Game 3 of NBA Finals looms, Lakers leading Heat 2-0 so far

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — For the Los Angeles Lakers, the mission is simple: Get two more wins and become NBA champions.

For the Miami Heat, the mission may be even more simple: Get one win and make this a series.

Game 3 of the NBA Finals is Sunday night, the Lakers holding a 2-0 lead in the title matchup — putting the franchise within reach of a record-tying 17th championship, LeBron James closer to his fourth ring and Anthony Davis perhaps a few days away from his first crown. They know desperation is coming from a banged-up Miami team, since Game 3 is almost certainly a must for the Heat.

“We’re never giving up,” Heat forward Jimmy Butler said. “We’re going to fight and we’re going to ride with this thing until the wheels fall off. It’s not over. We’re just down 0-2, so we’ve got to do something special. We’re capable of it and I wouldn’t want to be in the trenches with any other guys except for the ones that we have.”

Thing is, Butler isn’t certain which guys will be in those trenches Sunday.

All-Star center Bam Adebayo missed Game 2 with neck and shoulder problems, while starting point guard Goran Dragic also couldn’t play because of a torn left plantar fascia. Adebayo is hopeful that he could be well enough to play Sunday; Dragic wants desperately to be out there as well, but the Heat have concerns about how painful it would be for him.

Saturday was scheduled to be a day of more round-the-clock treatment for Dragic and Adebayo. If the Heat get either of them back, it’s a bonus.

“We can either fold or fight like the Miami Heat do,” rookie guard Tyler Herro said. “We know what kind of team we are. We know what we are capable of. Next game, we are going to fight and make some plays. It’s not going to be easy.”

The Lakers also say the same. They are, however, making things look easy.

The biggest stat differences in the first two games are the Lakers outscoring the Heat by 27 points from 3-point range (the total difference in scoring between the teams is 28) and a 25-11 edge so far in offensive rebounding.

“We know we can be a lot better and we’re just, myself and AD, we’re not satisfied with just the win,” James said. “We want to be great. We want to be great, as close to 48 minutes as possible.”

The Lakers not named James or Davis are shooting a combined 39% — but the two superstars are more than making up for that, shooting a combined 59%. If that’s what it takes, Davis isn’t complaining.

“We know we have something special with us two and this team, and just trying to capitalize on it,” Davis said.

Being in the NBA Finals 10 times now means James has seen just about everything, which also means he can sound whatever alarm he wants.

Only four teams have come back from 2-0 deficits in the finals. James was on the most recent club to do it, the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers who were down 2-0 and 3-1 before rallying to beat the Golden State Warriors in seven games for his third title.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was an assistant coach in 2006, when Miami rallied from down 2-0 against Dallas for that season’s championship. Like James, he knows it can be done.

“What will it take? Whatever is necessary. It’s simple as that,” Spoelstra said. “If you want something badly enough, you’ll figure it out. Our group is extremely stubborn, persistent, and we just need to figure out how to overcome this opponent. And that we respect the quality, high quality of opponent that we’re playing. You’ve’ got to figure it out and overcome it.”

There does seem to be a clear sense outside the Miami and Los Angeles locker rooms that the series is over.

There are already questions being asked about whether James or Davis should be the NBA Finals MVP. Whomever was at the controls of the social media accounts for the National Basketball Retired Players Association on Friday night predicted Game 2 would be a 91-point win for the Lakers.

The Lakers aren’t celebrating early. But if Davis and James keep going like this, the Lakers’ chances are looking pretty good.

“You know, we are not there yet. We have a long way to go,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “This is a very resilient basketball team that we are playing and a team that just flew through the East. We have great respect for them. But those guys are playing at an extremely high level, and hopefully we can get two more wins.”

-Associated Press

Warriors sputter at times, fall in Game 1 of NBA Finals

TORONTO — Maybe it was the rust. Maybe it was the Raptors.

Either way, Golden State’s offense was not at its usual high-octane level on Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals — and for the first time in this era of Warriors basketball, they face a 1-0 deficit in the title series.

The Warriors shot 44 percent, turned the ball over 17 times and fell to the Toronto Raptors 118-109 in the series opener. Going back to the 1975 finals, the Warriors had won Game 1 of the title matchup in each of their last five appearances in the series. The last time Golden State lost a Game 1 of the finals was 1967.

Golden State was playing for the first time in 10 days, and trailed for nearly 43 of the game’s 48 minutes. The Warriors trailed by 10 at the half, marking the fourth consecutive game where Golden State faced a double-digit deficit at some point.

In the last three of those contests, Golden State rallied to beat Portland.

Toronto didn’t fold and let this one slip away.


Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 16 field goals; the rest of the Warriors combined for only 18. Draymond Green, who did have a triple-double, shot 2 for 9. Andre Iguodala was 3 for 7, missing all four of his tries from 3-point range.

This is a matchup of offense vs. defense, the freewheeling Warriors against a Toronto team that has now peeled off five consecutive wins since falling behind Milwaukee 2-0 in the Eastern Conference finals. The Raptors turned that series around by clamping down at the defensive end, particularly against Bucks star and likely MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

This time, it was against everyone.

