Tag: Stephen Curry

Durant’s 37-point effort rallies the Warriors to a 110-107 victory over Spurs after Curry injures his ankle again

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State Warriors won their seventh game in a row, but it was not easy as the San Antonio Spurs played their hearts out but could not prevail. The Warriors needed the win to keep their hopes alive for winning homecourt advantage for the playoffs. The Rockets lead the Dubs by one-half game and own the tiebreaker. The Warriors lost their star, Steph Curry, early in the first quarter when he tweaked his right ankle. He was able to two free throws, but the Warriors sent him to the trainer’s table for treatment and Steph was done for the night. Three other players were not available Thursday night. David West missed his second game in a row with an infected cyst on his arm. Andre Iguodala was out with a sprained left wrist, and Jordan Bell was sidelined when he re-injured his right ankle. Steve Kerr had to use Kevon, Looney, Omri Casspi, Quin Cook, and Nick Young and hope that the Warriors could beat the Spurs. The game was not pretty, but they were able to come back late in the fourth quarter and beat the Spurs 110-107.

Both the Spurs and the Warriors were cold to start the first quarter. The Spurs led 3-0 when Steph Curry was fouled as he attempted a layup with just 2 minutes and 32 seconds played in the game. Steph turned his right ankle when he landed. He tried to walk off the injury, but it was apparent that he would not be able to continue. Steph went to the free throw line and made the two free throws, and that finished his night. The Warriors got the offense going late in the quarter, and they outscored the Spurs 28-21.

The Warriors could not get anything going in the second quarter. They scored just 13 points against Brooklyn Tuesday night, and the Warriors were cold again in the second quarter. The Spurs took advantage. The Dubs built the lead to nine 34-23, but San Antonio went on a 14-2 run to take the lead 37-35. The Spurs outscored the Warriors 29-18 and finished the half with a 4-point lead 50-46. The Spurs LaMarcus Aldridge had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 14, JaVale McGee 7, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green each had 4.

The Warriors played better in the third quarter. They have owned the third quarter, but on Thursday night, that did not happen as they were outscored 37-32 The game was tied at 78 when the Spurs went on a 9-0 run to finish the quarter leading 87-78. In the fourth quarter, the Spurs met every Warrior challenge and led 103-96 with under 3 minutes to play. The Warriors vaunted defense came through, and Kevin Durant scored 14 straight points to tie the game at 105. Draymond Green made a fantastic layup with his left hand to put the Dubs ahead by two 1:30 left. Klay Thompson made two free throws, and they led 109-105.  The Spurs scored and trailed by two 109-107. They fouled KD but he missed one, and the Spurs had a chance to tie if they could make a three-pointer. The Spurs got the ball to LaMarcus Aldridge, and he was fouled attempting a three. He made the first free throw but missed the second. He made the third, and the Spurs trailed 110-107. They got the ball back with 2.3 seconds left and, after a timeout, took the ball out from mid-court. Bryn Forbes missed a three-pointer with 0.01 seconds left, and the Warriors celebrated the win.

Game Notes and Stats. After the game Warrior head coach Steve Kerr announced that Steph Curry will travel with the team to Portland but will not play Friday night.

The Warriors won their 7th in a row and improved to 51-14. The Spurs dropped to 37-28.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 30 points and 17 rebounds. Kyle Anderson had 12, Davis Bertrans 13, DeJounte Murray 14, Tony Parker 11, and Rudy Gay 10. The Warriors were led by Kevin Durant’s 37 points, 4 assists, 11 rebounds, and four blocked shots. Draymond Green had a triple-double with 11 points, 10 assists,12 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. JaVale McGee added 13, Nick Young had 12, and Shaun Livington had 9 points, 7 assists, and seven boards. Klay Thompson had a tough night. The Warriors needed a big night from Klay the ball was not going down for him. He finished the night with 12 points. He made two 3-point shots in 7 attempts.

The Warriors play the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night in Portland.

Curry drops 34 points to lead Warriors to a 114-101 win over Nets

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Photo credit: @NBA

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors won their sixth game in a row Tuesday night as they defeated the Nets 114-101 at the Oracle Arena. The Warriors needed a win to keep pace with the Houston Rockets as the Rockets downed the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this evening. The Warriors remain half a game behind the Rockets in the race for the best record in the NBA.

