Bruce Jenkins: Durant towered above rest with his second consecutive Finals MVP.
The Cleveland Cavaliers know the feeling so intimately, it probably makes them ill: Once Kevin Durant joined the Warriors, it ended all suspense.
What happened in Cleveland on Friday night was one of the greatest team performances in the history of championship-clinching games. So many Warriors contributed to the cause, it became the purest validation of the organizational plan. And yet, somehow, Durant towered above the rest with his second consecutive Finals MVP award, racking up the first triple-double of his playoff career with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
The best of it came early, when the fans at Quicken Loans Arena still had their prayers. Durant hit his first shot, an 11-foot fallaway from the left baseline. He blocked a driving layup by LeBron James, and then he swatted an inside shot by Tristan Thompson. He picked up a technical foul about halfway through the first quarter, reflecting nothing but his furious pride and determination. With the finish line not far ahead, Durant grabbed the Warriors’ baton and led the way.
Until there was no more suspense. Until the Cavaliers had been dismantled beyond recognition. Until even the great LeBron wore a look of utter resignation.
James left the court without taking a few moments to shake the Warriors’ hands, but there was no need. He made the ultimate statement when he checked out of the game — and perhaps out of Cleveland — for the very last time. With about four minutes remaining, James bumped fists with Durant, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala.
How fitting: The Hamptons 5. If a single episode defined exactly what has happened to the NBA since Durant joined the Warriors, that was it.
Interesting, too, that coach Steve Kerr employed that lineup so late in the game, finally going with the subs at the 2:47 mark. This night was all about a historical statement for the Warriors, something every NBA fan needs to remember for the rest of time. And they delivered that message without mercy.
As a sold-out crowd celebrated at the Oracle Arena watch party, and toasts were raised from Gilroy to Novato, consider how many Warriors took satisfaction into the Cleveland night:
⏩ Jordan Bell staked his claim for next year’s starting-center position. He was everywhere in 18 minutes, engaged in some sublime ball movement and contesting shots with fierce regularity. The Warriors love Kevon Looney, but he’s due for a nice payday elsewhere as a free agent, and he saw the floor for just three minutes.
⏩ Whatever JaVale McGee’s future may hold — in Oakland or elsewhere — he topped off an influential all-court performance with a soaring secondquarter block of J.R. Smith’s three-pointer from the left baseline. What a snapshot, this 7-foot giant so gracefully positioned in midair.
⏩ If David West retires, in the wake of two consecutive championships, he’ll know his timing is impeccable. He helped the Warriors pull away with a vintage sequence: terrific pass to Green for a layup, then a soft lefty shot of his own.
⏩ Thompson couldn’t have felt more lost at halftime. Took one shot, missed it, and sat out considerable time in foul trouble. He came to life with a three-pointer and a 20-footer in the third quarter, giving Golden State a 79-63 lead.
⏩ When Luke Walton served as Kerr’s assistant during the championship season of 201415, he had a great line about Iguodala: “He plays his best when you need him to.” Once a go-to shooter in his days with the 76ers, Iguodala hasn’t been much of an outside threat with the Warriors — but there he was in Game 4, nailing three of his first five three-point attempts. ⏩ On a quiet night by his standards — three rebounds, 1-for-5 shooting from threepoint range in 39 minutes — Green surely took pride in his nine assists, rugged defense and three blocks.
⏩ Nick Young, surely saying his farewell to the team, got himself a wide-open threepointer in the first quarter and buried it — as hundreds of Cleveland fans thought to themselves, “You’ve got to be kidding.”
⏩ Remember when the Houston Rockets missed 27 straight three-pointers in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals? As if they had no idea what else to do? The Warriors hit 14 three-pointers Friday night, and Curry was a machine, but they hit 25 shots from range. That’s how it’s done, and apparently, it’s something the one-note Rockets will never understand.
⏩ Leave it to Doris Burke, ABC’s splendid broadcaster, to say it perfectly during the postgame trophy ceremony. “Your specialty is storytelling,” she told movie mogul Peter Guber, the Warriors’ co-owner. “It’s not often that the sequel is as good as the original.”
It might have been even better. As the great LeBron ponders his future and dozens of NBA general managers go back to a vacant drawing board, all of them surely realize there is much more to come.