Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in game four of the NBA Finals in Cleveland, June 10, 2016. The Cavaliers still haven’t closed the gap on the Golden State Warriors.
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That third game saw Cleveland deliver a sound 120-90 spanking to the defending champions, but Golden State rebounded for their 88th victory of the season – the most combined wins in the regular season and post-season in history. Golden State hasn’t lost three straight all season.
All three Cavaliers losses were by double digits, and there was little from Game 4 to provide them hope.
Last night was the first time in the series that a game had not threatened to become a blowout, with a close, physical game tight until the Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter. “It’s going to be our biggest game of the year”, Curry said.
45 seconds left and 7 points in it. “We checked the three-point line and it was just all-around communication, toughness and effort”.
Despite the consensus that the Cavaliers are done, and that the Warriors will probably wrap up the series in Game 5 at home, Curry noted that buying into that kind of hype was not for him. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving played the entire second half.
The Warriors outscored the Cavaliers 58-42 in the second half, with Steph Curry, 38 points, including seven three-pointers, and Klay Thompson, 25 points, having their best games of the finals. “We need to play with a sense of urgency and sense of aggression like we had tonight”. Because one 60-yard bomb here and 70-yard connection here and now they’re right back in the game.
Stephen Curry answered his critics in game four of the NBA Finals, leaving Steve Kerr to heap praise on the MVP.
It took three games, but the NBA Finals finally delivered a compelling, competitive contest.
The Warriors were off Saturday and will prep Sunday for Game 5.
They celebrated in that locker room after clinching the title in Game 6 a year ago, but that is all on hold this season.
“You’ve got a guy like that, physically gifted, high IQ, one of the best passers I’ve ever seen, he gets it going, there’s nothing you can do”, Andre Iguodala said of containing LeBron in the fourth. Love missed Game 3 with a concussion, but was cleared to play Friday.
Golden State, frankly, looked soft in Game 3.
“When I had the ball in my hands, I had to be assertive and decisive”, Curry said. McAdoo logged eight minutes and played solid defense, while Varejao had three crucial offensive rebounds in four minutes of third-quarter action. “That’s the way we always approach things and it works out for us”.
Kyrie Irving scored 34 points and James had 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. While Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue tried to buy time for his players by using his timeouts liberally throughout the game, James, Irving and J.R. Smith each played the entire fourth quarter, and each finished the quarter with -9 plus/minus rating, as the Warriors went on a 12-1 run in the fourth.
Things got more intense later in the fourth quarter as a shirtless male fan ran on the court with a negative message about Donald Trump written on his chest. Curry and Thompson then went 10-for-10 from the line in the final minute.
“If you can’t get up for that, there’s something wrong with you”.
They are right there, up 3-1 over Cleveland in the NBA Finals, and who’s stopping them now?
When asked if he thought he’d given James and other players too many minutes, Lue said he didn’t think so.
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Kings’ Cousins to play in Rio • Kings All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins has been told he has earned a spot on the United State’s Men’s National basketball team roster and will play in the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, a league source said Friday.
