Rested Warriors await the Eastern Conference winners

The formidable Warriors are in the NBA Finals for a third straight season.

They got there with fourgame sweeps of Portland, Utah and San Antonio in the Western Conference playoffs, thus becoming the first team in NBA history to carry a 12-0 record into the finals.

Golden State point guard and two-time MVP Stephen Curry and shooting forward Kevin Durant have been a dynamic duo in the postseason, averaging 28.6 and 25.2 points, respectively.

Durant left the Thunder as a free agent after last season to sign a two-year, $34.3 million deal with the Warriors.

Shooting guard Klay Thompson (14 .4 points) and center-power forward Draymond Green (13.9 points) also are playing with purpose as the Warriors try to bounce back from blowing a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals. The Cavaliers mounted the historic comeback that ended with them winning the first title in franchise history.

San Antonio forward Pau Gasol is a 16-year veteran who won NBA titles in 2009 and 2010 while playing for the Lakers. He sang the praises of the Warriors after their 129115 victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.

“In all my years in the league, they’re playing at the highest level right now,” Gasol said.

The Warriors are averaging 118.3 points-per-game in the postseason with a victory margin of 16.3 points.

If the Cavs get the better of the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, it will set up a third straight Finals showdown between the two teams.

Golden State prevailed in the 2015 Finals, 4-2. The Cavaliers were short-handed in that series, having lost Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving to injuries.

The Warriors are being coached by assistant coach Mike Brown as Steve Kerr continues his self-imposed absence because of chronic back pain and allied symptoms. Brown was head coach of the Cavs from 2005 to 2010 and again during the 2013-14 season.

Golden State also will be well-rested when the 2017 Finals ensue.

Thanks to the sweep of the Spurs, they will have been idle nine days when Game 1 of the Finals is played on June 1. points and 9.9 rebounds.

“He’s a tremendously highmotor player,” Stevens said. “I have so much respect for someone who plays so hard and so tough. This guy goes and gets it as well as anybody in the league.”