Irving, James dominate to avoid sweep
CLEVELAND — LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were the same as they were in Game 3 — brilliant. Irving displayed his full bag of tricks on offense, while James picked his spots, kept the ball moving and disrupted on defense.
But, the Cavaliers as a whole looked like a new team. From beginning to end, almost every active player on the roster chipped in to help Cleveland play its most dominant game of the playoffs. As a result, they’ll live to fight another day.
Behind 40 points from Irving and a 31-point, 11-assist, 10-rebound performance from James, the Cavaliers denied the Warriors a perfect 16-0 sweep of the playoffs, defeating Golden State, 137-116, Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena. The Warriors will look to clinch the championship Monday at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
The Cavaliers found the spark they had been searching for all series. Role players who couldn’t find the net earlier in the series knocked down key shots. Tristan Thompson asserted himself at the rim and, in a twist, found a knack for setting up his teammates. And Kevin Love was lights-out from downtown.
Kevin Durant, who led Golden State with 35 points, was scoreless until the 4:54 mark of the first. Stephen Curry didn’t score until near the end of the first and finished with 14 points on 4-of13 shooting.
Cleveland built a doubledigit lead early in the first quarter and never looked back. Thompson was engaged early, assisting teammates after grabbing offensive rebounds. He fed James for an easy layup early in the first, and set up a Love 3pointer a minute later to give Cleveland a 19-6 lead.
He grabbed five rebounds in the first quarter, a series high after not grabbing more than four in the first three games. He finished with five points, 5 assists and 10 rebounds (4 offensive).