The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cavs show they won’t roll over
Doctor, we have a pulse. The Cavaliers remain in critical condition, but last rites were postponed until at least three days after the way they crushed the Warriors in record fashion in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 9, 137-116.
The Cavs played better in Game 2 than in Game 1, better in Game 3 than in Game 2 and then in Game 4 turned in one of the most dominating performances in NBA history to send the series back to Oakland on June 12 for Game 5 in Oracle Arena.
One year ago, the Cavs were in this exact position, down three games to one, and we all know what happened. They just took a different path to get to 1-3. Instead of winning Game 3 and losing Game 4 at home as they did in 2016, they flipped those results.
So the Cavs will head west knowing they are good enough to beat the Warriors – even a Warriors team with Kevin Durant.
The Warriors, especially Coach Steve Kerr, whiny Steph Curry and moody Klay Thompson have to be thinking, “We cannot let this happen again,” and if that is the case doubt is creeping in like a Bay Area fog.
Kyrie Irving, with 40 points, and LeBron James with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists were unstoppable. Tristan Thompson finally awoke from his funk and had 10 rebounds.
No matter how this series ends, the Cavaliers remain a proud team.
The Cavs stomped on the gas pedal from the opening tip and never let off, and with each basket and each Tristan Thompson rebound the Quicken
Loans Arena crowd got louder. The Cavs led, 4933, after one quarter.
No team in NBA Finals history scored 49 before the Cavaliers did it. They led, 86-68, at halftime, setting another Finals scoring record.
The Warriors started Game 4 as though, A) they thought they had the series wrapped up or B) figured they could just finish business in front of their home crowd in Game 5.
Far before it was over, they looked fragile and flustered.
All it takes now is for the Cavaliers to play Game 5 like they played Game 4 — pass the ball on the perimeter to find the open shooter, drive the lane to draw the foul and turn the pursuit of every loose ball into a rugby scrum.
The Cavaliers were 24 of 45 on 3s. The most they had in any of the first
three games of the series was 12.
It was the most physical game of the series so far. Advantage, Cavaliers. Tempers were short on both sides. James and Durant got double technicals for a staredown at 7:26 of the third, and with 1:10 left in the same quarter, during a scramble for a loose ball, Iman Shumpert of the Cavaliers and Zaza Pachulia of the Warriors were hit with technicals. Pachulia clearly punched Shumpert in the groin.
Each replay fueled the anger of the crowd.
A total of seven technical fouls — four on the Warriors and three on the Cavs — were issued.
Cavs forward Kevin Love was issued a flagrant foul for whacking Durant’s neck.
Coach Tyronn Lue, as he always does when he scents trouble, was smart
with his timeouts. He called one 45 seconds into the third quarter after the Warriors scored two quick buckets to trim the deficit to 86-72. The Cavs went on an 8-1 run.
The Cavs led, 115-96, after three quarters. Golden State scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter and Lue called timeout again. He did not want a repeat of Game 3 when Golden State scored the last 11 points to steal a 118113 victory.
They had no such comeback this time.
Before the Finals began, Irving said he did not want the storybook to end with last year’s championship.
The last chapter of 2017 has yet to be written.