The Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the Golden State Warriors 137-116 and avoid being swept. The Warriors now face a familiar 3-1 series lead as the series shifts back to the Bay Area for game five. The Cavs were led by their big three who combined for 85 points in their victory.
In the first quarter, the Cavs came out swinging and the crowd got behind them almost right away, as they raced out to a 14-5 lead with 9:20 remaining. The Cavs then expanded their lead to 29-13 thanks in large part to an active Tristan Thompson who grabbed 3 offensive rebounds, J.R Smith and Kyrie Irving finding their shots early and a newfound defensive prowess.
With this and-1 layup from LeBron James, the King has officially passed Michael Jordan for 3rd on the all-time #NBAFinals scoring list pic.twitter.com/dnZhVDBAaI
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 10, 2017
As for the Warriors, they turned the ball over and were frustrated by the physicality of Cleveland on defense. Another cause for concern was the number of times the Warriors put the Cavs on the line, as the Cavaliers took an astonishing 22 free throw attempts in the first quarter. At the end of the first, the Cavs led 49-33.
Subsequently, Kevin Durant, who had limited touches in the first quarter, got things going in the second quarter and cut the Cavs’ lead to 54-43 after an and-1 at the 8:39 mark. However, that’s the closest the Warriors would get in the half as the Cavs erupted shortly after. The trio of Irving, Love, and LeBron joined in on the fun and was opposing their will on the Warriors.
The Warriors did their best to weather the storm and Durant ended the half with a buzzer-beating three to put him at 22 points for the half. However, the Cavs went on to set the highest scoring half in NBA Finals history, as they led the Warriors 86-68 at halftime.
In the second half, the Warriors started it off with two quick buckets by Curry and Green that cut the lead to 14 points. The two sides exchanged blows for a short moment, then LeBron shut the arena down with an alley-oop to himself off the backboard.
LEBRON JAMES PASSED TO HIMSELF OFF THE GLASS FOR THE DUNK ???
(via @clippittv)pic.twitter.com/155lmjzpHz
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 10, 2017
Then a bizarre sequence happened where Green was assessed a technical after not agreeing with the referees call. The scores table had Green at two technicals but the officials got together and assessed Green’s first tech to Steve Kerr as ESPN’s Doris Burke explained.
Wait, timeout. Draymond Green did not get ejected or what’s goin on?
(via @clippittv)pic.twitter.com/YxY7cDnWSV
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 10, 2017
While Durant continued to give his best efforts, the third quarter was once again owned by the Cavs as their offense showed no signs of cooling down and as a result led 115-96 heading into the fourth.
In the fourth, the Cavs remained in control throughout and held a manageable double-digit lead as the Warriors scrambled to put a comeback effort together. However, it was the Cavs’ night and they came away with the victory to force a game five.
