STAR WARS IV: DUBS, CAVS AGAIN
Third-quarter magic: Curry, Durant shine as Golden State wins decisive Game 7 Familiar territory: For fourth straight year, LeBron and Cleveland will take on Dubs
HOUSTON >> When they were done yelling at each other between plays, when they were finished missing free throws and casually throwing away passes, the Warriors snapped back into full-fledged dynasty mode Monday night.
They will keep their annual date with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
See ya there, LeBron. We’ll bring 3-pointers and potato salad.
“This is a true testament to how hard it is to get to the Finals, how hard it is to have a chance to play for a championship,’’ Stephen Curry said after the Warriors escaped with a 101-92 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 7. “There’s a lot of builtup, anxiety about this moment. When you walk off the court with a win and get this fancy hat, it’s a good feeling.” Curry’s new, fancy hat signified that the Warriors were Western Conference champions, again. That means they’ll face Cleveland in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday at Oracle Arena.
Of course they will. No matter how nervous it gets along the way, even if the Warriors fall behind by 15 points in a scattershot first half, the final scene remains the same. Houdini escapes. James Bond eludes the lasers. And the Warriors face the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
“We’ve got one series to go, and hopefully we figure it out and get it done,’’ said Kevin Durant, who scored 34 points in Game 7 and totaled a Western Conference finals record 213 points in the series.
This will mark the fourth consecutive season in which the Larry O’Brien Trophy will go either to Stephen Curry or LeBron James. It almost makes you wonder what those 82 regular-season games and seven weeks of playoffs were about.
As they advanced again, someone asked about whether he was extra proud of this version because of the extra hurdles along the way.
“That’s like asking, ‘Which is your favorite child?’’’ Kerr said. Pause.
“For the record, Maddy is my favorite,’’ Kerr continued. “Nick and Matthew are OK, but, Maddy, she’s my pride and joy.”
Other than the Warriors and Cavaliers, who have done it concurrently, only four other NBA teams have made at least four consecutive NBA Finals appearances. The vintage Boston Celtics did it 10 consecutive times (195766), as well as the Miami Heat (four times, from 2011-14), the ‘80s Celtics (four, 1984-87) and the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers (four, 1982-85).
Clockwork for the Warriors? Not quite. They struggled just long enough Monday night to scare people, or at least scare the people who have never
seen them play in the third quarter before.
The Warriors trailed 54-43 after two quarters, making this the largest halftime comeback ever by a road team in a Game 7.
“We weren’t too worried, believe it or not,’’ guard Klay Thompson said with a shrug. “Our fan base probably was, but it felt good to slug it out because that was a grinding type of game.”
The Warriors trailed by as much as 48-33 with 4:54 to play in the second quarter and appeared precariously close to cracking. Draymond Green repeatedly barked at teammates for lack of effort or miscommunication.
Kerr was not pleased. “I was thinking of resigning, that was my first thought,’’ he cracked. “I walked in at halftime and said, ‘I don’t even recognize this team. We’ve been together for four years. I didn’t recognize the group we were seeing.”
The Rockets meanwhile, hustled their way to 11 offensive rebounds in the first 19 minutes. They cajoled Thompson into three fouls within 3 minutes. The greatest collection
of long-range shooters ever assembled missed 15 of their first 21 3-point attempts.
And as the Rockets built their lead, a sellout crowd of 18,055 at the Toyota Center cheered deafeningly, and with a Texas accent.
Why don’t the Warriors ever worry in those situations?
“Because we know we can make an 11-point lead evaporate in about 2 minutes of good basketball,’’ Thompson explained.
So right on schedule, the Warriors outscored the Rockets 33-15 in the third quarter and looked like themselves again. “We stuck together, moved the ball, cut our turnovers down and made (Houston) take tough shots,’’ Thompson said.
Curry, of course, emerged in the third quarter, too, as reliable as a cuckoo clock. In the third quarter alone, he scored 15 points and went 4 of 5 from 3-point range. His 22-footer with 3:58 to play gave the Warriors a 64-61 lead and they never trailed again.
“For whatever reason,’’ Kerr said, “he seems to infuse us with energy.”
The Warriors have outscored teams by a total
of 130 points during the third quarter in these playoffs. That scoring margin is the best by any postseason team during the shot-clock era, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
“They’ve done that all year against everybody, and that’s what their trademark is,’’ Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We know it. It’s not like a secret . ... The juice was flowing on their side, and then they got it going. And it’s tough to turn them off.”
Next up: LeBron James, who continues to throw burning hot kindling on the “best ever” argument.
In the Eastern Conference finals, he led all players in total points, rebounds and assists for the third time in his career.
The Warriors won the Cleveland showdown in 2015 and 2017; the Cavaliers captured the crown in 2016.
On this night, however, Curry could wait. He was happy enough just to be moving on.
“It was a fun night all they way around,’’ Curry said. “Obviously stressful, but fun.”