OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Stephen Curry, whose deft dribbling and long-range shooting led the Golden State Warriors to their first National Basketball Association title in 40 years, is The Associated Press 2015 Male Athlete of the Year. “They had the tempo where they wanted it. And for us to win that game it shows we can win any type of game”. “We just show our versatility and try to win different ways”.
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Draymond Green had 22 points and 15 rebounds, Shaun Livingston saved eight of his season-best 16 points for a tight fourth quarter, leading the Warriors to their 14th straight home win this season and 32nd in a row at home in the regular season dating back to a year ago.
“We don’t believe we’re going to make a statement with one game”, Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said. “That just trickled down to everyone else, and we missed out on a great opportunity”.
LeBron James scored 25 points to lead the Cavaliers.
A week after saying coach Fred Hoiberg was being too soft and laid-back on the Bulls, Butler helped end a three-game losing streak. On the evening, James made just one basket outside 10 feet and he never quite got Cleveland’s ball movement where it needed to be.
LeBron James scored 25 points to lead the Cavaliers, who had won their previous six games. Both times, Love seemingly had an opportunity to step across to provide help defense, but he wound up being a bystander on the play.
You just know that, despite their politically correct responses following the game, they took some extra satisfaction in winning as the short-handed team, playing the Cavaliers’ preferred style.
James responded with a pair of dunks and a blocked shot on Thompson before Love’s tip-in made the score 81-77 with slightly more than two minutes to play.
Unlike the Finals, the Warriors leaned on centers Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli. It was the result of them out-hustling, out-defending, and out-passing the Cleveland Cavaliers, and at the core of all those facets of the game, Green was the one setting the tone. C Timofey Mozgov had zero points on 0-for-5 shooting. The team might not have gotten the job done earlier today, as they fell to the Golden State Warriors, 89-83, but it does not discount what they have done all season.
Bosh’s 30 points matched his season high. With Irving not all the way recovered from a broken left kneecap suffered in last June’s Finals, James again had to shoulder the offensive load. They shot 41% overall, 27.8% from three-point range and lost the turnover battle by a decent margin (16 to 11).
They wouldn’t say it publicly, but they relished the thought of taking down one of the elite teams. From Draymond Green’s playoff intensity to Stephen Curry’s back-from-the-locker-room injury heroics, this didn’t feel like any normal game. Walton said he is always concerned when his star has any injury but Curry said this will not be a long-term issue. “I was able to get through it. With two days off and a couple of practices”.
While American Pharoah got three more first-place votes than Curry’s 24, Curry appeared on 86 percent of the 82 ballots that ranked the top five candidates.
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Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade combined for 49 points as the Miami Heat downed the New Orleans Pelicans 94-88 in overtime. He could join an elite list of players who averaged 17 points per game with 10 rebounds while hitting 35 percent of his three pointers.