Golden State’s two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP in Kevin Durant isn’t expected back for Game 2, either. The Warriors have said he won’t play until he can return to a full-fledged practice, and earlier Thursday coach Steve Kerr said it was unlikely that Durant participates in a practice before the team heads home to the Bay Area to prepare for Game 3 on Wednesday night.

So if something is going to change on Sunday when the finals resume in Toronto, it won’t be with Durant aiding the cause.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Kevin Durant wins back-to-back Finals MVP

CLEVELAND — Kevin Durant went back-to-back, twice.

It’s now two straight NBA championships for the Golden State Warriors, and two consecutive NBA Finals MVP awards for the forward who played a huge role in getting them to those titles.

Durant scored 20 points in the Game 4 clincher Friday night, a 108-85 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers — but his series will be remembered most for what he did in Game 3. Durant scored 43 points in that game, including a 33-foot 3-pointer in the final minute to all but clinch the win for the Warriors.

Durant averaged 28.8 points in the series, along with 10.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

“It’s just about the journey, all season,” Durant said. “Getting up every day, going to work with these guys, it’s amazing. The environment is incredible. It’s good for you to be around guys like this. It helps you become a better basketball player and a better man.”


Durant becomes the 11th player to win Finals MVP twice, joining six-time winner Michael Jordan, three-timers Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan and LeBron James, and two-timers Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Willis Reed and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

He’s also the sixth player to win it in consecutive years, with Jordan, O’Neal, James, Olajuwon and Bryant being the others.


Since 2009 the award has been named for Celtics legend Bill Russell, the 11-time champion who surely would have won the award several times if it existed in his playing days. The Finals MVP was first handed out in 1974.

Durant is one of 30 players to win the award.

source: sports.inquirer.net

One more win: Durant lifts Warriors past Cavs for a 3-0 lead in NBA Finals

CLEVELAND — Kevin Durant stood calmly near midcourt — and a very familiar spot — as teammates Stephen Curry and Draymond Green screamed at him in celebration.

Another momentous shot for Durant.

And soon, probably another NBA championship.

Durant scored a career playoff-high 43 points, draining a long 3-pointer in the final minute to cap his magnificent performance, and the Warriors beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-102 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night to move within a victory of a sweep, their second straight title and third championship in four years.

The Warriors are on dynasty’s doorstep.

Afterward, the defending champs could be heard loudly celebrating inside their locker room, perhaps a warmup for a bigger party to come.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are in a hole that might as well be 6 feet deep. Teams that have fallen behind 3-0 in the playoffs are 0-131.

It might be time for the guys from Northern California to order some champagne from Napa Valley.

With the Cavs down 103-100, Durant stood defiantly and almost motionless after dropping his 33-footer — just a few feet from where he made one in Game 3 last year — and effectively ended the fourth straight finals matchup between two teams who have gotten to know each other well since 2015.

After Durant scored, Curry and Green rushed to his side and the trio walked back toward Golden State’s bench where the other Warriors were hugging and high-fiving.

As always Durant stayed cool.


“I don’t want to downplay anything, but I don’t want to act like this is the end of the road,” Durant said. “So just get back to work tomorrow and figure out a better game plan.”

Durant said the similarity with last year’s shot — a moment that helped define his first championship — didn’t occur to him.

“No, not at all,” he said. “I just took the shot.”

There was nothing James or the Cavs could do but think about what might have been after losing two games that were within their reach.

“Tonight will be tough,” said James, who scored 33 and rolled his right ankle in the first half. “Tomorrow I’ll replay some plays and some moments and things of that nature. When I wake up Friday morning I’ll be locked in on the game plan of what needs to be done to help our team win. That’s just who I am.”

Golden State will now have four chances to wrap up its title starting with Game 4 on Friday night. The Warriors are trying to join a select list of teams to win three championships in four years.

Kevin Love added 20 points for the Cavs, who have fallen into a hole in which no team has ever emerged. Cleveland came back from a 3-1 deficit to stun the Warriors in the 2016 finals, but that was when Durant was in Oklahoma City and James had a different supporting cast.

The Warriors won despite a 3-of-16 shooting performance from Curry, who did come up big down the stretch as the Cavs were trying to salvage their season.

Now Cleveland could be down to one final game with James, who recorded his 10th triple-double in the finals. The three-time champion can opt out of his $35.6 million contract and test free agency this summer, and it may be time for the 33-year-old to find a team capable of beating the Warriors.

These Cavs can’t figure it out.

Durant, who tilted this rivalry toward the West Coast when he signed with the Warriors as a free agent before last season, was brilliant from the start. He helped offset a rough night for Curry, who made a finals-record nine 3-pointers in Game 2, but was just 1 of 10 from behind the arc and didn’t score his second field goal until there were under three minutes left.

Curry’s scoop shot put the Warriors up 98-97 and defensive specialist Andre Iguodala, who didn’t play in Games 1 or 2 because of a knee injury, came up with a steal under the basket. Curry finally buried a 3 and after James matched him with a long shot, Iguodala drove the lane for a thundering dunk.

Moments later, Durant delivered his dagger to silence Cleveland’s crowd.

“No, that wasn’t the same shot,” James said when asked to compare Durant’s 3 to last year’s. “The one he made tonight was about four or five feet behind the one he made last year. He’s an assassin. That was one of those assassin plays right there.”

