Category: Golden State Warriors

Cavs explode in Game 3, romp Warriors by 30

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

AFP photo: Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James drives on Golden State Warriors Draymond Green during game three at Quicken Loans Arena Friday

CLEVELAND, OH — It wasn’t a must win game for Cleveland.

It was the game to be had.

After dropping the first two games in Oakland by a total of 48 points, Cleveland drummed the defending NBA champions in Game 3, 120-90, Wednesday night to trim Golden State’s lead in the best-of-seven NBA Finals series, 2-1.

Cleveland, who improved to 8-0 at home in the postseason, responded in a huge way with big games by both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

James, who called Game 3 a “do or die” game, finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists to pace the Cavs, who never trailed in the game. James shot 14-for-26 from the floor  in 40 minutes of action, after shooting just 7-for-17 from the floor in Golden State’s 33-point win in Game 2.

Cleveland outscored Golden State in the first quarter, 33-16, thanks in large part to Irving.

Irving got Cleveland rolling early with 16 of his 30 points in the first quarter on 7-for-9 shooting. Irving shot 12-for-25 from the floor for the game and added eight assists.

“We’ve got to give the same effort Friday night,” James said postgame. “It started defensively and trickled down to the offensive side.”

J.R. Smith scored 20 points, and Tristan Thompson finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds (7 offensive). Cleveland controlled the boards, outrebounding Golden State 52-32.

Richard Jefferson, who started in place of Kevin Love, finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

Love sat out Game 3 due to symptoms from a concussion he suffered in Game 2 after taking an inadvertent elbow in the back of the head. Love didn’t pass the NBA concussion protocol and his status is unclear for Game 4 Friday night.

If Love is ready to go for Game 4, Cleveland could be reluctant to put him back into the starting lineup as the starting five of James, Irving, Smith, Jefferson and Thompson meshed well together and played faster against Golden State. The Cavs dominated the paint by outscoring the Warriors 54-32.

“Coaching staff gave us an excellent game plan and we executed it for 48 minutes,” added James. Cleveland shot 15-for-20 in the third quarter en route to finishing 52 percent from the field as a team for the game.

Golden State was hit in the mouth early and couldn’t recover from the punch that Cleveland landed to their chin.

Stephen Curry scored 19 points, mostly in the second quarter, after he and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson (10 points) combined to shoot 0-for-8 in the first quarter. Thompson left the game briefly after taking a Timofey Mozgov knee to the left thigh while fighting through a screen chasing Irving.

Curry and Thompson, who haven’t had the games fans have been accustomed of seeing from the preeminent backcourt in the league, finished the game 10-for-26 from the floor.

“We were soft,” said coach Steve Kerr. “When you’re soft, you get beat on the glass and turn the ball over.”

Cleveland treated Game 3 like it was a street fight, resorting to Eastern Conference basketball by being physical with Golden State and pressing them into tough shots. The Warriors were 1-for-11 on catch and shoot 3s, before finishing 9-for-33 from behind the 3-point line.

Harrison Barnes had 18 points and eight rebounds, while Andre Iguodala finished with 11 points.

Draymond Green was off with just six points on just 2-for-8 shooting. Green added seven rebounds and seven assists for Golden State, who dropped their fifth straight Game 3 dating back to last year’s NBA Finals, where Cleveland took a 2-1 lead before Golden State rallied to capture the title by taking three of the last four games.

Golden State did show some fight late in the second quarter, outscoring Cleveland 27-18 before trailing 51-43 at halftime.

“We’re in good shape,” Curry said. “”Not the way we wanted tonight to go … We have a great opportunity on Friday to keep control of the series.”

This was an embarrassing loss for the Warriors, who still are in the driver seat but know that if they have any chance of taking a 3-1 lead, it must limit the turnovers (18 for Golden State compared to 13 for Cleveland) and get better performances from Curry and Thompson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warriors Take 2-0 Series Lead With Dominant Win

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By Ben Leonard

USA Today photo: Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James speaks with the media after second loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday

As Draymond Green goes, the Warriors go. After a controversial play involving Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams in the previous series, Green seemed rattled and uncomfortable.

But on Sunday, Green seemed to find his comfort zone, and the Warriors rolled along with him to a dominant 110-77 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving them a commanding 2-0 series lead. Although it seemed in serious doubt just over a week ago, Golden State is now on the cusp of winning its second straight NBA title.

Green scored 28 points to pace Golden State (his most since Game Three vs. Portland), leading the way by nailing a team-high five of eight three-pointers in the contest. He also made eleven of his twenty field goal attempts, also leading the team in that category.

