NBA Finals: Curry has 38, Warriors take 3-1 lead over Cavaliers

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 Splash Brother, drained four 3s as the Warriors took a 3-1 lead in the series.

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 rip-roaring Oracle Arena, 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 Co. didn’t enough to contain Curry, Thompson or Harrison Barnes, who made four 3s and added 14 points.

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.

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.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors must learn quickly from humbling defeat

Delivered their worst playoff loss in two years, the defending champion Golden State Warriors must rebound quickly to prevent the Cleveland Cavaliers from pulling level in the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers ripped Golden State 120-90 Wednesday, trimming their deficit in the best-of-seven series to 2-1 entering game four Friday at Cleveland with game five Monday at Oakland, California.

“We’ve been able to bounce back pretty quick because we can turn the page and understand we’re still in good position,” said Warriors guard Stephen Curry, the NBA Most Valuable Player.

“How we bounce back Friday will show our heart and soul about winning. This is hard. We’ve got to embrace the challenge.”

Curry, the league’s top scorer during a record 73-win Warriors season, and Klay Thompson, a 3-point sharpshooter like Curry, have been contained by Cleveland’s defenders, combining to hit 10-of-26 shots from the floor in game three, only 4-of-16 from 3-point range.

Curry, who hit an NBA record 402 3-pointers this season, scored 19 points, but most came long after the outcome was in little doubt, while Thompson managed only 10.

“It’s a tough grind to win a championship,” Curry said. “We hope the better team will show throughout the course of the series.”

Harrison Barnes, who scored 18 points, says the way to spark Curry’s scoring touch is to create shots for him and ease the workload he has had to set up his own.

“Get the ball moving. It’s a lot of 1-on-1 that we’re making him do to get shots,” Barnes said. “He can do that but we’ve got to get easy ways to get him going.”

A victory could have cut short the series, as no NBA team has rallied from a 3-0 hole to win a playoff series. But for the fifth series in a row, the Warriors lost game three and this was by the most lopsided margin since a 138-98 road defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014, before Steve Kerr took over as Golden State’s coach.

“We’re all to blame,” Thompson said. “They were hungrier than us. There’s no excuse. We’ve got to learn from it.”

“We’re going to come out much better Friday. Golden opportunity still to go home up 3-1 so no time to sulk.”

“If we play with great energy and effort, we won’t see another 30-point loss,” he said.

Thompson will miss Thursday practice after suffering a thigh bruise when struck by the knee of Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov.

“It seemed kind of dirty to me. He stuck his knee out,” Thompson said of the Russian’s defensive move that led to the injury.

“I’m going to take the day off and get healthy. But it’s the finals. Nothing is going to keep me out of it.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors become 2nd NBA team to win 70, beat Spurs

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry scored 27 points and the Golden State Warriors became the second team to win 70 games in a season by beating the San Antonio Spurs 112-101 on Thursday night, wrapping up home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Warriors (70-9) bounced back from their second loss in three home games two nights earlier against Minnesota and joined the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls as the only teams to win 70 games. Golden State can break Chicago’s single-season record of 72 wins by sweeping the final three games, including a rematch in San Antonio on Sunday.

Harrison Barnes scored 21 points and Draymond Green added 18 to help the Warriors avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time this season. Golden State has outscored the opposition by 14.6 points per game following its nine losses.

Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points for the Spurs, who will enter the playoffs next weekend as the second seed in the West.

San Antonio has been outscored by 41 points in two losses at Golden State this season and will have to open on the road if these teams meet again in the conference finals.

After a relatively quiet first half, Curry took the game over in the third quarter and sent the Warriors to their second easy win at home against the Spurs this season. Curry had 15 points and four assists in the quarter — directly contributing to 11 of Golden State’s 16 baskets — as he was able to drive to the basket with ease for either his own shot or to set up a teammate.

Curry’s second 3-pointer of the game gave the Warriors a 19-point lead and then he fed Andrew Bogut for a dunk on the next trip to make it 69-48. The Warriors shot 80 percent in the third alone and took an 87-69 lead into the fourth — easily passing the 79 points they scored the entire game in last month’s loss at San Antonio.

This was a highly anticipated showdown between the league’s top two teams, with the 134 combined wins the most ever in a regular-season matchup. Both took the game seriously, with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich opting to play his stars instead of resting them. Popovich even called a timeout less than a minute into the game after a defensive breakdown led to an open 3-pointer for Klay Thompson.

Not to be outdone, Warriors coach Steve Kerr got angry after a turnover led to an open 3-pointer for Danny Green late in the first half and slammed his white board so hard during the timeout that his marker flew into the air.

That 3 by Green helped the Spurs cut a 15-point deficit down to six in the final minute of the half. But Barnes answered with a pair of two 3-pointers to give the Warriors a 52-40 lead at the break.