Durant scored 24 in the first half, when the Warriors attempted 13 free throws to zero for the Cavs, a disparity that induced further wrath on the officials from Cleveland fans still stinging from the now infamous reversed call in Game 1.

James arrived at 6 p.m. dressed more casually — camouflage pants, purple hoodie, “Billionaire Boys Club” baseball cap — than on the road where he and the Cavs have been wearing suits during the postseason.

Everything is more relaxed and familiar at home for James and his teammates, who were counting on a return to their own noisy building, where they play better and shoot better, to get them back into the series.

The Warriors had other plans.

TIP-INS

Warriors: Green passed Wilt Chamberlain (922) for the most rebounds in Warriors playoff history. … Klay Thompson played in his NBA-high 390th game over the last four seasons. Green is second with 387, while James is third at 381. … Curry has made a 3-pointer in 89 consecutive playoff games, and a record 43 on the road.

Cavaliers: Kyle Korver continued to struggle. He missed all four shots and is now 8 of 29 dating to Game 1 of last year’s Finals. … James (238) broke a tie with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and moved into fourth place for the most playoff games. Only Derek Fisher (259), Tim Duncan (251) and Robert Horry (244) have made most postseason appearances.

COMEBACK KID

Iguodala, the 2015 finals MVP, scored eight points and made one steal in 22 minutes, but his impact went beyond those numbers.

“It was good just having him, settling the game down,” guard Shaun Livingston said. “His defense was strong, whoever he was up against — LeBron or someone else — and his toughness makes everyone out there better.”

HOOD HELPS

Lue gave Rodney Hood a chance and the seldom-used forward came through with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting with six rebounds. Hood only played four minutes in the first two games.

“That was Rodney Hood, man,” James said. “It was more than just what he did for the team. For himself, that was just a huge moment.”

UP NEXT

Game 4 is Friday night.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Klay Thompson plays through pain in Game 2 win for Warriors

OAKLAND, California — Draymond Green saw Klay Thompson limping on his tender left ankle a day before Game 2 of the NBA Finals and quickly texted Nick Young to tell him the Golden State Warriors would need big minutes from the backup.

But Golden State’s most durable player and understated star once again managed to play through the pain and scored 20 points to help the Warriors beat Cleveland 122-103 to take a 2-0 series lead Sunday night.

“He came out there and gutted through it,” Green said. “Even if you saw him take the first lay-up he took in warmups and ran back to the locker room. It’s like he’s not going to have it. Sure enough he did. I mean, that’s just a microcosm of who he is, one of the toughest guys if not the toughest guy I’ve ever played with. He’ll never get credit for it because he’s not going to physically beat you up. But one of the toughest, if not the toughest guy for sure.”



Green might be the loudest of Golden State’s four superstars and Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are the most accomplished. Thompson often flies a bit under the radar, just delivering lockdown defense and long-range shooting that help the Warriors thrive.

He’s so consistent and always available, having played in a franchise record 100 playoff games without missing a single one, that he sometimes gets overlooked. But after Cleveland’s J.R. Smith awkwardly fell into his left leg in the first half of Game 1, sending Thompson to the locker room following the scary fall, there has been plenty of focus on if he’d be able to play.

He made it back for the rest of Game 1 and scored 24 points in a 124-114 overtime win Thursday before the injury got worse the next day. But he still managed to play in Game 2 and shot 8 for 13, making three 3-pointers to become the sixth player with 300 in a career in the playoffs.

“Being on the training table for, it felt like, three straight days. That’s something I’m not used to,” Thompson said. “But at this point in the season, any means necessary. And the ankle feels great. I won’t do much tomorrow and I’ll do a little bit Tuesday. But I’m just going to conserve all I’ve got for Wednesday because I don’t want to play with it. It’s something that you use a lot. I didn’t realize how much you use your ankle until you hurt it …”

That drew a quick quip from Curry, who has been plagued by ankle injuries throughout his career.

“You should have asked me,” Curry said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors await word on return of top defender Iguodala as LeBron looms

OAKLAND, Calif. — Klay Thompson sat on the floor in the middle of his teammates and pointed to his “2018 NBA FINALS” hat during a locker-room photo.

An important face was missing from the moment: Andre Iguodala.

In a postseason defined by uncertainty for the defending champions, Golden State could be without one of its top defenders as the Warriors chase a repeat title — taking on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a fourth straight NBA Finals matchup.


Iguodala’s status for Game 1 on Thursday night is a question as he recovers from a bone bruise in his left knee, which caused him to miss the final four games of the Western Conference finals against Houston. Cleveland’s Kevin Love is in concussion protocol, so he might not be ready, either.

Coach Steve Kerr has said Iguodala, the 2015 Finals MVP, will return when he can run without pain. The Warriors sure could use his presence against King James, who is making an eighth straight Finals appearance.

“We’re still without Andre, which is a big blow for us,” Kerr said before Monday’s Game 7 at Houston. “In a different way. He’s not a scorer for us as Chris (Paul) is for Houston, but a huge component. So you go through the playoffs and things happen, and you’ve got to be able to bounce back no matter what and keep going.”

