Game 7 by the numbers
No two words in North American sports pack more punch than "Game Seven."
Sunday is it for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, and the result will be historic: either LeBron James bringing his home region its first major sports title in 52 years, or the best regular-season team in NBA history punctuating it with a second straight championship.
Here are the numbers.
19
This will be the 19th Game 7 in NBA Finals history. Home teams are a very dominant 15-3 up until now, and have taken the last six showdowns. No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals, which is what the Cavs are trying to accomplish.
1978
The last time a road team won a Game 7 of the Finals was June 7, 1978, when the Washington Bullets defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 105-99. Mitch Kupchak, now general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, scored 13 points for the Bullets.
3-2
While critics like to point out his 2-4 series record in the Finals to date, LeBron's teams are 3-2 all-time in Game 7s. That includes an 0-2 mark with the Cavs, and a 3-0 record with the Miami Heat.
James was victorious in his only other Finals Game 7, a 95-88 Miami win over the San Antonio Spurs in 2013. He has averaged 34.4 points in his five career Game 7s.
610-610
The aggregate score for both the Cavs and Warriors through six games is 610-610.
8
The Warriors have lost eight games this postseason. A Game 7 defeat would match their loss total for their entire record-breaking regular season.
939
As of Sunday, it will have been 939 days since the last time the Warriors dropped three straight games. A 113-101 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 23, 2013 was the last time Golden State suffered a fate they will be trying to avoid against Cleveland.
13
After Game 7, the Cavs and Warriors will have played 13 Finals games over the last two years. That will tie the most in a two-season span in NBA history, alongside the Lakers and Celtics, and the Celtics and St. Louis Hawks.
5.4
The average point differential in the last five NBA Finals Game 7s, dating back to 1988.