The Warriors weren’t surprised Curry bounced back. They were banging, and after Green fell down, James stepped over him.
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“He’s a competitor, and he’s been under a heavy microscope”. “A two-time MVP, you’re expected to have great games in The Finals. He struggled the first three; tonight he was our guy”.
Game 5 of the series is Monday night in Oakland, the Warriors now leading the series 3-1 after a 108-97 win on Friday night.
“The work is not done”, Curry said. “We answered the bell. But we’ve got to get one”.
And Curry got back to being Curry.
“Which seems insane given what it looked like in the first half”, coach Steve Kerr said. He’s the MVP for a reason.
Golden State’s 110-77 Game 2 blowout of Cleveland marked their seventh straight victory over the LeBron James-led team dating back to last year’s NBA Finals, but the streak ended with a crash at Quicken Loans Arena.
“I mean, sooner or later it’s going to happen. He’s a guy you have to account for in a lot of ways, so when he’s on the floor, we’ll be well aware of his presence”.
Of the 32 teams who have gone down 1-3 in the National Basketball Association Finals, none have rebounded to win the best-of-seven series, even against teams far less mighty than the Warriors have been in the 2015-16 season.
“Let’s get one”, he said of his mindset heading out to California.
Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with 34 points while LeBron James had 25 points and 13 rebounds.
Love had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench, J.R. Smith scored 10 points and Tristan Thompson finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Unlike the first three games of the Finals which ended in routs, the Cavaliers and the Warriors kept things close this time, swopping leads throughout the game.
Curry had already missed Game Two and Three of that series by tweaking his knee, and he would miss the clinching Game Five as well as the first three games of second round matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers.
You’ve heard it many times before this year, but the 3rd quarter was once again a firestorm for Curry and Thompson. “We’ve just got to get one”. This game was superb through the first three quarters, seesawing back and forth, with 15 lead changes and 11 ties. But that game woke up the Warriors.
Curry and Thompson also responded well to all the criticism they received.
During the pregame warmups, the Warriors, and specifically point guard Stephen Curry, were perhaps a little too loose.
Green has found himself in another postseason mess.
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. Irving and James combined to take 33 of the Cavs’ 38 shots in the second half. Neither was hit with a technical, though, leaving Green still two shy of a mandatory one-game suspension. If Game 3 was any indication of how Game 4 will be, this will be a very hard game for the Warriors to win. Their nine turnovers matched their playoff low….
Harsh words aside, there wasn’t much joy for the Cavaliers in the second half of Game 4.
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There was at least some good news for Cleveland, who had Kevin Love back after his recovery from concussion. If only they could have had some sort of repeat performance of the 30-point knockout punch they landed on the Warriors in Game 3.