Last month, Kerr became concerned his team’s defense wouldn’t return to its top form after Golden State struggled late in the regular season and even endured a particularly poor stretch in which the Warriors dropped seven of 10 games.

Yet here they are in a familiar spring spot as June approaches.

Once the buzzer sounded and the 101-92 Game 7 win over Houston was official, the Warriors could exhale. It hasn’t been pretty for much of these playoffs, a far cry from that remarkable, record-breaking 16-1 romp through last year’s postseason.

There is clearly some relief to be back where this All-Star group expected to be all along.

Stephen Curry kept the game ball tucked under his left arm long after Monday’s game, toddler daughter Ryan held in his right arm.


Kevin Durant hugged general manager Bob Myers, while always-animated Nick Young beamed wearing his Finals hat and “Champions of the West” T-shirt, then enjoyed hoisting the shiny trophy.

Draymond Green smooched his 1-year-old son, Draymond Jr.

Back home, fireworks went off in the East Bay as everyone anticipates another battle with King James.

“There’s a lot of just built-up anxiety, I guess, about this moment. When you walk off the court with a win and get this fancy hat, it’s a good feeling,” Curry said. “We had to work for it, and you’ve got to appreciate the moment. Somebody asked, ‘It’s four years in a row getting to The Finals, do you appreciate it?’ Yes, because it’s really hard. So all the smiles and embraces you have with your teammates, your coaches, it’s well deserved.”

Golden State struggled to hit shots for stretches. The stars went through funks and the Warriors had to play catch up time and again — including from double-digit deficits in the final two games to beat James Harden and the 65-win Rockets on their home court after settling for the second seed in the West.

James has willed his Cavs this far, saying, “I don’t know how I can compare it to other seasons because I can only think about this one in the present.”

“Definitely a different team but we know everything goes and stops with LeBron James with them,” Green said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors reach 4th straight NBA Finals with win over Houston

HOUSTON— Stephen Curry and Golden State turned all those Houston bricks into a road back to the NBA Finals.

Kevin Durant scored 34 points, Curry sparked another third-quarter turnaround, and the Warriors earned a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals by beating the Houston Rockets 101-92 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on Monday night.

The defending champions trailed by as many as 15 in the first half after falling behind 17 in Game 6.

Curry, who finished with 27 points, scored 14 of Golden State’s 33 points in the third quarter as Houston’s shooting didn’t just go cold, it froze. The Rockets missed all 14 3-point attempts in that quarter as part of 27 misses from long range.

The Warriors will host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 on Thursday night in the fourth straight matchup between the teams.

James Harden had 32 points as the top-seeded Rockets’ bid to return to the finals for the first time since 1995 fell short without Chris Paul, who was nursing a hamstring injury.

The Rockets fell apart in the second half again after doing so in Game 6. The Warriors outscored Houston 122-63 in the second half of the final two games.

Golden State led by seven entering the fourth and pushed the lead to 10 on a 3-pointer by Klay Thompson with about 9 1/2 minutes left. Clint Capela made a hook shot for Houston but Durant hit a long 3 seconds later to make it 86-75.

The Rockets were behind by 13 after a 3 by Curry and had missed 27 straight 3-pointers when P.J. Tucker hit one from the corner to cut the lead to 89-79 midway through the quarter.

It was their first 3-pointer since one by Eric Gordon with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter that put the Rockets up 42-28.

Tucker’s 3 was the first of seven straight points for Houston which cut the lead to 89-83.



But Durant scored six points in a 9-2 spurt after that which left the Warriors 97-85 with about three minutes to go.

Houston finally found a little offense after that, using a 7-2 run to cut it to 99-92, but their rally bid came up short.

Thompson added 19 for Golden State after scoring 35 in the Game 6 win and the Warriors got a fourth straight start from Kevon Looney with Andre Iguodala sitting out again with a bone bruise on his left leg.

After being down by 10 at halftime of Game 6, the Warriors trailed by 11 entering the third quarter on Monday night. Golden State opened the third quarter with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 58-53 after a 3-pointer by Nick Young with about eight minutes left in the quarter.

Tucker made one of two free throws and the teams exchanged layups before Golden State scored nine straight points, with two 3s from Curry, to take a 64-61 lead.

Harden made two free throws before Curry scored eight points in a row, highlighted by a 3-pointer which bounced high off the rim before falling back in, to make it 72-63 with just over two minutes left in the quarter.

Golden State scored 33 points in the third quarter for the second straight game while Houston managed just 15 points on Monday night after it scored 16 in the third in Game 6.

TIP-INS

Warriors: Curry went to the locker room with trainers between the first and second quarters, but returned to the bench with about 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter and soon returned to the game. … Thompson picked up his third foul with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter and sat out most of the period. … Draymond Green had 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

Rockets: Houston fell to 6-5 all-time in Game 7s and 4-2 at home. … Capela finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. … Tucker had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Warriors host Game 1 of the finals on Thursday and Game 2 on Sunday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Golden State’s Iguodala still struggling with bruised knee

HOUSTON — Andre Iguodala’s bruised left knee improved Wednesday, but he was still listed as questionable for the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.

Iguodala missed Tuesday night’s game after banging his left knee in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. Kerr says: “He’s feeling a little better today. He’s out on the floor, not doing a whole lot but making progress.”

