Though the Warriors, led by unanimous MVP Stephen Curry, enjoyed the greatest regular season in the history of the National Basketball Association, finishing with a 73-9 win-loss record that bettered Michael Jordan’s legendary 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team, Detroit Pistons star Andre Drummond will be among those willing on LeBron James as he looks to end Cleveland’s 46-year wait for an National Basketball Association championship.
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The 2016 NBA Finals are here, and after a topsy-turvy conference playoffs, a long-and in Golden State’s case, record-setting-season, and almost twelve months, we’re right back to where we were a year ago: with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors facing off against each other.
With all watching eyes fixed on the Warriors’ devastating shooting of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, it was the home team’s bench that made the difference as the Cavs failed to make the most of a third quarter fight back.
Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers in scoring with 26 points, while LeBron James finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Barbosa scored 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting, Livingston scored 20 points and Iguodala had 12. But Cleveland shot just 38 percent and its 17 turnovers led to 25 points for the Warriors. While this season’s Golden State Warriors team is better still than last season’s, the Cavaliers will have Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love returning, meaning the team will not rely on James Jones to play almost 20 minutes per game. With a far healthier team than last year, James tries again to end Cleveland’s 52-year title drought in pro sports, which includes losses in both of the Cavs’ appearances in the finals. Livingston (20 points) was effective, stepping in for an erratic Curry and delivering his best game of the postseason. Golden State led by nine points at halftime, but the Cavaliers made sure the lead remained manageable.
“We’ve definitely got to do a better job getting the ball moving side-to-side, getting their bodies moving”, he said.
“I’m not in the business of ranking or debating who is what, ” Curry said.
You can’t just come in to the playoffs – or the Finals for that matter – and play like you would in the regular season. “For him to be in this position I think is great for him”.
“That’s our motto. That’s what we believe in”, Livingston said.
The Cavaliers’ 2014-15 season was filled with big expectations, centered around James, Irving and Love. The Cavs grabbed the offensive rebound on a third of their missed shots in the first half, plus they got to the free throw line 11 times (compared to twice for the Warriors). But you know what, our guys played hard every night. And for the second straight game Golden State received a boost from its bench. It also came largely with James resting on the bench.
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Curry shot 4 of 15 for 11 points, and Thompson was 4 of 12.
