Warriors, Cavs ready for trilogy
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — After a summer highlighted by Kevin Durant’s decision to leave Oklahoma City for the star-laden Golden State Warriors, a six-month regular season and three rounds of playoffs, the NBA Finals are right back where they ended last June.
Not that anyone expected any different.
Take 3 of the NBA Finals trilogy between Golden State and the Cleveland Cavaliers gives Stephen Curry and Draymond Green a chance to avenge last year’s Warriors collapse and LeBron James the opportunity to add a fourth title.
Perhaps most noteworthy, it gives Durant the chance at a first championship and validation for his decision to leave the Thunder.
“I can’t go out there and do everything on my own, or I can’t go out there and just let my teammates do all the work for me,” Durant said Wednesday, a day before the series opener. “I got to do my part and we all got to make it come together as a group.”
This matchup has seemed ordained since James walked off the court in Oakland last June, having delivered his native northeast Ohio its first major team championship since 1964.
James had won two titles as part of another “super team” in Miami, but last year’s meant even more to his legacy.
“I’m not in the ‘prove people wrong, silence critics’ department no more,” James said. “I got a promotion when I got to the 30s. At the end of the day, I know the way I’m built. My only motivation is to be able to compete for a championship every single year.”
The Warriors have been right there the past two years, winning the franchise’s first title in 40 years in 2015 and then blowing a 3-1 lead last year to put a sour ending on a record-breaking 73-win season.
That series turned when Green was suspended for Game 5 and James and Kyrie Irving took over.
“Any time someone beats you, you’d love to play them,” Green said. “But at the end of the day winning a championship is winning a championship. You don’t care who you’ve got to take down, you just want to take whoever that is down.”
Police: Racial slur sprayed at James’ L.A. home
LOS ANGELES — Police are investigating after someone spraypainted a racial slur on the front gate of LeBron James’ home in Los Angeles.
An unidentified person spray painted the N-word on the front gate of James’ home in the Brentwood neighbourhood on Wednesday, said Capt. Patricia Sandoval, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
James wasn’t at the home at the time, but the property manager told officers that they believe the incident was captured on surveillance video, Sandoval said.