The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
SWEPT AWAY
Cavaliers’ LeBron James walks to the bench during Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Friday, June 8 at Quicken Loans in Cleveland. The Cavaliers were swept in the seven-game series as the Warriors won their second-consecutive title, 108-85.
The Warriors, for the third time in four years, are NBA champions at the expense of the Cavaliers.
This time, it wasn’t remotely close.
Demonstrating superiority from opening tip to final buzzer, the Warriors trounced the Cavs, 108-85, in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 8 at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Warriors captured the best-of-seven series, 4-0, completing the first sweep in the NBA Finals since the Spurs swept aside a much younger LeBron James and the Cavs in 2007.
Golden State point guard Stephen Curry finished with a game-high 37 points for the Warriors, who completed their latest postseason run with six straight victories.
Kevin Durant added 20 points as the Warriors finished their demolition of James and the Cavaliers with an average margin of victory of 15 points.
James scored a team-high 23 points for the Cavs.
He added eight assists and seven rebounds to cap the most auspicious postseason run of his 15-year career from a statistical standpoint. He averaged 34.0 points in 22 playoff games.
“He’s a bad boy. I love having him on our team,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said of James.
This landslide defeat in the Cavs’ fourth straight Finals appearance will undoubtedly fuel speculation James will opt out of the final year of his contract in July and sign with another team as an unrestricted free agent.
That would repeat the history of July 2010, when James announced on national TV he was leaving the Cavs to join with the Heat.
“I hope he stays,” Lue said.
James was pulled from the game with 4:03 remaining and the Cavs trailing, 102-77. He was given a standing ovation and briefly serenaded with chants of “MVP, MVP, MVP.”
What might have been his final appearance in a Cleveland uniform came at the end of his eighth straight appearance in the NBA Finals.
“I have no idea,” James said when reporters asked about his plans for the near future in his postgame meeting with reporters.
James added family considerations will loom large in his deliberations about whether or not to stay with the Cavs. He and his wife have two sons and a daughter.
Kevin Love added 13 points and nine rebounds.
Curry, limited to 11 points in Golden State’s Game 3 victory, was the catalyst for the Warriors throughout the first half.
In the first quarter, the twotime Most Valuable Player shredded whatever defense the Cavs threw at him. He hit two layups, two free throws and two 3-pointers as the Warriors took leads of 13-3 and 19-11. Durant’s driving dunk at the 5:07 mark extended Golden State’s lead to 24-13.
Curry tallied 12 points in the first quarter as the Warriors took a 34-25 lead into the second quarter.
The Cavs caught their stride in the second quarter, opening with a 14-5 spurt to take their first lead at 39-38 on a dunk by James. Golden State regained the upper hand as the quarter unfolded. Curry drained his fourth 3-pointer of the half with 5.1 seconds remaining to stake the Warriors to a 61-52 lead at halftime.
Curry put in 20 points in the first half as Golden State thoroughly outplayed the Cavs in the first half.