The Warriors, who have been trying to get off to good starts in the first quarter, seemed to have forgotten how to do it. They fell behind early with a 12-6 deficit before they went on a sensational 29-2 run to take a 35-16 lead just before the end of the first quarter. In fact, at one point in the run, they went 25-0 for the first time in team history.

The Nets hit a three just before the buzzer to make it 35-19.

The second quarter was a nightmare for Steve Kerr and the Warriors. They did everything wrong. They scored just four points in the first 5:44 of the quarter. They failed to play defense, and turned the ball over eight times in the quarter.

The Nets took advantage of the Warriors’ miscues as they went on a 13-2 run to grab a five-point lead of 36-31. The Warriors regained the lead 42-39 when Curry nailed a 3-pointer. Brooklyn kept coming back and led 53-48 at the end of the first half.

The Warriors scored just 13 points in the second 12 minutes of action. It was the fewest points in any quarter this season. They committed 12 turnovers in the half, and they are 12-9 when they commit 16 or more turnovers in a game.

JaVale McGee gave the team some energy when he tallied eight points early in the third quarter. Brooklyn matched the Warriors shot-for-shot until late in the quarter. Curry came back about halfway through the period, and he took charge of the offense. He made two consecutive 3-pointers, and the Warriors outscored the Nets 38-27 to finish the third quarter with a six-point lead of 86-80.

The Warriors increased the lead to 95-81 to complete a 22-5 run. Klay Thompson found his shot and Andre Iguodala made two key buckets to put the Warriors up 101-85. The Nets were finished as the Warriors were relentless on defense and they were able to pound the visiting team 114-101.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors won their 50th game of the season. The Warriors have won 50 or more for five straight seasons. In the first 67 years of existence of the franchise, the team had won 50 or more game just four times.

The Warriors are now 50-14 for the year, and the Nets are 20-45. The Nets have lost four in a row and 12 of the last 13.

Scoring leaders for Brooklyn were D’Angelo Russell with 22, DeMarre Carroll 19, Spencer Dinwiddie 13, and Caris LeVert 10.

The Nets’ bench outscored the Warriors 34-15.

Steph Curry led the Warriors with 34. Klay Thompson had 18, Kevin Durant, 19, JaVale McGee 12, Draymond Green 16. The Warriors committed 17 turnovers and improved to 13-9 in games in which they have made 16 or more turnovers.

Jordan Bell had to leave the game when he re-injured his right ankle. X-Rays were taken and turned out to be negative.

The Warriors are 10-0 when JaVale McGee starts the game at center.

“Nothing is set in stone at that position,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “JaVale has done a good job. We kind of played center by committee here for a while now and there is no telling how the rotations will work. It’s based on matchups and based on how things are going, but I will definitely lean on all those guys at some point.”

They are 23-3 vs. the Eastern Conference and 10-2 at home.

David West, Zaza Pachulia, and Omri Casspi did not play.

Up Next: The Warriors host the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night at 7:30 pm PT.

 

Team LeBron defeats Team Stephen with late 148-145 victory

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~ Photo credit: @YahooSportsNBA

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ It came to the final shot at Staples Center as Team LeBron came back for a 148-145 victory in the premier of non-conference teams in the NBA All-Star Game Sunday.

Stephen Curry and then DeMar DeRozan had the ball looking for a three to tie, but due to tough defense, were unable to put up a shot before the buzzer.

The underdog Team Stephen led for the majority of the game. For the most part, when Team LeBron did get the lead, it was short-lived.

James tied the game at 144 apiece with 1:30 left and that score held until 40.2 seconds left. DeRozan put Team Stephen up by one when he made one of two free throws.

After a Team LeBron timeout, James gave his team the lead for good with 34.5 seconds left. Russell Westbrook put the final points up when he took a long pass by James to the basket. Westbook commented, “We got stops when we needed to.”

Captain LeBron James won his third All-Star Game MVP title, with 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. He won $350K for his charity After School All Stars and Team Stephen earned $150K for Brotherhood Crusade.

DeRozan and Damian Lillard led Team Steph with 21 points apiece. Stephen Curry finished with 11 points.

Jimmy Butler was the only All-Star not to play.

After the second, Team LeBron shot above 50% from the field and Team Steph above 40%.

