CLEVELAND, Ohio - All the accolades, the praise and the admiration for Stephen Curry has led to the birth of a Gothic figure during these NBA Finals: LeBron James, the Undertaker.

For most of his career, James wanted to be loved and admired. That was how he performed best. Playing the villain in his first season with the Miami Heat backfired. Internally, he couldn't thrive in that role. He crumbled in The Finals that season, putting up some abysmal numbers.

He ditched the villain character soon after and captured two rings. That was his comfort zone, but he realized recently that it couldn't stay that way, and it's because of Curry.

No matter what James does on or off the court, he will never be as revered as Curry for reasons unknown. Right now, he's losing that battle. It's a Curry lovefest and due to that, James has gone full out heel.

From sporting a black Undertaker T-shirt, to making the call to go with the team's black-sleeved jerseys in Game 5, to coming out to the Undertaker's theme music in Game 6, James has tapped into his dark side.

If all eyes are going to be predominantly fixed on the heavenly Curry, James is determined to embarrass the back-to-back MVP at all costs and lay him to rest amongst the common NBA All-Stars.

And don't ask him if he thinks he's still the best player in the game. I asked him that question recently just for a little comedic relief and his face contorted in such a way you would have thought a hideous odor had hit the room.

Scoring 82 points in the last two games has been an epic feat. James is reintroducing himself to the masses and alerting folks that his reign as the NBA's best player is anything but over.

He gets a pure sense of joy every time he volleyballs one of Curry's layup attempts into the audience. When he sees a Curry shot going up in the paint, he's going for the long ball. James is sending a message: "You're not even close to being on my level."

Curry is well aware of James' personal vendetta. No. 23 wants to conquer the championship that has eluded the city for five decades. But in the process, he's also on a mission to leave a long-lasting stain on what has been a historic year for Curry.

"He's made two good plays on the fast break, and obviously tonight on the block, made great defensive plays," Curry said. "However he wants to celebrate or whatever he wants to do to kind of take in that moment, it is what it is. I stay aggressive. Don't let that try to get in my head."

But you can see it is. When Curry was ejected from the game on Friday, he had some parting words for James.

James was pumped for this contest. After shootaround before Game 6, I asked the forward if he was ready for tonight.

"Me? You're worried about me?" he questioned. "My shoes stay laced up." I countered, asking, "Well, are your teammates' shoes laced up?"

He took a knee, and pretended as if he were tying multiple pairs of shoes. The two-time champ said, "Before we take that floor, I'll be doing this one by one, checking laces and tying laces." He then broke out laughing as he walked away to receive treatment.

The pressure of potentially losing in The Finals for the fifth time has not fazed the four-time MVP.

A symbolic coffin will be waiting near the court at Oracle Arena on Sunday. After 48 minutes, somebody will rest in peace, and James will do all he can to allow Curry to meet his maker. He has finally embraced his dark side and has learned how to dominate from within it.

Game 7 is "The Coffin Match."