Warriors break out to 3-1 lead in Finals
Curry has 38, Thompson 25
CLEVELAND — Stephen Curry found his long-range touch and scored 38 points, Klay Thompson added 25 and the Golden State Warriors moved within one win of defending their title by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-97 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night.
Curry had scored just 48 total points in the first three games, but the two-time league MVP made seven 3-pointers and Thompson, his fellow Splash Brother, made four 3-pointers as the Warriors took a 3-1 lead in the series.
“Work’s not done, obviously,” Curry said. “I’m glad I showed up a little bit, but we’re not done. We’ve still got some work to do.”
Golden State, which made history with a 73-win regular season, can become the seventh franchise to win consecutive titles with a victory in Game 5 on Monday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, where they won the first two games by a combined 48 points.
After blowing out the Warriors by 30 in Game 3, the Cavaliers had a chance to even the series. However, LeBron James and the rest of the Cavaliers didn’t contain Curry, Thompson or Harrison Barnes, who made four 3-pointers and added 14 points.
The Warriors made an NBA Finals-record 17 3-pointers.
Kyrie Irving scored 34 points for the Cavs, who will need much more in Game 5 or they’ll finish as runner-up to the Warriors for the second year in a row. No team has come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals.
James added 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, but the superstar also had seven turnovers and was too passive at times. Kevin Love returned to the lineup after missing Game 3 with a concussion and added 11 points off the bench. . Love came off the bench for the first time in six years and he was inserted into the game with five minutes to go in the first quarter.
This is James’ seventh trip
to the Finals, and barring an improbable comeback, this will be his fifth loss. He’s averaging 24.7 points, 11 rebounds and 9.3 assists in this series.
Cleveland, which came in 8-0 at home in the playoffs, went 6:36 without a basket in the fourth quarter.
“A lot less breakdowns than what we had last game,” Curry said. “We checked the 3-point line and it was just all-around communication, toughness and effort.”
With Golden State leading 88-84, Curry got loose for a backdoor layup and Barnes followed with a 3-pointer, deflating a crowd of 20,000-plus fans hoping Cleveland would win its first pro sports championship since 1964.
But this seems to be the Warriors’ year.
Off the mark in the first three games, the Splash Brothers found their touch in the third quarter.
Thompson made four 3-pointers and Curry made three as the pair combined for 19 of Golden State’s 29 points in the period. Their play was a relief for the Warriors, who beat the Cavs in the first two games despite minimal production from their two stars.
But with Golden State’s golden season threatened again, Curry and Thompson stepped up the way they did in the Western Conference finals, when they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Unlike in Game 3, when they fell into an early hole, the Warriors came out strong and stayed step for step with the Cavaliers.