The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
As always, third quarter will haunt Cavs
The Cavaliers’ spirited run to a fourth straight NBA Finals suffered an ignominious end June 8.
Kevin Durant recorded a triple-double en route to his second straight Finals MVP. Stephen Curry rained 3-pointers and led all scorers with 37 points in Game 4.
Anytime the Cavaliers drew close, even took a lead, the Warriors countered swiftly and powerfully. The Warriors won, 108-85, to complete a 4-0 sweep of the Cavaliers.
When the Warriors pulled away for good, their run occurred in a period synonymous with difficulty for the Cavaliers.
Sometime during the third quarter, the Warriors’ third NBA title in four years was decided. The Cavaliers’ deficit ballooned from nine points at halftime to 21, 86-65, headed to the final quarter of their season.
When Coach Tyronn Lue considered the 15th season authored by LeBron James, his thoughts fit the tone of the series.
“Sometimes you can give everything you’ve got and still come up short,” Lue said. “I thought that’s what our group of guys did in the series, and that’s about it.”
The Cavaliers lost two winnable games during the Warriors sweep. But when the third quarter arrived June 8, their effort appeared exhausted.
James finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in possibly his last game as a Cavalier. He completed a superhuman postseason effort averaging 34.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and nine assists per game.
Postgame, he sported a soft black cast on his right wrist as a result of an injury he called self-inflicted after the Cavaliers’ Game 1 loss.
“I pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand,” James said.
James willed the Cavaliers to their fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance, which seemed implausible just weeks ago.
“I wondered if we could hit a switch, some way, somehow,” James said. “The course of the regular season, it was just like, ‘I don’t know.’ ”
The switch on 2018 flipped off for good in the third quarter.
Klay Thompson scored all 10 of his points in the third after he was plagued by foul trouble in a scoreless first half. But as lethal as the Warriors offense can be, their defense exacted a death knell to the Cavaliers’ season.
The Cavaliers shot 24 percent and scored 13 points in the third period. James did not make a field goal. He and Kevin Love led the Cavaliers with four points apiece in the quarter.
An expectation of Warriors dominance became tangible in the third. Turning expectations into titles is why the Warriors added Kevin Durant to coach Steve Kerr’s core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green two years ago.
“We had more talent than they did, and talent wins in this league,” Kerr said.
The Cavaliers’ lead peaked at a single point June 8. The Warriors led by as many as 28 points, and cemented their status as a dynasty.
The lasting images of the series may not picture the Warriors’ juggernaut. After all, they accomplished what many expected.
Rather, those memorable vignettes showcase the struggle ahead of the Cavaliers as they hoped to execute one of sports’ all-time memorable upsets.
James’ arms outstretched toward the basket while J.R. Smith dribbled out the remaining seconds of Game 1. James’ reaction on the bench when he learned the Cavaliers still had a timeout after George Hill’s fateful free throw attempt.
Perhaps the most telling sequence of the third quarter happened in its final minutes, when James watched helplessly from the left elbow while Jeff Green attempted a fadeaway jumper from the opposite baseline.
The shot didn’t go in.