Warriors coach Kerr: Game four was out of hand

Kevin Durant led Golden State with 35 points and Draymond Green had 16 points and 14 rebounds, but Steph Curry and Klay Thompson totaled 27 points and 8-for-24 shooting. James and Irving were damn near at their best in Game 3, only to see them fall apart in the final three minutes. Irving missed his last three shots and James his last two.

“I gave everything that I had, so at times throughout the game I was exhausted, but that’s just because I was just playing as hard as I could”, James said. “I’ve been working on that shot my whole life”. Point guard Stephen Curry won the league’s Most Valuable Player award – partly because of the historical achievement, but partly because he made an National Basketball Association record 402 three point shots during the season. The Warriors’ 15 straight Playoff wins are a postseason record in the four major professional team sports, breaking the mark of the National Hockey League franchise Pittsburgh Penguins from 1992 and 1993 (14).

LeBron James recorded a triple-double, Kyrie Irving scored 40 points and Cleveland outperformed the NBA’s most electrifying offense in a testy Game 4 filled with technical fouls on Friday night, beating the Warriors 137-116 and ending their flawless postseason.

But Durant was not going to be denied. He scored 39 points, hauled in 11 rebounds, dished nine assists while logging one steak and one block to boot.

Cleveland were powerless to stop it as a Durant three turned the lead over, before the hosts defended poorly, then turned it over immediately from an inbound to ensure there was no way back into the ball game in the dying seconds. At home for the first time since May 23, Cleveland turned the game during that period.

Kyrie Irving in a Nike Kyrie 3 PE.

“James” teammate James Jones seems to agree.

Can Cavaliers stop the Warriors from clinching the title on Friday? James shook it off, got up and slowly walked to the bench, and moments later drove for a layup. The All-Star guard led all Cleveland scorers.

Things looked good for the Cavs when they put up a 33-point third quarter and carried their momentum into the fourth. Such a sweep would also increase the value of the franchise perhaps more than the $22 million it would make if the series went the distance.

“We want to play fast; we don’t want to play in a hurry”, Lue said.

“But now that we’re in this situation”, Curry said, smiling, at the postgame podium well after midnight, “why not take care of business and finish the job”.