Cavaliers earned this shot

What happens if the Cavaliers finish off this incredible comeback tonight and win the NBA Finals?

Burning couches? Burning cars?

I do not advocate either one. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s worry about how to celebrate a championship after one is finally secured.

There is the small matter of Game 7 before any of that can happen.

The blueprint for tonight is simple. The Cavaliers pulled even in the NBA Finals by finally turning aggressive and pushing back against the Golden State Warriors, who — in classic bully fashion — didn’t know what to do when they started taking body blows.

The Cavs should keep the pressure on tonight at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., where it is tough to win, but not impossible.

The Warriors, who led the series 2-0 and 3-1 and were about to make championship parade plans, are on their heels against a team that was all but written off after losing Game 4 in Cleveland.

But rumors of the Cavaliers’ demise — and that of their erstwhile leader LeBron James — were greatly exaggerated.

James scored 41 points in back-to-back games to enable the Cavaliers to force a winner-take-all finale and draw Cleveland fans all in again for that elusive bandwagon ride to a championship.

As the momentum changed, the Cavaliers got inside the heads of the Warriors from the head coach down to the last guy on the bench. Steve Kerr, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson suddenly morphed from their roles as defending champions to griping about calls and non-calls and where on the court it is permissible to set a pick.

The ball won’t be in the Cavaliers’ court in the literal sense tonight, but it must still be in their court figuratively.

Golden State now sounds like a team desperate to prove to itself that it can still win. Cleveland has the momentum and the opportunity to end its long championship drought.

No pressure. It’s just an entire region and multiple generations of fans turning their lonely eyes to James and his teammates and asking them to deliver what has come to be known as the impossible in northeastern Ohio.

A championship? Here? It was once unthinkable, even if Cleveland teams periodically team up with fate to tease fans.

First off, let’s be clear about this. We’re not talking about niche leagues and titles no one remembers from years ago or cares about now.

The Cleveland Crunch won something called the National Professional Soccer League three times in the 1990s. I covered the Crunch — and the old Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League — a few times in another life. I admit to a bit of warm Cleveland nostalgia when I hear names like Kai Haaskivi, Hector Marinaro and Otto Orf.

But the Crunch and Force were never part of our psyche the way the Browns, Cavaliers and Indians have been.

The same is true for the Lake Erie Monsters, who just won the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup.

That’s nice, but it wasn’t a championship that had us dancing in the streets. A year from now, will any of us really remember the name of the trophy the Monsters won?

But tonight could be a night to remember for Cleveland’s long-suffering and title-starved fans.

The Browns lost three AFC championship games — two in excruciating fashion — to the Denver Broncos in the 1980s.

The Indians went to the World Series in 1995 and lost to the pitching-rich Atlanta Braves in six games. They returned two years later and were one strike from beating the Florida Marlins when everything fell apart.

The Cavaliers went to the NBA Finals in 2007, but were easily outclassed by the San Antonio Spurs. A year ago, James put the Cavs on his back with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love hurt and had a series for the ages, but the deeper and more talented Warriors eventually pulled away.

James has taken over again these last few games and with Irving’s help and some key contributions from Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith, the Cavaliers have made it an NBA Finals to remember.

But everyone knows Cleveland’s sports history since the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964. It has been once instance of fate (read: Lucy Van Pelt) yanking glory away from Cleveland (read: Charlie Brown) at the last possible moment.

So you can understand why Cleveland fans might not know how to react if everything — for once — goes their way tonight.

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @EdPuskas_Vindy.com.