It’s unclear if the Warriors even noticed.
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If the league decides to retroactively assess a flagrant-1, Green would miss Game 5 on Monday night since it would be his fourth flagrant point of the playoffs.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) is congratulated after the Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-97 in Game 4 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Friday, June 10, 2016.
So, entering Game 4 on Friday night, of course everyone has been wondering whether or not Love will be available to contribute once again. “But when you have Steph’s range and handle, we’ll take that shot everyday”.
Game 4 was a back and forth affair for 36 minutes.
The Warriors seemed to have grown exhausted of questions about their star backcourt’s ineffectiveness.
James had to be momentarily restrained by teammates.Asked what happened, Green explained, “Game 4, NBA Finals.”James reported that it was something Green said that bothered him most.”He said something that I don’t agree with”, James said”.
Off the mark in the first three games, the Splash Brothers found the pool in the third quarter.
Irving finally scored inside with 3:45 left, but on the next trip, Curry buried a three-pointer for a 96-86 lead. The Larry O’Brien Trophy will be flying cross-country to Oakland on Saturday, and Golden State will have a chance to mussy it up with joyous fingerprints and champagne baths on Monday night. “So we’ve got to learn from our mistakes. I’m all fine with that, but some of the words that came out of his mouth were a little bit overboard”, James said after the game. “Just move on from it”. You have to have that “always ready” mindset, if the coach needs you, if you’re not going to be ready if he needs you in the fourth quarter because of a lineup change or – you just have to stay ready.
On paper years from now, it’ll seem like it was easy. But by the end, they both looked gassed.
Without Love in the lineup in Game 3, Cleveland got off to a strong start, going up 9-0 to begin the game and eventually leading by as many as 20 points in the first quarter.
“The Warriors are really the toughest team to go against when you’re up”, James said.
Then in the fourth, the Warriors did what they do.
After three blowouts, the finals finally produced late drama. You’ve got, you know, everybody in your ear, you’ve got friends, you’ve got family who want to come to the game and want to discuss everything.
“We have to understand that this series is not over”.
Meanwhile, for the first time since April 2010, Kevin Love is going to play in a game that he doesn’t start.
True, for a lot of reasons.
“We needed to bounce back individually and as a team to figure out how to get a win on the road and put ourselves in pretty good position”, Curry said.
Now in order to win this series, not only do they have to win three consecutive games, they also have to beat the Warriors twice on their home floor – something no team has done during the postseason.
This is James’ seventh trip to the finals, and barring the most improbable of comebacks this will be his fifth time watching someone else hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. “Being a confident bunch, we feel like the chips have been stacked up against us all year anyway”.
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Golden State and Cleveland haven’t played many nailbiters in these playoffs.