TIP-INS

Spurs: F LaMarcus Aldridge left the game late in the first quarter with a dislocated right pinky finger. Trainers taped it to his ring finger and he returned in the second quarter.

Warriors: Draymond Green committed two fouls in the first 3:53 and then got called for a technical for arguing the second call before going to the bench early. … Barnes has scored in double figures in a career-high nine straight games.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Curry, Warriors notch 41st win, slip past Thunder

OAKLAND, California — With a Super Bowl-sized stage, a celebrity-filled crowd and two championship contenders on the floor, it felt more like late May in Oracle Arena than early February.

Stephen Curry was up to the task.

Curry scored 26 points and keyed a strong closing stretch that sent the Golden State Warriors to their 41st straight regular-season home win, 116-108 over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday (Sunday Manila time).

“This was very playoff-like for sure,” Curry said. “The atmosphere, just the intensity, the adrenaline down the stretch. That’s what you expect for sure. It was good to get that feeling and execute.”

Curry scored three baskets and assisted on two more in a closing 12-4 run that gave the Warriors (46-4) their ninth straight win to match the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers for the best record ever after 50 games. Golden State moved within three wins of tying the Chicago Bulls (1995-96) for the longest home winning streak in NBA history.

Harrison Barnes added 19 points and Klay Thompson scored 18 for Golden State.

Kevin Durant had 40 points and 14 rebounds and Russell Westbrook added 27 points and 12 assists for the Thunder, who had won five straight and 12 of 13 but still trail Golden State and San Antonio in the Western Conference.

“Man, we’re not scared of either one of these teams,” Durant said. “We’re going to play our game. Nobody in this locker room is scared. We have to play them. If we want to get to where we want to get to, we have to play them. We’re not ducking anybody.”

One day before he plans to watch good friend Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers take on Denver in the Super Bowl at nearby Levi’s Stadium, Curry helped the Warriors break out to a 20-point lead in the second quarter despite making just one 3-pointer on the night.

The defending-champion Warriors have beaten the three teams directly behind them in the standings during this current streak. After blowing out San Antonio and Cleveland by a combined 64 points, Golden State was tested against Oklahoma City.

The Thunder hung tough after facing the big deficit in the first quarter and cut the lead down to 99-95 on a 3-pointer by Durant midway through the fourth quarter. Enes Kanter then tied the game at 104 with a fall-away jumper.

“That’s what we’re supposed to do,” Durant said. “When we get down we’re supposed to tie the game up. No moral victories in here.”

But Durant missed a long trey a short while later that could have given Oklahoma City its first lead since the first quarter.

Curry responded with a driving layup and Klay Thompson followed another Durant miss from three with a long-range basket of his own off a feed from Curry that made it 110-104 with 1:40 to play. Curry’s jumper made it 114-108 with 33.6 seconds left, prompting chants of “MVP! MVP!” from the sellout crowd.

Andre Iguodala’s dunk off another pass from Curry sealed it.

“I thought it was great for our team to go through a game like that,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s been a while since we had to get stops and be solid down the stretch offensively. On a night when it wasn’t quite his night, I thought Steph was just brilliant the last couple of minutes.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Slow-starting Warriors catch fire to storm past Bulls

The Golden State Warriors took a few minutes to warm up but they eventually caught fire and rolled to a 125-94 thumping of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Wednesday.

Stephen Curry had 25 points, Klay Thompson 20 and Harrison Barnes finished with 19 to lead the Warriors (39-4), who also got double-digit bench scoring from Andre Iguodala (10 points), Leandro Barbosa (12) and Shaun Livingston (12).

Derrick Rose led all scorers with 29 points and Jimmy Butler added 23 points for the Bulls (24-17), who were swept by Golden State in the two-game season series.

Chicago got double-digit scoring off the bench from rookie forward Bobby Portis (16 points) and guard E'Twaun Moore (13).

The Warriors trailed through the game's first four minutes, but unfurled an 11-4 run to seize the lead and never trailed again.

Rose hit five of his first six shots and scored 10 of the Bulls' first 12 points to start the game. Golden State, however, took advantage of Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg's decision to sit Rose with 6:12 left in the first.

Without Rose on the floor, the Warriors out-scored the Bulls 21-6 the rest of the quarter to lead 34-18 starting the second. Curry, who played all 12 minutes in the first, led the way with 10 points and six assists.

Golden State, which got points from all 13 players who dressed, continued its dominance in the second.

The Warriors used their advantage in scoring depth to push the lead to 63-44 at halftime, despite Rose running his points tally to 21 on 10-of-15 shooting.

Rose's big night was not nearly enough, however, and Butler found his range too late.

Butler scored 10 points in a 12-4 run to start the third, pulling Chicago within 67-56 with 6:13 left in the quarter but the Warriors responded with five straight points to spark a 17-5 run.

Barnes and Curry hit back-to-back three-pointers in the surge, and the latter put an exclamation point on the quarter with a dunk to complete the scoring. — Reuters