Houston got a 95-92 win in Game 4 on Tuesday to even the series at 2-2 heading in Thursday’s game.

Klay Thompson is also listed as questionable after straining his left knee Tuesday night. But Kerr said that Thompson was “moving around really well” on Wednesday and that he thought he’d be fine.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors finish off Cavaliers in 5 games, regain NBA title

OAKLAND, Calif.—Kevin Durant scored 39 points, Stephen Curry added 34 and the Golden State Warriors won their second NBA championship in three seasons with a 129-120 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the Finals on Monday night.

Durant capped his first season with the Warriors in triumphant fashion with another big shooting night that helped Golden State avoid a repeat of last year’s Finals collapse when Cleveland rallied from 3-1 down to win the title.

LeBron James scored 41 points and Kyrie Irving added 26 for the Cavs, who had won four straight potential elimination games against the Warriors before running out of gas in Game 5./rga

source: sports.inquirer.net

Durant, Warriors rally to beat Cavs for 3-0 lead

CLEVELAND—Kevin Durant made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and the Golden State Warriors took a 3-0 in the NBA Finals by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-113 on Wednesday night.

Durant scored 31 points and Klay Thompson had 30 for the Warriors, who improved to 15-0 in the postseason and are on the brink of the first undefeated finish in the NBA. Stephen Curry had 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.

LeBron James had 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Cavaliers, and Kyrie Irving added 38 points. Blown out in the first two games, the Cavaliers were much better in Game 3, but just not good enough to beat a team that could go down as one of the best ever.

Game 4 is here Friday night.

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA: Durant, Curry lead Warriors to rout of Cavs, 2-0 series lead

Kevin Durant scored 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Stephen Curry added 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists Sunday as the Golden State Warriors ripped Cleveland 132-113 in a historic second game of the NBA Finals.

The Warriors, who welcomed back coach Steve Kerr after he missed 11 games with health issues following back surgery, stretched their playoff win streak to an NBA-record 14 games by dominating the defending champion Cavaliers in the second half.

Golden State moved within two games of becoming the first NBA champion to complete an unbeaten playoff run, seizing a 2-0 edge in the best-of-seven championship series, which shifts to Cleveland for games three and four on Wednesday and Friday.

LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists to match a record with his eighth career NBA Finals triple double. Only former Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson had eight prior finals triple doubles. No one else has more than two.

Together with Curry’s triple double, it was only the second time in playoff history that two rivals had managed triple doubles in the same game, the other coming in 1970 by New York’s Walt Frazier and Milwaukee’s Lew Alcindor, who would later change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Curry credited his first finals triple double to the tension of the title quest and the effort needed to answer the Cavs’ challenge.

“We’re in the finals. That’s all the motivation we need,” Curry said. “We leave everything on the floor.”

Kevin Love scored 27 points for the Cavaliers while Kyrie Irving added 19 in a losing cause.

Klay Thompson added 22 points for the Warriors, with Curry saying the Warriors still have work to do to play their best.

“I could play much better,” he said. “Some good things going on but we’ve got to get better.

“We’re young. We’re hungry. We’re playing great basketball. We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us and we’ve got to seize it.”

Spectacular passes, slam dunks, deadly shots and high-leaping playmakers dominated the night as the game was played at a fast-paced, high-intensity tempo that had spectators roaring with delight.

Durant became only the third player in NBA history to score 25 points in his first seven NBA Finals appearances, joining Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal.

Curry seized command in the third quarter with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Warriors stretched a 67-64 half-time lead to 102-88 entering the fourth quarter, a margin no finals team had squandered so late to lose since 1992.


From there, Golden State steadily pulled away, the Cavaliers having no answer for the Warriors speed and outside shooting.

“The second half we settled in and just tried to play better and played tougher on defense,” Durant said. “We’re just trying to play good basketball every time down the floor.”

The game turned when Curry sank a 3-pointer and two free throws, then dribbled impressively around James for a layup to cap a 10-3 run that put the Warriors ahead 83-73 early in the third.

Cleveland battled back but a steal set up a Durant fast break layup and 3-point play and Shaun Livingston followed with an uncontested dunk to ignite a 16-6 run to close the quarter.

The Cavaliers went scoreless for more than 3:30 late in the third despite Draymond Green going to the Warrior bench with a fifth personal foul.

Durant and Curry each scored 15 first-half points, but Golden State had 13 turnovers at the break after just four in the series opener.

James scored 18 points in the first half with 10 assists, his most assists in any playoff half in his career.

Tristan Thompson played fewer minutes for the Cavs, with Iman Shumpert seeing more time to help ease the defensive load on James guarding Durant.

Curry went 10-for-10 at the free throw line and scored 15 points as Golden State took a 40-34 lead in the highest-scoring NBA Finals first quarter in 50 years and the second-highest ever.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Durant makes his mark in Game 1 of NBA Finals for Warriors

OAKLAND, Calif. — LeBron James had a simple explanation for what stood out in Game 1 of the NBA Finals: KD.

With a motivated Kevin Durant playing some of the best basketball of his career and taking the pressure off Stephen Curry, Golden State dominated Cleveland 113-91 in Game 1 on Thursday night and showed that Cavaliers-Warriors III might not look anything like the previous showdowns.

