“I couldn’t sleep for two days”, Durant admitted. He chose Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and a chance at his first championship over returning to Oklahoma City.
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Golden State grabbed the Game 5 lead with a 28-7 second quarter run, and despite pressure from the Cavaliers never gave it up, going on to win 129-120.
He hugged mother Wanda many a time.
Exactly five years ago Kevin Durant faced LeBron James in his first National Basketball Association finals matchup, ultimately losing 4-1.
Drafted second overall in 2007, Durant went on to average 20.3 points per game in his rookie campaign with the Seattle SuperSonics, one of the few bright spots during the team’s dismal season, and was a runaway victor of the NBA Rookie of the Year award. “It’s just a great group of guys, great community, great arena, great fans”, Durant said after the game. “But then that was far from the truth”.
“Me personally, I liked it”, Lue said Sunday.
If the Warriors did anything wrong, it’s that they committed the sin of removing all doubt.
Durant shot 14 for 20 and Curry – the two-time reigning MVP who took a backseat as the new big star got acclimated – finished off a brilliant postseason. “So we see everything”. Even with James averaging a triple-double, and finishing with 41 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in Game 5, and Kyrie Irving, playing with an apparent lower back injury, scoring 26, the Cavs were overmatched.
“I just try to do everything to help this team win and more”, James said. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said it all starts with better on-ball defense. “He was incredible all season long”. To be back here, bring [the trophy] back home, I’m just excited to do something special. “And there’s more to come from him”. Still, he insisted he had another notch to raise his game, and he certainly found it.
James passed Michael Jordan for first place on the all-time playoff scoring list and also eclipsed Jordan for No. 3 on the all-time Finals scoring list.
Ten years after becoming the No. 2 draft pick behind Greg Oden, Durant has reached the pinnacle. “It’s a team sport and I wanted to achieve the highest honor, which is win a championship”. He can’t do it alone.
“When I say something, I’ve thought about what I’m going to say before I say it”, Green said. “Their front office and their players, by doing that recruiting, the things that they did in the summertime, and obviously it paid dividends”.
This year wasn’t dedicated to “overcoming adversity”-it was about primacy and dominance”. I’ve been able to accomplish that individually.
Cleveland’s inability to give the Warriors much of a fight has already sparked talk that James, who left the team in 2010 for Miami before returning four years later, could consider another move during 2018 free agency.
This is a major start.
The Cavaliers like to play a more rugged game using the size and strength of James, Love and Tristan Thompson to their advantage.
Green: I agree, Game 5 will be huge. “And he showed that”.
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You have to go back to the damp, chilly night of October 17, 1974, to Rudi’s solo home run in the seventh, to Reggie Jackson throwing out Bill Buckner, to Fingers – the eventual World Series MVP – getting the final out and leaping into his teammates’ arms.