The first quarter saw a bit of a rough start or nervous energy, with five bad passes from the teams in just over a minute.  Team Steph had two 7-0 runs, the latter run part of an 11-2 run to close the first.

Karl-Anthony Towns was the only double-digit scorer, with 11 points.

Team Steph’s heat continued in the second until Team LeBron made their way back from beyond the arc with three straight three’s, two from the Captain and one from Kemba Walker. Kevin Durant pulled Team LeBron to within one 51-52 with 7:15 left. James followed with a reverse dunk over a minute later to give his team their first lead since 7:48 left in the first. It was short-lived though, as Joel Embiid reasserted Team Stephen’s lead.

Team Steph put together an 11-0 run with four minutes left. This included Curry’s first field goal and one of Klay Thompson’s threes. Team LeBron then went on a 7-0 run and chipped at Team Steph’s lead. Team Steph was stopped from crossing half court twice in the waning seconds as the teams headed to the lockers with a two-point difference, 76-78.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had a block with 9:53 left that was called for goaltending. Thompson scored 12 points in the second, all off three’s, with three consecutive when he had the ball.

Durant started off the third with a three that gave Team Lebron a short-lived 79-78 lead. Team Stephen replied with a 9-0 run.

Durant took to the free throw line for Team LeBron’s first free throws with 8:17 left.  

Team LeBron finally saw their lead last for more than one possession when Kemba Walker made it 109-105. Then Team Steph responded with a 7-0 run to close out the third, two threes by Curry.

Team Steph continued with a 6-2 run to start the fourth. They went on a 9-0 run with 8:28 left. Kyle Lowry had two points and two assists, DeRozan two free throws and Lillard five points.

Team LeBron kept in it with an 8-0 run with 5:06 left. James had a layup, free throw and Westbrook two free throws.

The game also had some instant replay action after James’ 144-144 score when the ball went out of bounds and the referee was checking to see if the ball went off Embiid or Durant.  

Game notes: Team Steph outrebounded Team LeBron 68-49. Thompson finished with 15 points and Golden State Warriors teammates Draymond Green had three points off free throws and a game-high tying two blocks, Durant with 19 points and a game-high tying three steals. Embiid also had two blocks. Towns matched James with a game-high 10 rebounds. Lowry and Victor Oladipo also had three steals. Lillard finished +18. Bradley Beal, Paul George and James led with four threes apiece.

Warriors hand Kings fourth consecutive preseason loss on Friday 117-106

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Where was the TV broadcast?

Related image

Sports fans the story should be the game in Oakland and the loss by the Kings to the Warriors, but this reporter has to ask why was the game shown in the Bay Area and not in Sacramento and the Valley? Frankly this this reporter is still scratching his head trying to figure out why the rabid Kings fans were not able to watch their team take on the best team in the NBA even if it was a preseason game.

The majority of Kings fans will not be able to see the Warriors play their beloved Kings in person this season. They would love to see their team in action against the NBA’s best anytime they have the opportunity to see it happen. So why did Bay Area fans have the opportunity to watch the game while Sacramento fans had to depend on the radio broadcast and internet feeds? There really is not a logical answer. One would think advertisers would have been thrilled to support a broadcast that featured the Kings versus the NBA’s  best.

The Kings held their own in this game

Sacramento trailed just 54-51 at halftime. They were still hanging in there trailing by just three – 84-81 at the end of three quarters. Ultimately, the Warriors were just too strong coming down the stretch as they outscored the Kings 33-25 in the final frame to take the game 117-106.

This game featured 12 lead changes and was tied seven times. The longest point run was a 7-0 run.

Top scorers

stockton layup

David Stockton – who was just added to the Kings roster – was their leading scorer with 23 points. Stephen Curry led the Warriors in scoring with 18 points in just a little over 18 minutes of playing time.

Top rebounders

skal gsw

The Warriors Jordan Bell was the leading rebounder in the game with 11. Skal Labissiere was the Kings top man off the glass grabbing eight rebounds.

Assists leaders

David Stockton of Sacramento was the games top assists leader with eight. Klay Thompson was the man for Golden State dishing out six dimes.

Team stats

The Warriors outrebounded the Kings 47-40. Golden State grabbed 21 offensive rebounds to Sacramento’s 13. The Kings controlled the defensive boards 27-26.