“You take one of the best teams that we had ever assembled last year, that we saw in the regular season and in the postseason, and then in the offseason you add a high-powered offensive talent like that and a great basketball IQ like that, that’s what stands out,” James said. “I mean, it’s no if, ands, or buts. It is what it is. We’ve got to figure out how to combat that, which is going to be a tough challenge for us.

“But that’s what stands out.”

Durant finished with 38 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, didn’t commit a single turnover and spent much of the night guarding James on the defensive end in an impressive return to the Finals stage five years after his only previous trip with Oklahoma City.

Durant lost to James and the Miami Heat in five games in 2012 and then James and the Cavs knocked off the 73-win Warriors in a seven-game thriller last June.

But with Durant added to a mix that includes fellow All-Stars Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, this year’s Warriors proved to be too tough for James and Cleveland to handle in Game 1.

“He can just go get a bucket,” Green said. “That’s one of the things that we need, a guy who can go get a bucket, get to the foul line. … That’s huge for us. You are talking one of the best players in the game. To have a game like that when he’s playing that way, it’s tough to beat. Thirty-eight, 8, 8, zero turnovers? We’re real tough to beat when he’s doing that.”


Durant played well in his first Finals trip but didn’t have the help he has now with a two-time MVP in Curry, one of the league’s best two-way players in Thompson and a do-it-all demon like Green.

With his big output in Game 1, Durant joined Hall of Famers Rick Barry, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal as the only players to score at least 25 points in each of his first six Finals games.

“This is what every player wants to be, is the highest level of basketball,” Durant said. “That’s what you dream about as a kid, is to play at the highest level. I wouldn’t do my teammates any good if I wasn’t just enjoying the moment.”

Durant provided a conundrum for Cleveland’s defense. While the Cavs mostly left Harrison Barnes open last season and thrived when he made just 5 of 32 shots in the final three games as the Cavs overcame a 3-1 deficit to win the title, that wasn’t an option with Durant.

There were a handful of times Cleveland was more focused on Curry and the 3-point shooters, but Durant made them pay with six first-half dunks. His presence also forced James to work on the defensive end, sapping some needed energy he needs on offense if Cleveland is going to keep up with Golden State.

Durant also did a good job defensively in his 1-on-1 matchups with James, who still managed 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists but also turned the ball over eight times.

“Kevin’s a competitor,” Green said. “Obviously being that he’s guarding LeBron, he’s taking that challenge on. And I expect nothing less out of him, being the competitor that he is.”

Durant’s presence also benefited Curry, who hit six 3-pointers on the way to a 28-point night. Curry shot just 40 percent in the Finals a year ago and had more turnovers (30) than assists (26) as he nursed injuries to his knee and ankle.

But after winning the first two games a year ago before blowing the 3-1 lead, the Warriors aren’t about to get ahead of themselves even if Cavs coach Tyronn Lue called them “the best I ever seen.”

“A lot of us have been through both sides of a championship run and a Finals,” Curry said. “You’re not going to see crazy celebrations. You’re not going to see us getting ahead of ourselves. We’re going to enjoy what we do on the floor and going to be passionate about it and have each other’s backs when we’re out there, but every 48 minutes is a separate event.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Cavs the champs but Warriors the favorites in NBA Finals

Some predictions see the NBA Finals ending quickly. A video game simulation has them going the distance.

All seem to agree on the Golden State Warriors winning.

Beaten last year by Cleveland’s historic comeback, the Warriors will try to avenge that defeat and get back on top when they face the Cavaliers again, the first time two teams have met three straight times in the NBA Finals.

Game 1 is Thursday at Oracle Arena, where the Cavaliers won their first championship last year by becoming the first team to rally from a 3-1 deficit in the finals. The Warriors are back with a more formidable team after adding Kevin Durant, a healthier one after Stephen Curry was injured last postseason, and not even LeBron James and the Cavs are given much chance of stopping them.

“I think they’re the prohibitive favorite,” ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy said. “I think when you’re the prohibitive favorite against LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, that means you’re a heck of a team, and they sure are.”

The Warriors are 12-0 in the playoffs and have won 27 of their last 28 overall. Cleveland will have to slow down a team that has been beating teams by 16.3 points per game in the postseason.

A lackluster postseason could be salvaged by a close, compelling series, which was the result of an NBA 2K17 simulation that ended with Durant leading the Warriors to a Game 7 rout.

The Warriors are a powerhouse, but the Cavs are 12-1 in the playoffs and give themselves a shot no matter who else does.

“Since I’ve been in this league, it’s hard to get to the playoffs, let alone march all the way to the finals,” guard Iman Shumpert said. “But I think we got a great group, headlined by one of the best guys to ever do it. That gives us a chance in any game.”

Some things to watch in the series:

A LOT OF LOVE? Cleveland almost certainly needs the Kevin Love of the last round to have a chance at the upset. He averaged a quiet 13.8 points in the first two rounds, then busted out for 22.6 points and 12.4 rebounds per game against Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. Golden State will try to keep him in check with Draymond Green, one of the league’s best and most versatile defenders.

“When he’s going, he makes their team a lot better,” Green said, “so it is my job to try to take him out of the game.”

