Skills Challenge and finished in 3rd place.

Transactions

Trades

The Cavaliers did not make a trade during the 2006-07 NBA season.

Free Agents

The Cavaliers did not sign any free agents during the 2006-07 NBA season.

Development League

On March 2, Shannon Brown was assigned to the NBDL's Albuquerque Thunderbirds.
On March 3, Shannon Brown was recalled from the Thunderbirds.
On March 23, Dwayne Jones was assigned to the Thunderbirds.
On March 27, Dwayne Jones was recalled from the Thunderbirds.

Playoffs

Main article: 2007 NBA Playoffs

First Round

(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (7) Washington Wizards

April 22

Washington Wizards 82, Cleveland Cavaliers 97

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

TNT

April 25

Washington Wizards 102, Cleveland Cavaliers 109

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

NBA TV

April 28

Cleveland Cavaliers 98, Washington Wizards 92

Verizon Center, Washington

TNT

April 30	4	Cleveland Cavaliers 97, Washington Wizards 90				Verizon Center, Washington	NBA TV
		Cleveland wins series, 4–0

A rematch of the previous year's first round series was spoiled when Wizards star Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler were both forced out of the playoffs due to injuries received in the later parts of the regular season. Without Arenas and Butler, the Wizards found themselves unable to stop LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from sweeping them out of the playoffs. It was Cleveland's first playoff sweep in franchise history.

Eastern Semifinals

(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (6) New Jersey Nets

May 6

New Jersey Nets 77, Cleveland Cavaliers 81

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

ABC

May 8

New Jersey Nets 92, Cleveland Cavaliers 102

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

TNT

May 12

Cleveland Cavaliers 85, New Jersey Nets 96

Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford

ESPN

May 14

Cleveland Cavaliers 87, New Jersey Nets 85

Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford

TNT

May 16

New Jersey Nets 83, Cleveland Cavaliers 72

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

TNT

May 18	6	Cleveland Cavaliers 88, New Jersey Nets 72				Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford	ESPN
		Cleveland wins series, 4–2

The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1992, while the Nets have lost in the Conference Semifinals in three out of the last four years.

New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd averaged a triple double the entire playoffs, scoring 14.6 points, grabbing 10.9 rebounds and dishing out 10.9 assists per game.

The Cavaliers also got revenge of sorts, by eliminating the Nets two years after the Nets eliminated them on the final day of the regular season.^[2]^[3]

Eastern Finals

Conference Finals: (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers

May 21

Cleveland Cavaliers 76, Detroit Pistons 79

The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills

TNT

May 24

Cleveland Cavaliers 76, Detroit Pistons 79

The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills

TNT

May 27

Detroit Pistons 82, Cleveland Cavaliers 88

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

TNT

May 29

Detroit Pistons 87, Cleveland Cavaliers 91

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

TNT

May 31

Cleveland Cavaliers 109, Detroit Pistons 107 (2OT)

The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills

TNT

June 2	6	Detroit Pistons 82, Cleveland Cavaliers 98				Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland	TNT
		Cleveland wins series, 4–2

In a rematch of last year's thrilling second-round series, the Pistons and the Cavaliers matched up in perhaps one of the closest contested series in NBA history, with the first five games being decided by 6 points or less. The spotlight of the series fell on Cleveland's LeBron James. Despite gaining some momentum in the opening games of the series against the experienced Pistons, key last-second decisions by James led to Cleveland losses in Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, by identical scores where Cleveland led for most of the two games. They faced a 0–2 deficit for the second straight year but would easily remember from the year before they could win three straight games to get back into the series.

With media circles on his back for his complacency in these games (James had a playoff career low 10 points in Game 1), LeBron came back to will the Cavs to close victories in Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland, evening the series at 2. The series shifted back to Detroit for a Game 5 that proved to be one of the most memorable postseason games in recent NBA history. In a match that went into double overtime, the Cavaliers stunned the Pistons on their home court, thanks to LeBron James' playoff career-high 48 point performance. James scored the Cavaliers' final 25 points of the game, including all 18 points in overtime making it two straight two-point wins at the Palace in Game 5.

This time around the heavily favored Cavaliers took advantage of their home court in 2007 and exploded in Game 6 to close out the Pistons once and for all, and to clinch the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals. Rookie Daniel Gibson scored his career high 31 points including five three pointers to lift the Cavs in the second half behind a roaring home crowd.