GSW dished 34 dimes to the Kings 27.

The Kings made six steals to the Warriors four thefts.

Golden State blocked four shots while Sacramento blocked just two shots.

The Kings turned the ball over 16 times while the Warriors turned it over just 12 times.

Overall shooting percentage: Kings 48.2-percent (41-for-85); Warriors 46.9-percent (46-for-98).

3-point shooting: Sacramento 10-for-22 45.5-percent; Golden State 15-for-33 45.5-percent.

Remember this was a preseason game

No matter how exciting this game was fans cannot forget this was a preseason game. It was in no way representative of what a regular season game between these two teams will be like. That is not to say the regular season games will not be competitive and exciting, but they will be different than the game on Friday night.

The countdown to the regular season is on

The regular season will begin on Wednesday when the Houston Rockets visit the Golden 1 Center to take on the Kings in game one of the 2017-18 season for Sacramento.

On to Game five if you’re Golden State

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots past Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) during the second half of Game 4 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Friday, June 9, 2017. Cleveland won 137-116. (Ronald Martinez/Pool Photo via AP)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

CLEVELAND, OH — The closeout games are always the toughest to win.

The Golden State Warriors were 48 minutes from basketball immortality when they entered Game 4  of the NBA Finals with a chance to send the Cleveland Cavaliers home for the summer, but the Cavaliers used lead wire-to-wire for a 137-116 win Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena to force Game 5 in Oakland on Monday night at Oracle Arena.

The loss snaps Golden State’s postseason record 15 straight wins, denying the Warriors of becoming the first team in NBA history to go through the postseason undefeated at 16-0.

Give the Cavaliers credit, they weren’t ready to see the Warriors celebrate another championship on their home floor as Golden State did back in 2015 when they defeated Cleveland in six games to capture the franchise’s first championship in 40 years.

LeBron James, who passed former Los Angeles Lakers great and hall of famer Magic Johnson for the most triple-doubles in the Finals with his 31-point, 10-rebound and 11-assist effort, finished 11-for-22 from the floor.

James led Cleveland with 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in Cleveland’s heartbreaking loss to the Warriors 118-113 in Game 3  on Wednesday night after Cleveland led by six with three minutes left in the game before Golden State went on an 11-0 run to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

But don’t blink now, but the Cavaliers find themselves in the same predicament this year as they did last year: down 3-1 heading back to the West Coast trying to stave off elimination and we all know what happened.

The Cavaliers won Game 5 in Oakland, Game 6 in Cleveland, and the clinching Game 7 on the Warriors’ home floor for the Cavaliers’ first championship in franchise history, and the first major championship for Northeast Ohio since 1964.

Cleveland obliterated the record book for the Finals in Game 4, having the highest-scoring first quarter (49 points) and first half (86 points) and the most 3-pointers (24) in Finals history.

Kyrie Irving turned in another spectacular game, scoring a game-high 40 points on 15-for-27 shooting, including 7-for-12 from beyond the 3-point line.

But Game 4 was a lot closer than the final score indicated.

Both teams got 87 shots up, but Cleveland shot a blistering 52.9-percent (46-for-87) from the floor, compared to Golden State’s 44.8-percent (39-for-87).

Cleveland slightly out-rebounded Golden State 56-52, thanks largely to Tristan Thompson’s 10 rebounds after having just nine in Games 1-3 combined. The Warriors made keeping Thompson off the boards in the series a priority after averaging double-digit rebounds in the two previous Finals meetings between the teams.

For Golden State, you gotta turn the page from Game 4 and focus on Game 5 after letting the opportunity for a sweep slip through their fingers.

Kevin Durant, one victory away from his first championship, finished with 35 points on 9-for-22 shooting. It was Durant’s fourth-straight 30-point game of the series, but the Splash Brothers picked a bad night to have their quietest game of the Finals, combining for only 27 points on 8-for-24 from the floor (6-for-19 on 3s)

Cleveland did a great job of harassing Curry in Game 4, double-teaming and trapping the two-time league MVP whenever he got the ball.

Curry never got in a groove offensively, shooting 4-for-13 from the floor and a putrid 2-for-9 from the 3-point line while recording 10 assists after finishing with 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in Game 3.