WHAT HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE? The Cavaliers’ nine-game postseason road winning streak, three shy of the 2001-02 Lakers’ league record, started with victories last year in Games 5 and 7 in Oakland. The Warriors won at least once in Cleveland in each of the last two NBA Finals, part of their franchise-record streak of 14 straight series with a road victory.

STRAIGHT SHOOTERS? All-Star Klay Thompson is shooting 38 percent from the field in the postseason and 2015 NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala is just 3 for 27 from 3-point range. The Warriors’ best lineup against the Cavaliers probably has both players on the floor at the same time, with Iguodala on James and Thompson defending Irving, so Thompson said he doesn’t get caught up in whether his shot is falling.

“What happened in the past in my mind doesn’t really count now unless we go out and finish the deal,” he said. “So as long as I perform at this stage now and play my hardest, that’s all I can ask for. It’s been working up to this point, so I can’t change what I’m doing.”

NO WORRY FROM CURRY: After a knee injury in the playoffs and a quick turnaround following the conference finals, Curry wasn’t in top shape last June. He’s in better health now, even while wearing a sleeve over his elbow to protect some swelling.

“Obviously not really dealing with any bumps or bruises really besides this elbow that’s not really a factor,” Curry said. “So other than that, feeling fresh.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

LeBron James wins NBA Finals MVP for 3rd time

OAKLAND, California  — LeBron James is a champion again and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player again.

By unanimous vote, James was selected as MVP of the title series, accepting his trophy from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after Cleveland beat Golden State 93-89 in Game 7 on Sunday night.

“This is what I came back for,” James said.

James was overcome by emotion after the final horn. He’s the finals MVP for the third time, also winning in 2012 and 2013 when he was a member of the Miami Heat.

“Best player on the planet,” Cavs teammate Kyrie Irving said.

James became the third player to have a triple-double in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, joining Jerry West in 1969 and James Worthy in 1988. He had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the clincher, capping a series where the Cavaliers became the first team to successfully overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals.

“You see his basketball talent, the way he can control a game,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “But the reason why he deserves this is because he has a great heart … and great things happen to great people.”

James is now 4-2 all-time in Game 7s, including 2-0 when those ultimate games come in the NBA Finals.

source: sports.inquirer.net

WATCH: Frustrated Curry hits fan with mouthguard, gets ejected

It wasn’t the best of days for Stephen Curry.

The usually mild-mannered Curry blew his top after being called for a foul against LeBron James with 4:22 left to play and his Golden State Warriors trailing the Cleveland Cavaliers, 87-99, in game 6 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena.

Out of frustration, the league’s only unanimous MVP screamed at the referee and hurled his mouthguard towards the crowd, hitting a fan at courtside, to earn him a technical foul and an ejection.

Teammates Klay Thompson and Shaun Livingston rushed to pacify Curry, who immediately apologized to the fan.

“I’ve thrown my mouthpiece before. I usually aim at the scorer’s table, I was off aim. Definitely didn’t mean to throw it at a fan. It’s obviously not where I want to take my frustration out,” Curry said in the post-game press conference.

It was the first ejection of Curry’s c career the first time he has fouled out since December 2013.

“The last two fouls I had, I didn’t think I fouled either Kyrie [Irving] or LeBron [James], that’s just kind of my perception of the plays and I had a reaction to it.”

Curry finished 30 points for Golden State, which missed a chance to wrap up the finals series anew at Cleveland’s home floor with the 115-101 loss.

The series ends at Golden State on Monday (Manila) time for the winner-take-all game 7.

source: sports.inquirer.net

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

Lack of experience proves no problem for champion Warriors

CLEVELAND - The NBA champion Golden State Warriors proved on Tuesday that an age-old mantra -- you have to learn to lose before you can win -- doesn't apply to them.

The inexperienced Warriors beat a LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers team to win the championship despite a roster that did not include one player with any NBA Finals experience.

Golden State are the first team to win a title behind a roster without any previous Finals experience since the 1991 Chicago Bulls. And Steve Kerr is the first rookie coach to win an NBA title since the Los Angeles Lakers' Pat Riley in 1982.

"Every year is so different," Kerr told reporters. "A lot is based on matchups and injuries and maybe a little good fortune. We had good fortune with our health most of the year, and that was big."

The championship series had plenty of sub-plots, including reigning league Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry up against two-time champion James as well as it being a clash of franchises looking to end decades-long title droughts.

But the best-of-seven series was also one of inexperience versus experience, and in the pressure-cooker environment that is the NBA playoffs, the latter tends to prevail.

The Warriors, however, displayed the demeanor of a team that competed on the game's biggest stage several times before, bending at times but refusing to break en route to capturing the Oakland-based franchise's first NBA title since 1975.

"We have a lot of different personalities ... but the common denominator is guys were like really hungry to show what they can do individually," said NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Andre Iguodala.

"When you get all those guys together and say we're going to do it together as a team, that's an awesome formula for what we put together tonight, and that is a championship."

After splitting the first two games of the championship series on their home court, the Warriors went to Cleveland and promptly fell behind in the series 2-1 as their usual potent offense lost its punch.

Kerr made a bold change to his lineup for Game Four when he gave Iguodala his first start of the season.

