Always Fighting // Kyrie Irving

2016 NBA Finals- Game Seven

Kyrie-

I exhale slowly, my eyes closed tightly, trying to drown out the sounds of my nerved. Trying to drown out the sound of Oracle. We stand in a line, our entire team, maroon warm up jackets trying to keep us warm as we wait for the national anthem to begin. The song of our country that will officially signal the start of the game of our life.

My hands are clasped behind my back and I want to wipe the sweat off of them, but ignore it, focusing instead on the words of the anthem. Somehow it seems to last forever and go by all too quickly. Before I know it, the people are applauding the performance, and we are ripping our jerseys off. I see LeBron blow into his hands, wiping them on his sweatpants before yanking them off.

The game has commenced.

Festus Ezeli matches up against double T in the middle circle and the rest of us arrange ourselves in our respect side. It seems slightly unfair, as Tristan knocks it away and into the hand of James easily. Here we go.

LeBron slowly watches the offense sets and then bounces it to JR who steps in court a few feet before pulling up for a floater. It misses and Curry comes back down, throwing it ahead to Ezeli, who also misses his shot. Enough.

'Bron inbounds the ball and I motion for it, I'm running this play. I take my time walking down court, waiting until the perfect moment in our offense to fire a pass to Tristan. Watching, waiting.  Patience is key. A few more second and I see the opening our offense created, and shoot it into TT and he lays it in. On the other end, Tristan leaps up to block Ezeli attempted dunk. LeBron gets the rebound but passes it to me as he runs up the court. I launch it to Smith, who's already waiting and he swings it to 'Bron for a two.

The Warriors attempt to regroup by slowing things down, dribbling the clock down, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Curry toys with his defender and releases a three that misses, but Klay is under the basket to snatch the ball. In a flurry of movements the ball travels from Klay's to Ezeli's to Draymond's for a driving dunk.

On our end, nothing is falling, but I refuse to let myself get frustrated. That only makes things worse. Yes, Golden State will make three's, but you can't get mad at your guys if their shots aren't going in.

In the end, it's Kev who ends an almost three minute scoring drought and all you need is that one. I motion for the ball and pull a fadeaway two that swishes through the net. The Warriors call for a timeout, which is the most satisfying feeling as a player. When the other team calls a timeout right after something you did. It's empowering. It makes you want more.

"It's alright. We just gotta look for more open shots, stop pushing the contested baskets, look for the man in the corner or the man left in the middle of the lane. I like our defense, we're playing hard. Let's go!" Ty Lue's soft voice is surprisingly stern, eyeing us all carefully. "How much do you want this?"

I want it bad. It's so close I can practically feel the smooth surface of the trophy under my fingers, the cold champagne falling on my skin, the pain as it slips under my goggles and stings my eyes.

Curry comes straight out of the timeout an makes a three, a smirk on his face that just begs to be questioned. I call for a play and then release a fadeaway that somehow misses its mark, the whole team is underneath to get it, though, and it a matter of moments, JR slides to the rim for an easy two. I hold out my hand, and he slaps it as he races down the court.

Frustration build in me as the clock winds down to four minutes, without much happening. With our shots refusing to fall, we rely mostly on our defense, hands in the faces of our guy, trying to get him to mess up.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see RJ on Curry and somehow, the old man manages to get it away from him, bouncing into LeBron while he goes ahead. I merely try to keep the Warriors from advancing down the court, we all know what's about to happen. LeBron passes it to him at the last moment, giving RJ two critical plays in a row.