The first one deserved a sequel
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Then with Kevin Durant joining Stephen Curry on one side and LeBron James leading the other, the Warriors and Cavaliers sent interest soaring as they rampaged toward the tiebreaker last season.
But the rubber match was a mismatch, and the Warriors are expected to win just as easily this time.
So as Round 4 of the record-setting rivalry begins Thursday night, has Warriors-Cavaliers become too much of a good thing?
”I don’t think so,” Golden State guard Klay Thompson said. ”I think the rest of the NBA has got to get better. It’s not our fault. I’m sure if you asked the fans of the Warriors and the Cavs around the world, whether it’s in the Bay Area or in Cleveland, I’m sure they’re happy with their team performance. The only people I hear saying that are fans from other teams, which is natural. I don’t blame them. But as long as our fan base is happy, that’s all that matters.”
It’s the first time in NBA, NFL, MLB or NHL history that the same teams are meeting four straight times in the championship round, and intrigue in the teams hasn’t waned yet. The NBA had its most-watched conference finals since 2012
Orlando Brown Jr. Color Rush Jersey , as both teams had to rally from 3-2 deficits to win Game 7s on the road.
But if this series quickly becomes as lopsided as some fear – ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy said he couldn’t remember a bigger gap between finals teams and said any game the Cavs win is a huge upset – many of those people who have tuned in the last few years might be looking for something else to watch by the time the series switches to Cleveland.
”If James and the Cavaliers win Game 1, you know, the interest is going to skyrocket because they are going to have done what very few – except for them maybe – think they can do, which is win at Golden State,” Van Gundy said. ”If they get blown out both games, it doesn’t matter what we say. People aren’t going to be as excited.”
The players won’t apologize for showing up again, or worry that it hurts the NBA.
”I mean, it may not be as suspenseful as a lot of people want it to be or as drama-filled,” Durant said, ”but that’s what you’ve got movies and music for.”
Some things to watch when the series begins at Oracle Arena:
BE LIKE MIKE
If the Warriors win, it would be their sixth NBA championship and tie them for third on the all-time list with the Chicago Bulls, who won all theirs with Michael Jordan. Then it would be a long way to go from there to catch Boston (17) or the Lakers (16).
MOVING ON UP
James could vault into second place on the NBA Finals’ career lists for points and assists. He has 1
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SCORING STARS
While matching up on the court, James and Durant could flip-flop on the career postseason scoring list. James currently has a slight edge, with his 28.83 points per game placing him fourth and slightly ahead of Durant, who has averaged 28.75. Durant has been even better in the NBA Finals, with his 32.9 points per game ranking last year’s finals MVP behind only Rick Barry (36.3) and Jordan (33.6) among players who have appeared in at least 10 games.
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
The much-maligned Cavaliers’ defense has shown up in the postseason, where Cleveland is allowing just 99.9 points per game, second among the 16 teams. The Cavs held Boston under 100 points in four of the final five games of the East finals. More impressively, Golden State kept high-scoring Houston under 100 in five straight games and is right behind Cleveland at 100.3 in the playoffs.
NEW-LOOK LOGO
Viewers will notice something new on the court during the series. The familiar NBA Finals logo has been replaced and the floor will now be marked with one that reads ”The Finals presented by YouTube TV.”
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Klay Thompson has rediscovered his shooting touch at the perfect time for the playoffs, Draymond Green is crashing the boards and doing it all on both ends as usual, while Kevin Durant is piling up the points even when not shooting at his most efficient.
Now
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Durant scored 25 points, Green led a smothering Golden State defense, and the Warriors held off the late-charging San Antonio Spurs 99-91 on Tuesday night to win Game 5 and advance to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Thompson had another stellar shooting performance with 24 points, and Green contributed all over with 17 points, a career-playoff high 19 rebounds and seven assists. Golden State looked dominant until the fourth quarter even without Curry – and he could be back soon from a left knee injury.
