Warriors sweep Cavs to clinch NBA crown
cleveland — The Golden State Warriors secured their status as an NBA dynasty on Friday by steamrolling the Cleveland Cavaliers to claim a third title in four years, and one that might send LeBron James elsewhere to seek championships.
The fourth consecutive NBA Finals match-up between the two rivals proved to be the most lopsided as the Warriors clinched the best-of-seven series in the minimum number of games with a 108-85 victory in Cleveland to repeat as champions.
After a sub-par performance in Game Three, Warriors guard Stephen Curry responded with a spectacular shooting night by scoring a game-high 37 points, while James had a team-high 23.
The Cavaliers clawed back from an 11-point deficit before pulling in front on a slam dunk from James near the midway mark of the second
quarter that brought the home crowd to their feet.
But it was only a matter of time before the Warriors, who boast per- haps the most potent offense the NBA has ever seen, took over, using a dominant third quarter to build a 21-point cushion that left the Cavs’ hopes of a comeback in their wake.
“We knew that they were going to come out with a tough first punch and we answered it and ran right back at them and set the tone for the whole game,” Curry said.
“They made so many runs over the course of 48 minutes but our will took over. Unbelievable feeling to come in here on a mission and get the job done.”
The Cavs had successfully faced down elimination three times this season but were unable to mount any threat of a rally in this one as the Warriors simply possessed too much firepower.
“Sometimes you can give everything you’ve got and still come up short, and I thought that’s what our group of guys did in this series,” Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue lamented. “That’s about it.”
James later revealed that he played the final three contests with a serious and self-inflicted hand injury suffered after a Game One overtime loss in which J.R. Smith ran down the clock rather than attempt a gamewinning shot as time expired.
“I had emotions of you just don’t get an opportunity like this on the road versus Golden State to be able to get a Game One, and I let the emotions get the best of me,” said James, wearing a brace on his right hand at his post-game conference. —
We knew that they were going to come out with a tough first punch and we answered it and ran right back at them and set the tone for the whole game Stephen Curry