Klay Thompson finished with 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting. All of Thompson’s makes were from beyond the 3-point line, converting 4-for-10. Thompson’s 30 points were instrumental in Golden State’s Game 3 win.

Draymond Green had 16 points and 14 rebounds and was part of a crazy set of events in the third quarter that led two technical fouls, and a friend of James being escorted from the arena.

It was announced in the third quarter that Green had assessed his second technical foul, prompting security onto the floor to escort Green back to the locker room. But the officials confirmed that Green’s technical foul in the first half was actually given to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, which was even more confusing.

Then, Warriors center Zaza Pachulia was involved in a pileup where he appeared to swipe Cavaliers forward Iman Shumpert int he groin area. Pachulia should’ve been ejected from the game, but was given a technical foul along with Shumpert.

A total of seven technical fouls and one flagrant foul were handed down in Game 4.

There will be a lot said and written about the Cavaliers dominance over the Warriors in Game 4 over the next 48 hours, whether its opinions or jokes. Cleveland were the aggressor from start to finish for 48 minutes and that can’t be glossed over. Golden State knows what type of team that the Cavaliers are.

The Cavaliers were simply the better team Friday night, a rarity for the opponent to be better than Golden State.

Keep this in mind: one loss isn’t the end of the world for Golden State. The Warriors are still firmly in control of the series and are 31-1 in their last 32 games dating back to the regular season. Golden State is still the superior team and most people don’t expect a sub par performance from the Warriors’ core in Game 5 on Monday night.

But Golden State’s first lost this postseason does leave the door slightly ajar for Cleveland heading back to the 510 area code.

 

 

Durant and Warriors one win away from title

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) passes around Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half of Game 3 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Wednesday, June 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

CLEVELAND, OH — Kevin Durant’s 31 points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 45.3 left in the fourth quarter propelled the Golden State Warriors to within 48 minutes of their second title in three years with a 118-113 win in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Durant signed with Golden State last summer after nine seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder for an opportunity to finally capture that elusive championship ring that he so desperately seeks.

Trailing by six with 2:45 left in the fourth quarter, Golden State closed out the game on a 11-0 run with Durant scoring 14 points in the final quarter. Golden State tightened up the defense during that stretch, holding Cleveland to 0-for-8 from the floor.

When you combine the 16-1 finish to the regular season, and the NBA-record 15 straight postseason victories (including tonight’s come-from-behind victory), Golden State is 30-1 in their last 31 games. Golden State owns the longest postseason winning streak among the four major professional sports.

That sounds great and all, but that is not the ultimate prize that the Warriors are playing for with a commanding 3-0 lead in hand over the Cavaliers in the best-of-7 NBA Finals.

If the Warriors can close out the series in Friday night’s Game 4, Golden State will become the only team in NBA history to finish the postseason unblemished at 16-0 and denying Cleveland their second-straight championship. Cleveland engineered the greatest comeback in NBA Finals’ history when they stormed back last year and won the title from Golden State after the Warriors claimed a 3-1 lead.

The Warriors haven’t forgotten that sickening feeling of seeing Cleveland celebrating on Golden State’s home floor in Game 7 last year. Cleveland denied Golden State (who also won an NBA-record 73 games) the opportunity of winning back-to-back titles after Golden State won the 2015 NBA Championship over the Cavaliers in six games.

Now, Golden State is looking to return the favor and drive a stake through the Cavaliers’ heart by potentially sweeping them this year. No team has ever come back to win the NBA Finals when trailing 3-0.

Durant finished 10-for-18 from the floor, to go along with 4-for-7 on 3s, and joined Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal as the only players in league history to average 25-plus points per game in their first eight games in the Finals according to ESPN Stats and Information.

Klay Thompson scored 21 of his 30 points in the first half and Stephen Curry finished with 24 for Golden State. Curry finished with six assists, and had 13 of the team’s 44 rebounds out-rebounding Cleveland (37) in the process.

Golden State knocked down a Finals’ record nine 3-pointers in the first quarter. After making a Finals’ record 18-of-43 3-pointers in Game 2, Golden State remained hot on 3s going 16-for-33 in Game 3. Thompson made a team-high six 3s.

Golden State shot 48-percent (40-for-83) from the floor on the night.

Ditto from the free throw line.

As in Game 2 when the Warriors shot 22-for-24  from the free throw line, Golden State hit the replay button and shot 22-for-24 in Game 3.