”Draymond can literally do everything. So these last two games, he’s been rebounding like a beast,” Thompson said. ”And his ability to take the ball from the rim and push the break is what sparks the offense so much.”
LaMarcus Aldridge converted a three-point play with 1:31 left that pulled the Spurs within 93-89, and then a pair of free throws at 57.2 to make it a two-point game. Green responded with a long jumper at the top of the key then made two free throws with 9.1 seconds remaining.
The Warriors will face New Orleans in the West semifinals with Game 1 Saturday at Oracle Arena, having smoothly eliminated the Spurs aside from a brief Game 4 blip Sunday at San Antonio. New Orleans, coached by former Golden State top assistant Alvin Gentry, swept Portland in the first round.
Durant didn’t have his usual steady shooting night, going 8 for 19 and missing his initial six 3-point tries. That hardly mattered. After a rebound late in the first half
http://www.dolphinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-kalen-ballage-jersey , the reigning Finals MVP drove coast-to-coast for a huge two-handed slam that helped Golden State grab momentum.
Aldridge had 30 points and 12 rebounds, and Patty Mills added 18 points with four 3-pointers for cold-shooting San Antonio. Manu Ginobili had 10 points and seven assists in what might have been the 16th-year pro’s final game at age 40.
The Spurs fought for and without coach Gregg Popovich, away from the team following the death of his wife, Erin, last week following a long illness.
”I think it speaks highly of the character and spirit of this team, of never giving up, of competing until the very end,” Pau Gasol said. ”And it was a game and a situation where we easily could have just thrown the towel at different points. But we didn’t. So that’s something that we can be proud of.”
Thompson swished a turnaround fadeaway as the halftime buzzer sounded and scurried for the tunnel hands raised high in triumph as Curry celebrated alongside his Splash Brother. Thompson hit 11 of 22 shots, his fourth time shooting at least 50 percent in the series.
Thompson became the third Warriors player ever to make 600 field goals in the postseason, and Golden State won its 12th straight playoff game at Oracle Arena.
Coach Steve Kerr challenged the Warriors to make ”simpler passes” – or ”keep hitting singles” as he put it in baseball terms – to avoid silly miscues after a sloppy showing in Sunday’s 103-90 loss that forced the series back to the Bay Area.
After Golden State committed 16 turnovers and managed only 19 assists in the defeat, the Warriors were far better taking care of the ball with just 10 turnovers while dishing out 25 assists.
They used a 13-3 burst in the second quarter to take a 35-26 lead.
Green followed up an 18-rebound outing Sunday with another brilliant night on the boards.
”One thing we spoke about coming into this series was trying to control the glass,” Green said.
THOUGHTS WITH POP
The Warriors congratulated the Spurs for their efforts under the difficult circumstances as Popovich mourns.
”What they were going through the last week was awful
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Spurs assistant Ettore Messina coached San Antonio for a third straight playoff game.
”Pop, if you’re watching out there, we love you,” Kerr said. ”Our whole team and coaching staff has been thinking about you every day. Your team reflected who you are tonight.”
CURRY STATUS
Kerr didn’t want to guess when Curry might be cleared. The two-time MVP is scheduled to be re-evaluated later this week as he works back from a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee that he injured March 23 the same night he returned from a six-game absence with his latest right ankle injury.
”We’ll see. We are locked in on tonight. Steph has been coming into the gym every day working and he’s doing his thing and we are doing ours,” Kerr said. ”We are just hoping for the best. Not making any predictions.”
TIP-INS
Spurs: Danny Green was 0 for 5. … San Antonio is 2-8 all-time on Golden State’s home floor in the postseason. The Spurs were swept in the Western Conference Finals by the Warriors last year. … The Spurs shot 37.2 percent, going 7 for 30 from 3-point range.
Warriors: Thompson joined Rick Barry (699) and Curry (652) as the Warriors with 600 postseason field goals. … … Durant (3,189) passed Paul Pierce (3,180) for 20th and Kevin McHale (3,182) for 19th place on the career NBA postseason scoring list. … Golden State is 18-2 .
