The veteran was unstoppable from mid-range, using his lanky 6-foot-7 frame to shoot over Cavaliers defenders — completely unfazed by outstretched arms attempting to contest his looks.
He took over down the stretch, milking his hot hand and guiding Golden State to the victory. But you may recall, there was once a time in which it was genuinely unclear whether Livingston would ever walk again — much less play basketball at such a high level.
In a game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Feb. 26, 2007, Livingston crumpled to the floor following a breakaway, suffering a gruesome knee injury.
Following the injury, Livingston missed the entire 2007-08 season. The Los Angeles Clippers released him on July 10, 2008.
He returned for the 2008-09 season after he signed with the Miami Heat, but played just 12 games split between Miami and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Throughout his first six seasons after being drafted No. 4 overall in 2004, the promising high school product missed 299 of a possible 492 regular season games (60.7 percent).
Thereafter, Livingston finally started to get his legs back under him. He played 73 games for Charlotte in 2010-11, then bounced around with Milwaukee, Washington and Cleveland before landing with the Brooklyn Nets — for whom he played 76 games (54 starts) in 2013-14.
Since joining up with the Warriors, Livingston has been absent for just eight games in two seasons. He’s anchored one of the NBA’s best second units, winning a championship in 2015 and contributing to a record-setting 73-win club this season.
It was the high point of Livingston’s career — a career that nearly ended before his 22nd birthday. Nobody is more deserving of such a shining moment, given everything the 30-year-old had to go through just to get back to playing the game he loves.
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