Cleveland finds themselves on the brink of a sweep after giving Golden State their best punch of the series in Game 3.

LeBron James, who is averaging a triple-double so far in the series, nearly had another triple-double with 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. James tied his personal best for points in a Finals half with 27 points, while Kyrie Irving resurfaced his game, scoring 16 of his 38 points in the third quarter.

James and Irving left everything on the court in Game 4 for Cleveland, combining to shoot 31-for-56 from the floor and helped Cleveland out-score Golden State 33-22 in the third quarter, but it still wasn’t enough for a Cavaliers team that shot a 44-percent from the field (40-for-90).

J.R. Smith added 16 points after scoring just three points total in the first two games of the series, while Kevin Love struggled in Game 3 mustering just nine points on 1-for-9 shooting.

Cleveland was an iceberg from the 3-point line, shooting a dismal 12-for-44 (27-percent) on 3s, and allowed Golden State to rack up 29 assists to Cleveland’s 17.

After winning the first two games of the series by a combined 41 points and not yielding a second half lead until Cleveland took a 71-69 in the third quarter, Golden State needed all 48 minutes to outlast Cleveland Wednesday night.

 

 

 

 

Curry and Durant sizzle in Game two to put Warriors up 2-0 in Kerr’s return

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant, center, celebrates with Draymond Green, left, and Klay Thompson during the second half of Game 2 of basketball’s NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, June 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND, Calif — Kevin Durant followed up his 38-point, eight-assist and eight-rebound performance from Game 1 with 33 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, and Stephen Curry recorded his first career postseason triple-double to help the Golden State Warriors take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals with a 132-113 win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night in front of another sold out, energetic crowd at Oracle Arena in head coach Steve Kerr’s return to the bench.

Kerr missed the last 11 games of the playoffs dating back to Game 2 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs against the Portland Trailblazers with complications from back surgery nearly two years ago.

“Well, it’s been a great run but none of that matters unless we can finish the job with this series,” Kerr said postgame. “Trust me, we know. It was 2-0 last year, we lost.”

Golden State was in the same position last year, up 2-0, the going up 3-1, before the roof collapsed in on the Warriors’ season and the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history was authored by the Cavaliers, who stole the title in seven games costing the Warriors a chance for the repeat after winning the title in 2015.

In Games 1 and 2 of last year’s Finals, Golden State won both games by a combined 48 points. In the first two games of the Finals this year, the Warriors have defeated Cleveland by a combined 41 points this season according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

But this year is different.

It feels different, especially with Durant, a near-seven-foot scoring machine that has vastly improved defensively in Year 1 with the Warriors.

Durant shot 13-for-22 from the floor and was nearly unstoppable for most of the 41 minutes he was on the court tonight, while Curry scored 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds pulling Golden State within two wins of their second championship in three years.

Durant had five of Golden State’s seven blocks, and three of the team’s five steals.

At 14-0, Golden State is trying to become the first team in league history to go unbeaten on the way to the title. The Warriors currently have the longest postseason win streak in NBA history.

Curry made 7-for-17 from the floor, while connecting on 4-for-11 on 3s, but did most of his damage from the free throw line converting 14-for-14 from the charity stripe in 36 minutes.

The two-time league MVP put on a dribbling display on LeBron James in the third quarter where he drove past the three-time NBA Champion and scored as part of a 16-6 run to close out the quarter and the Warriors never looked back, carrying a 102-88 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Klay Thompson, who had been struggling shooting the ball throughout the postseason but has played superb defense in the previous 13 games, added 22 points on 8-for-12 from the floor to go along with 4-for-7 from behind the three-point line. Thompson added seven rebounds for Golden State, who also shot 18-for-43 on 3s.

Draymond Green had 12 points, six assists and six rebounds, but picked up three personal fouls within the first 11 minutes of the game and only played 25 minutes.

As a team, Golden State shot a blistering 51-percent (46-for-89) from the floor and shot 22-for-24 from the free throw line, while out-rebounding Cleveland 53-41 in the game.

The Cavaliers can hang their hat on the fact that they did force 20 turnovers after only forcing four in Game 1. For a team that didn’t record a single steal in Game 1, Cleveland had four within the game’s first seven minutes before finishing with a 15-5 edge.

