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Cavs’ Blatt recalls good times after loss

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro offers ‘condolences’ after Golden State’s win over Cavaliers

By JTA 17 June 2015, 8:15 pm

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Then-Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt calls a play during the first half of Game 6 of basketball's NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, in Cleveland, Tuesday, June 16, 2015. (AP/Tony Dejak)

David Blatt, the Israeli-American coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, lamented his team’s loss in the NBA Finals but said it doesn’t mean the overall season was bad.

“Not every story has a happy ending,” Blatt said at a news conference early Wednesday morning after the Golden State Warriors won the championship with a victory in Game 6 in Cleveland.

“It doesn’t mean it was a bad story. It was not. It was a good story.”

The Warriors took the best-of-7 series, 4 games to 2, to claim their first title in 40 years.

Thousands of fans of Blatt and the Cavs, led by the four-time Most Valuable Player LeBron James, had woken up in the early hours of the morning to watch the Finals live.

The sun is up, the kids are up & all of #Israel is ready 2 see #blatt and #Cavs send themselves to game 7 #ALLinCLE pic.twitter.com/KTG6zGFMgK

— Joshua Davidovich (@Josh_Davidovich) June 17, 2015

It was Blatt’s first season as Cavaliers’ head coach. Last season he guided Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague championship.

The US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, told Army Radio in an interview on Wednesday morning in Israel shortly after the game ended that he “offers condolences and commiserates” on the defeat.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives on Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) and guard Andre Iguodala (9) during the first half of Game 6 of basketball's NBA Finals in Cleveland, Tuesday, June 16, 2015. (AP/Tony Dejak) — Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives on Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40) and guard Andre Iguodala (9) during the first half of Game 6 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Tuesday, June 16, 2015. (AP/Tony Dejak)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly contacted Blatt last week to wish him good luck in the Finals and told him “all of Israel is behind the Cavaliers.”