The Warriors, who set an National Basketball Association record with 73 regular-season wins, are now 13-1 after a loss this year and 4-1 in the postseason.
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The Warriors made an NBA Finals-record 17 3-pointers.
Thompson buried a pair of treys in a 38-second span during the third quarter that fired up his teammates, including Curry, whose 3-pointer with 4:07 left in the third quarter gave the Warriors their first lead of the second half, 72-69. No team in NBA history has ever come back from 3-1 down to win the NBA Finals.
Stephen Curry scores 38 points and Klay Thompson scores 25 and the Warriors make it look as cool and easy as ice cubes floating in a cocktail glass.
Love, back from a concussion that kept him out of Game 3, finished with 11 points and five rebounds in 25:00, but the rest of Cleveland’s bench scored just four points. This one could end in five even though Irving has played well for much of this matchup and Love returned to the lineup for Game 4 after missing essentially six quarters with a concussion. “I’m all fine with that, but some of the words that came out of his mouth was a little bit overboard, and being a guy with pride, a guy with three kids and a family, some things just go overboard and that’s where he took it”. It’s tough playing 46 minutes and only going to the line four times, as much as I attack the rim.
Along with Curry’s shooting touch, the Warriors welcomed back a more intense defensive effort.
It only seems that way, and James’ all-too-familiar June nightmare is one loss away from being officially complete – though he certainly didn’t sound Friday night that the series was over.
“We’ve already got to take a flight home back anyways, so we might as well come home with a win and play on our home floor again”, James said, not long after Cavs coach Tyronn Lue offered similar sentiments. Or will Golden State take a commanding series lead?
The Warriors needed Curry at the top of his game for Friday, the first tense game of these Finals. “When you’re soft, you get beat on the glass and turn the ball over”.
The Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving was also on a mission, scoring 34 points despite injuring his right thumb in the second quarter. James was dominant, posting 32 points, 6 assists, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the win. “This is the first game where they really got going tonight, and it was hard to stop them”. Time to get ready for Game 5 now.
Late in the fourth quarter the game was briefly interrupted when a shirtless fan with “Trump Sucks” painted on his chest ran onto the court inside Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, which will host the Republican National Convention next month.
The key question now is if Green will have to sit out the entirety of Game 5 back in Oakland.
Cleveland: A year after the Golden State Warriors made a change to the starting lineup that turned momentum in the NBA Finals, the reigning champions might turn to the bench again. “We’ve gotta get one”.
James delivered those. The one he wants most may be out of reach, but the Warriors aren’t writing him off. Today, was another opportunity, a fresh start to come out and get back to who we are and play with aggression, assertiveness and confidence.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr calls it the law of averages. “He plays big minutes for us at multiple positions, so while his stats may not jump out at you, the versatility that he provides us is important”.
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When asked if he thought he’d given James and other players too many minutes, Lue said he didn’t think so. Cleveland’s lead was 83-81 when James scored with 10:21 left, and it was about seven minutes before the Cavaliers managed another field goal.
