They became easier to defend, and ultimately easier to enervate.
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“We can’t relax just because we’re going home and we’ve got a two-game cushion”, said Thompson. Love’s role didn’t determine the outcome of Game 4 – the long-feared outburst from the Splash Brothers did.
And Curry got back to being Curry.
The win was a devastating blow to LeBron James’s Cavaliers, who lost their first home game of the postseason and now trail the best-of-seven NBA Finals 3-1 with Game Five scheduled for Monday in Oakland.
Green had nine points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and the last laugh – at least for now. “I just thought we made some defensive mistakes that cost us”, said Lue.
But with Golden State’s golden season being threatened again, Curry and Thompson stepped up the way they did in the Western Conference finals. “Sometimes our best offense is our defense, and we were making stops and we were able to get out and run and kind of flow into our offense”.
The Cavs, up by five at halftime, were outscored 58-42 in the second half as the Warriors repeatedly hit timely 3-pointers (17-for-36 from downtown as opposed to 6-for-25 for the Cavs) and shut down Cleveland in the final quarter, save for a final flurry of buckets by James with the game already all but over. But by the end, they both looked gassed.
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.
Love sat out Game 3, and the Cavs barely missed him, rolling to a 120-90 win to trim Golden State’s lead to 2-1 in the series, which included a 33-point blowout by the Warriors in Game 2.
Things are getting tense as the Golden State Warriors start to pull away in Game 4. “You can’t keep guys like that down forever”.
Since the Cleveland Browns won their last football title in 1964 the championship game wasn’t even known as the Super Bowl then Cleveland has experienced 147 NBA, NFL, MLB and National Hockey League opening days with title dreams that ultimately were dashed.
A Cleveland fan came up to press row late in the fourth quarter and announced, “This crushes our soul”.
James, Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith all played the entire second half and James said that fatigue wasn’t a factor.
“I’m glad I showed up a little bit, but we still have some work to do”. “Those shots you hit early are a lot harder to hit in the fourth when you have no rest”.
But Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue, well aware that the odds are stacked against his team, had a blunt message.
They’re now on the brink of back-to-back championships, and their first opportunity to close out their record-setting season in the only acceptable manner is set for Monday night on their home floor at Oracle Arena. “Tonight they went in”. So it hurt us.
The Warriors also got it done with some defense down the stretch. “We checked the 3-point line and it was just all-around communication, toughness and effort”.
Iguodala was a monster again off the bench, tallying 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds in 37 minutes.
This was the Warriors’ 88th win of the season, setting the National Basketball Association record for most combined wins in the regular season and postseason, previously held by the 1995-96 Bulls.
With Kevin Love back in action, the Cavs have the option of returning to their usual starting line-up.
In a battle of strategies between the two coaches, Steve Kerr would insert Anderson Varajeo and James Michael McAdoo into the rotation.
The Warriors punched first, winning the opening quarter 29-28.
Steph Curry made his first two three-pointers of the quarter, Klay Thompson and Curry combined for back-to-back-to-back three-pointers and Curry sank another three.
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“He’s fast, he’s active and in this series they’ve gone pretty small so he fits in well”, Kerr told ABC’s Doris Burke at the quarter break.
