Steph Curry finished with 38 points as he led the Warriors to a Game 4 victory over the Cavaliers tonight. His high in the three games thus far is 19 points in Game Three, a game the Warriors lost by 30 points and trailed for the majority of its duration.
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The Cavs handed defending champion Golden State just its fourth defeat at sold-out Oracle Arena all season, denying MVP Stephen Curry and the Warriors a chance to celebrate a second straight title with their golden-clad “Strength In Numbers” supporters. It was Cleveland’s first postseason loss at home after winning its first eight.
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving took 33 of the Cavaliers’ 38 shots in the second half. They went almost seven minutes between baskets in the fourth, and the Warriors countered with Harrison Barnes’ fourth 3-pointer of the game to stretch the lead to 93-84 – their largest of the night – with 5:56 left.
Cleveland looked strong in this game but it all fell apart for them in the fourth quarter.
Following the news that he would not be able to play in Game 3, several members of the Cavaliers, namely small forward LeBron James and point guard Kyrie Irving, went up to Love and let them know that they would win the game for him.
James had a key role in disrupting the usually potent Golden State offense as he was assigned the task of guarding Draymond Green, the player who had made the biggest difference during the first two games of the Finals, each won by the Warriors.
In the first quarter, the Warriors shot 56.3% and led 29-28.
It was the most competitive game of the series, after three blowouts. He missed Cleveland’s bounce-back Game 3 win over Golden State. Tristan Thompson made him pay at the other end when, with the shot clock winding, he buried a 16-foot jumper along the right baseline to cap an 8-0 run.
“The first possession we won the tip and they picked us up at half-court, forced us off the post and we ran our entire possession beyond the three-point line”, he said. He was mediocre as a sixth man, though, scoring 11 points with five rebounds in 24 minutes.
Barnes scored 14 points for the Warriors, Green had nine points and 12 rebounds and Andre Iguodala contributed 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds off the bench.
When the Cavs tried to rally, the Warriors’ defense stiffened.
In fact, any kind of double team allows Golden State to play into its strength as a passing team.
Cavaliers: F Kevin Love (concussion) was listed as questionable prior to clearing NBA Concussion Protocol and being declared active one hour before tipoff.
Though the result wasn’t what he wanted, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was proud of the effort his team showed in the game.
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“I’ve got to play 100 times better than that”, he said, dismissing any notion he’s slowed by injuries. Because one 60-yard bomb here and 70-yard connection here and now they’re right back in the game.
