But the bottom line is this is the player Draymond needs to be for Golden State to be at its best.
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Stephen Curry got back to dropping deep shots, chomping on that mouthpiece and even barking at LeBron James. The Warriors took control with a gutsy win at Cleveland and now can clinch with a win at home – where they have only lost three games all year.
“I felt he stepped over me, and you’re not just going to step over me”, Green said on NBA TV. “He’s a competitor. He’s been under a heavy microscope, and rightfully so”. And rightfully so. Two-time MVP?
The Warriors can finish the series in Game 5 on Monday (9 p.m ET, ABC).
A source says Curry consulted a orthopedist in Southern California. “We answered the bell”.
He tried to sound pragmatic after sliding within a loss of another missed opportunity to get Cleveland its first National Basketball Association title.
With 3:49 left in the first quarter, Richard Jefferson got caught on Curry at the arc.
“He’s a freight train out there”, said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. He’s the MVP for a reason.
“He doesn’t have the size and strength to dominate a game physically so he has to dominate with his skill”.
After blowing out the Warriors by 30 in Game 3, the Cavaliers had a chance to even the series.
The Warriors can close the series on Monday, and they are surely hoping Thompson and Curry will have another great offensive performance like they had in Game 4. It was that way in the regular season, and it’s that way in the NBA Finals. “Sooner or later it’s going to happen”. Wherever you want them. While Cleveland wound up leading for large stretches of the first three quarters, there wasn’t a double-digit advantage for either side until Curry’s pivotal three-pointer. If you’ve got to play 96 minutes you’ve got to play 96 minutes. The Cavs tightened up and played iso-ball, which resulted in only 20 fourth-quarter points. Kevin Love returned to the lineup after missing Game 3 with a concussion and added 11 points off the bench.
Cleveland, which came in 8-0 at home in the playoffs, went 6:36 without a field goal in the fourth quarter, the kind of scoring drought no team can afford against the potent Warriors. After all the criticisms, he forged a masterpiece, hitting seven of the Warriors’ Finals-record 17 3-pointers. You’re part of it. I’m not saying you’re who does it, but you are there with the people that do… “We can’t wait to get to Oracle”. Thompson and J. R. Smith had 10 points apiece in the first half but were zero in the second as Irving and James turned the Cavs into a two-man gang. Whatever the Warriors needed, whether it was containing Kyrie Irving in the perimeter on switches or contesting shots at the rim, he did all throughout the game.
Cleveland’s point guard was terrific. They also lacked the depth of Golden State, and wore down as Curry, Thompson and Andre Iguodala hit jumper after jumper. Replays showed Green punching James in the groin, but the officials didn’t see it. Green has a history of groin shots, including in this postseason when he kicked Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams between the legs on a baseline shot. “Let’s get one. We’ve already got to take a flight back home anyways, so we might as well come home with a win and play on our home floor again”. Their nine turnovers matched their playoff low…. “He’s one of the guys that attacks the paint every single play”.
Love came off the bench for the first time in several years, providing 11 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes.
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Irving made six of ten shots while playing with his right thumb wrapped in tape.
