LeBron, Cavs open NBA Finals in San Antonio

Jun 7, 2007, 15:00 GMT

- Superstar LeBron James and the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers make their first-ever trip to the NBA Finals, as they battle the Western Conference's San Antonio Spurs in the opener of the best- of-seven series tonight at the AT&T Center.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled to be played on Sunday at the AT&T Center, while Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) will take place at Quicken Loans Arena. If the set goes to a sixth and seventh game, San Antonio would host those contests.

During the regular season, Cleveland defeated the Spurs twice. The Cavaliers picked up an 88-81 victory on November 3, 2006 at the AT&T Center and edged San Antonio, 82-78, on January 2nd in front of their home crowd.

San Antonio, which was seeded third in the Western Conference, has advanced to the NBA Finals for the fourth time in franchise history and is a perfect 3-0 in this round. The Spurs defeated the New York Knicks in five in 1999, the New Jersey Nets in six in 2003 and the Detroit Pistons in seven in 2005.

The Spurs, who lost in seven to the Dallas Mavericks in last year's semifinals, knocked out No. 6 Denver in five games in the opening round, survived a tough six-game series with the second-seeded Suns and crushed No. 4 Utah, 4-1, in the conference finals. San Antonio is in the postseason for the 10th straight year.

All-Stars Tim Duncan, who has been on all four of San Antonio's squads that have reached the finals, and Tony Parker are having excellent playoffs for the Spurs. Duncan leads the club in scoring (23.2 ppg) and rebounding (11.4 rpg), while Parker is averaging 19.8 points and a team-best 6.4 assists per game.

While Duncan and Parker are playing at the top of their games, Manu Ginobili has been solid and played his best ball of the postseason against Phoenix in the semis. Ginobili is averaging 16.4 points, 5.4 boards and 4.0 assists in the postseason.

Veteran Michael Finley has also done his part during San Antonio's run to the championship round. The 6-7 Finley has posted 13.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and is shooting over 46 percent from beyond the arc.

San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich, who has led the Spurs to three NBA championships during his tenure in San Antonio and was named the 2002-2003 NBA Coach of the Year, knows how to get the most out of his team and once again has figured out how to get them to the brink of earning a fourth championship.

The Spurs are 7-2 at home in this year's playoffs.

Cleveland, which lost in seven to Detroit in last year's East semis, has advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. James has stepped up to the next level and has carried the Cavaliers, who were the second seed in the Eastern Conference, throughout the playoffs. They swept No. 7 Washington, 4-0, in the quarterfinals, beat New Jersey in six in the semis and surprised the top-seeded Pistons in six in the conference finals.

The 22-year-old James, who scored Cleveland's final 25 points and finished with 48 in Game 5s thrilling double-overtime victory over Detroit in the East finals, has been phenomenal in the postseason. He leads the Cavaliers in scoring (25.8 ppg) and assists (8.3 apg) in the playoffs.

Rookie Daniel Gibson has also stepped up for the Cavaliers. The Texas product came through big time against Detroit, as he hit clutch threes and has been productive while fellow guard Larry Hughes has battled through a heel injury. Gibson posted 13.5 points per game in the East finals and made 50 percent of his attempts from three-point range.

Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is averaging 13.8 points and a club-high 9.5 rebounds in the postseason for Cleveland, while power forward Drew Gooden has been tough on the boards and has collected 11.1 points and 7.9 rebounds.

Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown, who completed his second campaign on the Cleveland bench, continues to do an excellent job. Brown, who earned a championship ring as an assistant with San Antonio in 2003, is 19-10 in the postseason.

Cleveland is 5-3 as the visitor in this year's postseason.

© 2007 The Sports Network