“We turned the ball over too much in the first half. But the second half, I think we settled in, tried to play simple and defensively just tried to contest their shots,” Durant said after the game.

Curry had eight of those turnovers and was two away from having a dubious quadruple-double. His 10 first-quarter free throws matched a playoff record for made shots from the stripe in one period shared with Sarunas Marciulionis done on April 28, 1992, at Seattle. It also matched Paul Pierce for most in a Finals quarter according to ESPN Stats and Information.

LeBron James was Cleveland’s best player once again, matching Curry’s triple-double with one of his own, scoring 29 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes. James played spectacular, but appeared gassed in the fourth quarter with fatigue etched on his face.

According to ESPN Stats and Information, James and Curry became just the second opposing players in NBA postseason history to record a triple-double in the same game, joining Lew Alcindor (38 points/23 rebounds/11 assists) and Walt “Clyde” Frazier (10 points/12 rebounds/14 assists), who recorded their performances in Game 2 of the 1970 Eastern Division Finals won by Frazier’s Knicks, 112-111.

Frazier’s Knicks would win that series, 4-1, and go on and win the title defeating, Wilt Chamberlain and the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.

James was 12-for-18 from the floor, while Kevin Love added 27 points and seven rebounds on 12-for-23 shooting.

After 24 points on 10-for-22 shooting for Kyrie Irving in Game 1, Irving managed just 19 points and struggled to find the basket shooting just eight-for-23. Irving was defended aggressively by the Warriors, forcing Irving into taking tough layups and jumpers.

Cleveland shot 45-for-100 (45-percent) from the field for the game, but struggled from 3, shooting just 8-for-29 (27-percent) from deep. The Cavaliers shot 3-for-20 from the three-point line in the first half.

With the series now shifting to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4, the Cavaliers will have to regroup if they want to get any momentum because the Warriors are firmly in the series’ driver seat.

J.R. Smith had zero points as the starting shooting guard, and Kyle Korver led Cleveland’s bench with just eight points, which equaled starting center Tristan Thompson’s offensive output on the night.

Lineup changes for Cleveland could be a possibility, or better yet, should be made. If you’re Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue, you need to do something to shake up the players.

Cleveland already knows the production that they will get from James, Love and Irving on most nights, but the Cavaliers need to get other players involved or this series could become too much of a mountain to climb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NBA Finals: More from Durant and the defense will go a long way for Warriors’ title hopes

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) in Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, June 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND, Calif — The basketball world was on pins and needles for the start of Round Three between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, and both teams lived up to the hype for the majority of Game 1 Thursday night before Kevin Durant and the Warriors took control and ran away with the victory, 113-91.

Durant, who many pundits questioned his decision to join a high-powered Warriors team that had already played in two Finals prior to his arrival, showed out in his first Finals game since 2012 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder; pouring in a game-high 38 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists to go along with zero turnovers on 14-for-26 shooting from the floor.

Not since the great Michael Jordan during the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz that a player had at least 30 points, five assists, and zero turnovers in a game before Durant’s acts in Game 1 according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

But an epic performance on the NBA’s biggest stage is what we expect from Durant, a former league MVP, is it not?

Golden State already has a two-time league MVP (and the only unanimous MVP in league history) in Stephen Curry, who looks healthier as ever at this time this year than he did in last year’s Finals after adding 28 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds in Game 1, including 6-for-11 on 3s.

Add in Draymond Green (nine points and 11 rebounds), an odds on favorite to take home the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award this season after leading the NBA in steals per game (2.03), to go along with Klay Thompson, who despite shooting under 40-percent from both the floor (36-percent) and from beyond the three-point line (34-percent) during the postseason, was Golden State’s best defender in Game 1 holding would-be scorers to 1-for-12 shooting from the floor as the primary defender.

With all due respect to Harrison Barnes, who had a breakout season in Year 1 for the Mavericks averaging a career-high 19.2 points per game and was a fan favorite for all of Dub Nation, but his no-show during last year’s Finals (most notably in Games 5-7 where he scored just 15 points on 5-for-32 shooting (3-for-15 on 3s) after Golden State had a commanding 3-1 lead in the series still stings Warriors’ fans.

