And even though things didn’t totally go their way through the first few quarters of the game, the Cavs had a 69-64 lead with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. It was a reminder of how demoralizing the Warriors can be.
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Not himself through the first three games of the NBA Finals, Curry arrived in Game 4 – just in time – and pushed the Golden State Warriors within one win of making more history in this season of seasons. In fairness to LeBron, Golden State’s defense has made it hard for him to “take over”.
They entered the game having averaged 28 combined points a game in this series, and helped the Warriors set an National Basketball Association record with 17 threes in a Finals game. He also took care of the ball, finishing with just three turnovers in nearly 40 minutes.
Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson also rediscovered his touch and added 25 points for a Warriors team that looked much more like the squad that won a record 73 games during the NBA’s 82-game regular season.
“We’ve got to be aggressive”, James said. “I think up 2-0, we came in here and for whatever reason we thought ‘OK, we’ve got this.’ And they kicked us in the teeth”.
So the drama around the Cavaliers certainly changed over 48 game minutes. James had 25 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists and seven turnovers, falling an assist shy of his 16th postseason triple-double and seventh in his Finals career.
Irving finished with 34 points but was 3 of 10 in the fourth quarter.
James was angered by what Green said to him during the incident. They have two of the best three-point shooters of all time, but the Cavs entered the Finals hitting more threes than any other team in the playoffs. I don’t think there’s any doubting that we can do it. The duo had stuggled to hit 3’s in the first three games of the series, but head coach Steve Kerr said he knew they would eventually have a breakout game. “It’s tough playing 46 minutes and only going to the line four times”. He’s a very smart player. “I thought he took some tough ones”. He played seven, eight minutes and gave us a huge lift and gave our guys some rest. If Cleveland can’t figure out a way to move the ball and create 3-pointers in rhythm, this series could be over quickly. “I was in between in Game 3”. In Game 4, the Warriors were able to match Cleveland’s energy early, and held a 29-28 lead after one quarter.
The Warriors, who set an NBA Finals record with 17 3-pointers, took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.
When the Cavs take the floor Monday night at Oracle Arena, they’ll be facing elimination on the road in front of a hostile crowd.
On the flip side, the Cavaliers were done in by their lust for 3’s, using them as a desperate attempt to stay in the game as they saw it slipping away from them in the fourth quarter. With that group, keyed by the versatility of Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green, Golden State went on a 12-1 run over a six-plus-minute span in the fourth to take a 93-84 advantage that essentially sealed it for good. “If you’ve got to play 96 minutes, you’ve got to play 96 minutes”. We’re trying to win. “So, you know, we answered the bell”. “In nine days, you can rest all summer”. 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. Played hero ball. The Warriors needed him to.
“A lot less breakdowns than what we had last game”, Curry said.
“I mean, coach is right”, Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. The coach of the Golden State Warriors is someone who famously got into a fistfight with Michael Jordan as a player, and got into a fistfight with a clipboard earlier in these playoffs.
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He made all the right moves previous year, a lineup change after the first three games of the 2015 Finals against Cleveland turning the tide and helping the Warriors turn a 2-1 series deficit into a trophy celebration after six games. It’s The Finals. Guys are going to lay everything on the line for this moment.