The Warriors started out hot early, and never looked back. That hadn’t been the case in earlier playoff games, in which Golden State seemed to coast early on, had to come back, and eventually outlasted the opponent. They took a commanding eight point halftime lead that could have been much more, had Steve Kerr not pulled Stephen Curry with a few minutes left in the second. Without Curry, a fifteen point lead quickly melted to just that eight point margin.

But with Curry back in in the second half to complement Green’s scoring outburst, the Warriors blazed past the Cavaliers, holding them to just 33 points in the second half.

Curry had 18 for Golden State, and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson had 17, as the Cavaliers did well to keep the dynamic duo relatively in check. They picked up some of the slack for Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut, who combined to score just 7 points in 50 minutes.

 

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors bench proves their deep; expect Splash Bros to come out bombing in game two

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photo by larrybrownsports.com: Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr breaks clipboard during a down third quarter at Oracle Arena during game one Thursday

On the Warriors podcast with David, There was just that one quarter the third quarter where the Cleveland  Cavaliers caught up to the Golden State Warriors and the W’s went on a run to put the game away. It was during the Cavs run when Warriors head coach Steve Kerr slammed the clipboard and it splintered into seven or eight pieces. It was caught on video so everybody got the chance to look it over.

So everybody got see what it looked like when coach Kerr turns into the Incredible Hulk and destroying that clipboard but this was a great game for the Warriors for a number of reasons the biggest being that Steph Curry and Klay Thompson had a really bad a game by their normal standards we’ve seen games where Steph has an off night Klay has an off night it’s really, really rare to see where both have an off night.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcast during the NBA Finals at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Warriors take Game 1 over Cavaliers behind bench

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By: Eric He

AP photo: Cleveland Cavaliers Kyrie Irving (2) shoots the ball against the Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in game one at Oracle Arena on Thursday night of the NBA Finals

Stephen Curry had just 11 points. Klay Thompson finished with a mere 9 points. And yet, the Warriors beat the Cavaliers easily in Game 1, 104-89, behind a fabulous performance by the bench on Thursday night at Oracle Arena to jump ahead in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

The Warriors’ bench scored 45 points, paced by 20 points from Shaun Livingston, 12 from Andre Iguodala and 11 from Leandro Barbosa. Golden State’s bench outscored Cleveland’s 45-9.

After the two teams traded leads in the third quarter, the Warriors brought a six-point lead into the fourth quarter and the bench went off to extend the advantage. Livingston and Barbosa connected on an array of baskets, pushing the lead to 16. with 8:34 to play. It was a 21-4 run with Curry and Thompson on the bench.

Late three-pointers by Curry and Thompson shut down any Cavaliers’ hopes of a comeback.

The Warriors got off to a strong start, looking more comfortable and relaxed than in their series against the Thunder. They led by nine at halftime.

Curry and Thompson’s combined 20 points was their lowest total for the season. Yet, the Warriors’ bench picked up the slack, and the defense limited the Cavaliers to 38.1 percent shooting.

The Splash Brothers will have to get going at some point, but the fact that they underperformed and the Cavaliers were still blown out does not bode well for Cleveland moving forward.

Game 2 will be Sunday at 5 p.m. PST.

Historic season not over yet, Dubs back in the NBA Finals

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

Down in the Western Conference Finals three games to one, the Golden State Warriors looked lost, worn out and defeated. While the Oklahoma City Thunder seemed unstoppable and their path to the NBA Finals appeared clear.

But did people forget that this Warriors team won a record setting 73 games? If anybody could come back down three games for just the tenth time in league history, it would be these guys. And the Warriors showed their resiliency and in game seven their fearless leader, Steph Curry showed that his second MVP selection, an unanimous decision, was no fluke.

The best player on the planet and his team defeated the Thunder, 96-88, in a tough game 7.

The first quarter was all Thunder as their defense was relentless and made Golden State take tough shots. The Warriors only scored 19 points, while Kevin Durant looked to be locked in. Oklahoma City showed up in the first and gave the impression that they had forgotten about the past two games.

However, the second quarter was different and the Warriors went back to what they do best, shooting the three ball. Klay Thompson got off to a rough 0 for 7 start, but knocked down four triples in the second to help his team cut the Thunder’s lead, who looked poised to take a big lead.

At the half, OKC led Golden State, 48-42 and out of the half, the MVP reigned supreme.

Curry made three big triples in the third and the Warriors played tremendous defense. The defending champs outscored the Thunder, 29-12, in the third quarter. The third quarter was the turning point and the home team never looked back.

While Curry had a solid third quarter, his clutch performance in the fourth proved why he is currently the best player in the NBA. Curry went 5-6 from the field, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc for 15 fourth quarter points. Curry absolutely went off and made the big shots when the Thunder tried to make a come back of their own late in the game.

