Warriors, Cavs looking at fourth finals in a row
oakland — Stephen Curry was still smiling and laughing about Golden State’s second NBA title in three seasons when he made it clear the Warriors think they are just getting started hoisting trophies.
“We’re obviously just getting started,” the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. “This is something that we want to continue to do.”
The Golden State juggernaut rolled over Cleveland four games to one in the best-of-seven championship series, which ended with a 129-120 Warriors home triumph on Monday that brought NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant his first championship.
“They have an incredible team. They beat us, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be back and we’ll be ready to battle again,” Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving said. “You just pick yourself back up and you keep pushing and you keep going.”
It was an unprecedented third consecutive meeting between the clubs in the finals and both appear ready to continue their domination of conference rivals on the way to an annual showdown for the crown.
“As far as that team, they’re going to be here for a while,” Cleveland superstar LeBron James said of the Warriors. “Pretty much all their big-name guys are in their 20s and they don’t show any signs of slowing down. From my eyes, they’re built to last a few years.”
Curry, Durant, 3-point sharpshooter Klay Thompson and forward Draymond Green are all under 30 and formidable starters.
“It’s encouraging. Quite encouraging,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s fun to be part of this. It has been great three-year run, but we feel like we can carry this forward. We’ll see how long.” The Cavaliers will be searching for answers in the off-season after being dethroned, the Warriors avenging last year’s loss when they squandered a 3-1 finals lead. — AFP