NBA Finals

Main article: 2007 NBA Finals

Game 1

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers entered the 2007 Finals as newcomers. Game 1 was the first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history, and the first for each of its players (other than reserve point guard Eric Snow). However, the San Antonio Spurs had been to the Finals in three of the past eight seasons, winning a championship each time. With solid performances by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginóbili, the Spurs won the series opener in convincing fashion, limiting LeBron James to 14 points on 4–16 shooting.

June 7 9:00 p.m. ET	1	Cleveland Cavaliers 76, San Antonio Spurs 85		AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Ken Mauer, Mike Callahan, Steve Javie	ABC, ABCHD, TSN, Canal 7, Canal+, ESPN Brasil
		Scoring by quarter: 15–20, 20–20, 14–24, 27–21
		Pts: Gibson 16, James 14 Rebs: James 7, Ilgauskas 6 Asts: James, Gibson 4 each TOs: LeBron James 6	Pts: Parker 27, Duncan 24 Rebs: Duncan 13, Ginóbili 8 Asts: Tony Parker 7 Blks: Tim Duncan 5

Game 2

The Spurs took a stranglehold on momentum in Game 2. The Spurs big three overwhelmed the Cavs and the Spurs led by as many as 29 points in the third quarter. They absolutely dominated game during first 3 quarters and played show-time basketball. A furious 25–6 rally by Cleveland in the final quarter wasn't enough as the Spurs took a 2–0 lead in the series.

June 10 9:00 p.m. ET	2	Cleveland Cavaliers 92, San Antonio Spurs 103		AT&T Center, San Antonio Attendance: 18,797 Referees: Dick Bavetta , Jim Clark , Joe Derosa	ABC, ABCHD, TSN, Canal 7, Canal+, ESPN Brasil
		Scoring by quarter: 17–28, 16–30, 29–31, 30–14
		Pts: LeBron James 25 Rebs: Anderson Varejão 10 Asts: LeBron James 6 TOs: LeBron James 6	Pts: Tony Parker 30 Rebs: Duncan, Horry 9 each Asts: Tim Duncan 8 Blks: Robert Horry 5

Game 3

Rookie Daniel Gibson started Game 3 in place of the injured Larry Hughes but scored a series-low 2 points on 1–10 shooting. As a team the Cavs shot only .367 but out-rebounded the Spurs 48–41. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a 2006-07 season high 18 rebounds. On the game's final play, LeBron James missed a potential game-tying 29 foot 3-pointer (which he contested as a foul on Bruce Bowen).

Game 3 was the lowest-scoring Finals game since 1955, with Tim Duncan of the Spurs having his lowest scoring game in his NBA Finals career, with 14 points.

June 12 9:00 p.m. ET	3	San Antonio Spurs 75, Cleveland Cavaliers 72		Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Bernie Fryer, Bob Delaney, Dan Crawford	ABC, ABCHD, TSN, Canal 7, Canal+, ESPN Brasil
		Scoring by quarter: 16–18, 24–20, 15–12, 20–22
		Pts: Tony Parker 17 Rebs: Duncan, Bowen 9 each Asts: Manu Ginóbili 5 Stls: Michael Finley 4	Pts: LeBron James 25 Rebs: Ilgauskas 18, Gooden 12 Asts: LeBron James 7 TOs: LeBron James 5

Game 4

San Antonio started out strong through the first three quarters, leading by as many as 11. Cleveland would stage a rally near the end of the third quarter and the first five minutes of the fourth, scoring 14 consecutive points to take its first second-half lead of the series. However, the Spurs would stage a 12–3 rally of their own to retake the lead and win the series in a 4–0 sweep.

June 14 9:00 p.m. ET	4	San Antonio Spurs 83, Cleveland Cavaliers 82		Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Joe Forte, Eddie F. Rush	ABC, ABCHD, TSN, Canal 7, Canal+, ESPN Brasil, Sport 1
		Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 20–14, 21–18, 22–27
		Pts: Manu Ginóbili 27 Rebs: Tim Duncan 15 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 5 TOs: Tim Duncan 6	Pts: LeBron James 24 Rebs: Ilgauskas 13, Gooden 11 Asts: LeBron James 10 TOs: LeBron James 6
		San Antonio wins series 4–0

References

^ Conditional 2nd round pick traded to Philadelphia for Lee Nailon and a 2006 2nd round pick http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2006/02/23/nailon_76ers_trade060223.html
^ ESPN.com Recap: Nets VS. Celtics, April 20, 2005
^ ESPN.com Recap: Cavaliers VS. Raptors, April 20, 2005

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