The Warriors lived by the three in tonight’s game, shooting 45.9 percent from behind the three point line. Their defense also did a great job of not allowing Durant the ball and holding their opponents to a shooting percentage of 38.2 percent.

Durant did finish with 27 points on 10 of 19 from the field for a team high and Russell Westbrook totaled 19 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. But Westbrook had difficulty shooting as he went 7 of 21 on the night.

Curry finished with a game high 36 points, hitting 13 fields goals on 24 tries with seven of those field goals coming from three point range. The Warriors win was definitely a collective effort as the team had to come together strong to make this incredible series come back. Thompson ended the game with 21 points of his own as the Splash Brothers once again guided their team to one of the franchise’s most important victories.

The Warriors spent a ton of energy on winning this series and that could be a factor as their next task begins on Thursday. But, the Warriors are headed to back to back finals. They have a player who won back to back MVP trophies. And now, repeating as champions is in plain sight.

The Cavs and LeBron James look better than the team the Warriors saw last year, but again do not count out the Western Conference Champions. History is unfolding right in front of our eyes, can the Warriors be historical once again?

Tune in to ABC on June 2 at 6 p.m, where Golden State and Curry will take on James and company at Oracle Arena in front of a rambunctious Oakland crowd.

 

Thompson leads Warriors over Thunder to force Game 7

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

AP photo: Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson is congratulated by fans at Chesapeake Energy Arena concluding game six win over the OKC Thunder on Saturday night

Klay Thompson set an NBA playoff record with 11 three-pointers, propelling the Warriors over the Thunder in a dramatic Game 6 win, 108-101, to force a Game 7.

It looked for the longest time on Saturday that the Thunder would pull away and close out a disappointing end to a historic season for the Warriors.

But Thompson would have none of that. The sharpshooter hit three after three in the fourth quarter to close an eight-point Thunder lead. Stephen Curry knocked down consecutive threes to tie the game at 99-99 with under three minutes to play, and Thompson put the Warriors ahead 104-101, catching an outlet pass from Andre Iguodala and hitting a three.

Curry followed with layup over Serge Ibaka to extend the lead to five with 15 seconds left, and the Warriors close it out with a couple of steals.

Thompson finished with 41 points, while Curry had 29.

The ending was surreal considering the Thunder had control all game long. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had 29 and 28 points, respectively, and Oklahoma City had opened up a double-digit lead by the second quarter. The Thunder maintained that advantage throughout, and, save for a brief spurt in the third when the Warriors took a slim lead, they largely kept the Warriors at bay whenever Golden State closed on a run.

The Warriors finished 21-of-44 from 3-point range while the Thunder shot just 3-of-21.

This will be the Warriors’ first Game 7 at home in 40 years. The winner will advance to the NBA Finals to face the Cavaliers.

Warriors stay alive with Game 5 win

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By: Eric He

AP photo: Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson left yellow shirt and Stephen Curry (30) exalt watching a warrior bucket in game five at Oracle Arena in Oakland

The Golden State Warriors staved off elimination with a 120-111 win over the Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night at Oracle Arena.

Stephen Curry led the way with 31 points, while Klay Thompson poured in 27. With the win, the Warriors send the series back to Oklahoma City needing a win to force a Game 7.

The Warriors led by four heading into the fourth quarter, but quickly opened up a double-digit advantage with the help of a 12-4 run. The Thunder hung around and closed the gap late, but the Warriors hung on to keep their playoff dreams alive.

The Warriors led for a majority of the game, not allowing the Thunder to take control as they have in the previous two contests. The Thunder took a brief 68-67 lead in the third quarter, but otherwise the Warriors turned up their play a notch to get the win.

Golden State shot 47.1 percent from the field, getting the all-around contributions they needed to beat the Thunder. Draymond Green played better, while Andrew Bogut had a big night with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Marreese Speights scored 14 points off the bench.

But the Warriors still have a monumental challenge in the front of them. They must find a way to beat the Thunder on the road to keep their season alive. Game 6 is Saturday night in Oklahoma City.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: With backs to the wall the Dubs need to get that fire in their bellies

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photo by The Sporting News: Head coach Steve Kerr (right) and Stephen Curry (30) do some consultations during game four

On the Warriors podcast with David it’s been a frustrating series with the Oklahoma City Thunder outside of game two. In game one the Warriors were in it but lost by six 108-102 so you can excuse that. Game two the Warriors grabbed a 118-91 win OKC just ran them out of the building and part of that this gives OKC a little bit of leg up. The Warriors looked out it on Tuesday night and I don’t get it in a Western Conference final the Warriors would be motivated ready to go and feel the pressure and respond.