The steely veteran led the way in a pivotal victory that reinvigorated the deadly run-and-gun offense that had defined the Warriors all season.

Led by sharp-shooting guard Curry, the Warriors dominated the regular season and were barely tested as they captured a league-best 67 wins out of 82 games.

By comparison, the Cavaliers were an exhausted and banged-up team in the Finals but they were led the whole way by James, one of the most polarizing figures in NBA history.

Even James had to lose before he won, having fallen short in his first trip to the NBA Finals with Cleveland in 2007, where they lasted a minimum four games to a veteran San Antonio team.

James finally won a championship in 2012 after joining a Miami Heat team stocked with talent.

The Warriors' road to the Finals was made somewhat easier after the 2014 champion San Antonio Spurs, a potential opponent in the Western Conference finals, lost in the opening round of the playoffs, while Cleveland were without their second and third-best players.

"Things went our way, but we took advantage of that. Every year that's the case. A team fails, a team soars, there's injuries, bounce of the ball, whatever," said Kerr.

"In the end, none of it matters. The only thing that matters is that we got the job done."  — Reuters

Cavaliers' Irving has successful surgery on fractured kneecap

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving had surgery on Saturday to repair his fractured left kneecap, a procedure described as successful by the National Basketball Association team.

Irving underwent surgery as the injury-depleted Cavs prepared to face the Golden State Warriors in Game Two of the NBA Finals on Sunday.

Already trailing after losing Game One of the best-of-seven series, the Cavs will be without two of their three regular starters, Irving and the previously injured Kevin Love, and must depend even more on four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James.

"Irving's return to basketball activity is projected to be in three to four months and appropriate updates will be issued as he moves through the recovery process," the Cavaliers said in a statement.

Irving, 23, who has been bothered with tendinitis in the same knee for the past six weeks. He incurred the fracture in an awkward fall during overtime of Game One on Thursday.

He had 23 points in the game along with seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocked shots. His timely block from behind on Stephen Curry late in the fourth quarter helped the Cavs force overtime.

Despite the absence of Irving and Love, four-time NBA most Valuable Player James, who had a game-high 44 points in the loss, is nonetheless talking up his team's chances.

"The good thing about it, we've been in this position before," James said.

"It's something that's not new to us. So next man up, and guys will be ready for the challenge." - Reuters

Spurs capture fifth title, dethrone Heat

The San Antonio Spurs quietly looked to avenge their Finals series loss to the Miami Heat coming into this season. With a barrage of three-pointers and their signature suffocating defense, they did just that.

The Spurs won game five of the best-of-seven 2014 NBA Finals, 104-87, for a 4-1 victory on Sunday (Monday, PHL time) at the AT&T Center, giving them their fifth NBA title.


The home team came storming back from a 16-point deficit, and led by as much as 22 points, to topple the defending champions, who got a indefatigable effort from LeBron James (31 points, 10 rebounds, five rebounds, two blocks), and not much else from their supporting cast.

The Heat came out strong in the first period, opening with an 8-0 blast, and a Ray Allen triple later on extended that lead to 22-6, five minutes and change left in the first period. However, Manu Ginobili led a 12-0 run to put the Spurs in the thick of things, 22-18.

LeBron James countered with five straight, but Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard scores sandwiched Norris Cole charities to arrive at the 29-22 score after the initial 12 minutes.

The Heat offense stalled in the second. They went nearly five minutes without a basket, conceding 14 unanswered to the Spurs, 42-35. James ended their silence with a seven-foot bucket, but Ginobili countered with a trey.

James and Wade conspired to water down their deficit somewhat, but a Boris Diaw layup closed out the scoring in the first half, 47-40, in favor of the Spurs.

Both teams struggled to score at the beginning of the third, but when the Spurs woke up,it was a like a tidal wave hit the Heat. An 18-4 run, highlighted by three straight triples, two from Patty Mills and one from Ginobili, gave the home team a 65-44 buffer, 5:01 left in the third.

The Heat got back-to-back baskets, but Mills quickly squelched the run with another triple. Another four-point cluster by Miami got it to 17, 70-53, but once again Mills doused the fire with a triple, to return the buffer to 20.

Miami started the fourth with one last run, scoring five unanswered, 77-58. Tony Parker finally got on board though, and made back-to-back seven-footers, 90-72. James was later subbed out at the 6:30 mark, essentially waving the white flag.



Kawhi Leonard top-scored for the Spurs with 22 points, and added 10 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. He was later named Finals MVP

Manu Ginobili came off the bench for 19 points, four boards and four assists. Patty Mills sparkled for 17 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting, while Tony Parker bucked a slow start to chime in with 16 markers.

Chris Bosh was the Heat’s second-best scorer, putting in 13 markers and seven caroms. Dwyane Wade was a non-factor with 11 on 12 shot attempts.

The Spurs had won game one 110-95, ripping off a late fourth quarter run after James suffered from cramps. The Heat came back in game two, winning 98-96, but San Antonio was simply red-hot in Miami, getting victories of 111-92 and 107-86 to set this one up.

During the 2012-13 series, the Heat won in seven games, after the Spurs fell in OT in game six, up 3-2. - AMD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com