The Warriors have done this before and now it’s time for them to do that again the thing that you notice the most they just don’t seem to have that fire or passion that we saw last year when they went through the post season. The Warriors have to find out what they have to do to fix that and they have to find out what needs to happen.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcast during the Western Conference Finals on Sportstalk at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Westbrook, Durant throttle champs in Game 4

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Contributor

photo credit The Sporting News: Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant (35) hand looks blinding for Golden State’s Stephen Curry in the third defeat of the Warriors at OKC on Tuesday night

Oklahoma City — Don’t look now but the Golden State Warriors are in some serious trouble for the first time in two years.

Russell Westbrook recorded his third career triple double, racking up 36 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, while fellow superstar Kevin Durant dropped 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-94 victory Tuesday night and a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 Western Conference finals.

The loss puts the defending NBA champions on the brink of elimination. It also marked the first time that this season that Golden State has loss back-to-back games this season.

Klay Thompson scored 19 of his team-leading 26 points in the third quarter while dealing with foul trouble, while Stephen Curry scored 19 points but struggled tremendously from the floor finishing 6-for-20 from the floor.

The two-time league MVP missed wide open shots for the majority of the game while exerting so much energy chasing Westbrook for most of the night.

Westbrook was an instant fastbreak starter, engineering a Thunder squad that outscored Golden State 48-38 in the paint.

The Thunder, who were the league’s top rebounding team at 48.6 rebounds per game during the regular season, dominated the boards 56 to 40. For the series, OKC has out-rebounded Golden State by averaging 49 to 41 rebounds per game.

In addition to Westbrook and Durant, OKC finished with five players in double figures (Serge Ibaka and Andre Roberson each scored 17 points, Steven Adams scored 11 points, and Dion Waiters chipped in with 10 points off the bench.)

Roberson, who 17 points were a career-high, also finished with 12 rebounds.

During the playoffs, the Thunder are 7-0 when they have five or more players finish in double figures.

“The Thunder are outplaying us right now,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “We have to come up with answers.”

Golden State needs to come up with some answers fast heading back to Oakland for a do-or-die Game 5 Thursday night in what will be  raucous Oracle Arena crowd.

Draymond Green had a game to forget tonight.

Green, who avoided suspension from the league after kicking Adams in the groin during Game 3, finished with just six points and 11 rebounds, but shot 1-for-7 from the floor.

“I bring the energy for this team and I haven’t been bringing that energy,” Green said post game. “We just didn’t take care of the ball well tonight. I have to bring more energy for this team to win.”

The Warriors had 13 of their 21 turnovers in the first half. Green and Curry each had six turnovers.

Harrison Barnes finished with 11 points for Golden State, who now have a larger mountain to climb if they are going to reach the NBA Finals for the second straight year.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, teams that trail 3-1 in a best-of-7 series are just 9-223.

But the focus wasn’t just on Curry’s disappearing act (2-for-10 on 3s), or Thompson racking off 19 straight points in the third quarter that pulled Golden State within eight points after being down as much as 25 points, but on the tentative play by Green.

“This is the first time in my life I didn’t respond to critics,” said Green.

The Thunder have smacked the NBA champions in the mouth the last two games, hammering the Warriors by an average of 26.5 points per game in the two win at Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City rung up 72 points in the first half for the second straight game on Golden State this postseason, joining the 1987 Showtime Lakers as the only team to score 72 points in the first half in back-to-back games in the playoffs.

For Golden State, the next 48 hours are going to be the most important 48 hours that the team has faced during the Steve Kerr era.

The team that won a regular season-best 73 games during the regular season, has looked awful the last two games of the Western Conference finals with the bad shot selections, turnovers, and poor rebounding.

But if winning championships were easy then everyone would be doing it, right?

The Warriors have face adversity all season, but the Thunder have made life extremely difficult for Golden State in this series.

Kerr and the coaching staff has to find answers for a beat up Warriors team that are on the ropes.

 

 

 

That’s Amaury’s News and Podcast: No fun being Green; Draymond escapes league suspension for famous groin kick

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photo credit totalprosports.com: Golden State Warriors Draymond Green kick Oklahoma City Thunder Steven Adams in groin

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary the groin kick of Steven Adams of the OKC Thunder by the Golden State Warriors Draymond Green was excused with a $25,000 fine and no league suspension. The Warriors are a super team there has been no better team in the last three years. Green was so frustrated and he went ballistic with that kick and he shouldn’t have done that he was lucky that he didn’t get suspended by the NBA.

Its frustration and the Warriors got so used to winning and the Thunder in the last game won by some 28 points it was a blow out they’re a pretty good team and they deserve some respect. We’ll see what happens and Green was just something like that happens in the heat of the moment in a passionate game and all that the team has been so good so long it’s hard to comprehend if your going to lose.

Amaury does the weekly podcast commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com