But Durant is clearly the difference-maker and much better upgrade from Barnes this year for the Warriors and will continue to be a huge match-up problem for Cleveland with Game 2 Sunday night at Oracle Arena at 5:00 p.m. PDT on the horizon.

And that’s even with first-ballot hall of famer LeBron James on the other side.

Circle back to Game 1: When Durant was on the floor, the Warriors out-scored Cleveland by 18, and in the 40 minutes that James was on the floor, the Warriors out-scored Cleveland by 22, with much of the damage coming in the second half for Golden State.

I counted at least six times in the first half of Game 1 where Cleveland’s defense just allowed Durant to cruise through the lane like he had a FasTrak embedded in his jersey for easy dunks.

At times in the game, it almost appeared that Cleveland were content on allowing Durant score at will and didn’t want to be burned by Golden State’s shooting.

Golden State shot 45-for-106 (42-percent) from the floor.

Making his NBA record seventh-consecutive Finals appearance, James was Cleveland’s most effective player, finishing with a team-high 28 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists, but made just 9-for-20 from the floor.

If James could’ve recorded two more assists, he would’ve tied Lakers’ legend and NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson for the most triple-doubles in Finals history with eight, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Johnson led Los Angeles to nine Finals appearances and won five championships as the leader of the “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s. Johnson’s teams were 5-4 in the Finals while James’s teams are just 3-4.

Outside of Kyrie Irving’s 24 points on 10-for-22 shooting from the floor, the defending NBA Champions’ supporting cast came up empty in Game 1.

Kevin Love did have 15 points and a game-high 21 rebounds, but shot just 4-for-13 from the floor.

The Warriors’ bench barely out-scored the Cavaliers’ bench 24-21.

Cleveland can’t let Golden State have their way with them in Game 2 as they did in Game 1  if they have any chance of gaining a split in Oakland before the series shifts to Northeast Ohio for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday.

Golden State held the advantage in points-in-the-paint, out-scoring the Cavaliers 56-30 and dominating the fast-break, out-scoring Cleveland 27-9.

As a team, Cleveland shot 30-for-86 (34-percent) from the floor.

The 20 turnovers the Cavaliers committed that led to 21 points for Golden State was a testament to their superb defense they’ve collectively played all season long, forcing teams to shoot a league-low 43-percent from the field and finished tops in turnovers forced per game with 14.8 during the regular season.

In the postseason, Golden State is ratcheting up the defense intensity allowing just 41-percent from the floor through 13 games.

Not surprisingly, Golden State is 13-0 in the postseason this year, three wins from securing their second championship in three years.

Durant will have his fingerprints on the outcome of the Finals, believe that.

Win or lose.

Extra Dribbles commentary: Warriors rise up at home to take Game 1 of NBA Finals

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half of Game 1 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, June 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND, Calif — Kevin Durant scored a game-high 38 points and was clearly the best player on the court as Golden State finished tied for an NBA Finals record-low four turnovers in taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 NBA Finals with a 113-91 win Thursday night in Game 1 in front of a sold out Oracle Arena crowd over the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

Game 2 is Sunday at 5:00 p.m. PDT back at Oracle Arena on ABC.

This match-up marks the first time in NBA history that two teams have met each other in the Finals in three consecutive seasons.

Durant finished the game 10-of-18 from the floor to go along with eight assists and eight rebounds in his first NBA Finals game since Game 5 of the 2012 series against the Miami Heat as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Miami denied Durant and the Thunder a championship by taking the championship in five games and it took Durant five years to get back to the NBA’s ultimate stage.

Durant and the Warriors got anything they wanted in the paint, outscoring the Cavaliers 56-30 inside. There were times that Cleveland’s defense just parted the seas for a Durant dunk as the defense would collapsed on Golden State’s deadly shooters, allowing Durant to easy access to the basket.

”I think the start of the game, we were a little too anxious and we missed some layups, we gave up some open shots,” Durant said after the game. ”I think we just locked in from the second quarter on.”

Golden State would outscore Cleveland 53-38 in the second half to go along with 31 assists for the game.

Stephen Curry was locked in for Game 1, scoring  28 points with six 3-pointers on 11-of-22 from the field. Curry added 10 assists and six rebounds for a Warriors that improved to 13-0 during the playoffs this year.

LeBron James poured in 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for Cleveland, who had 20 turnovers in Game 1. James’ southern California home was vandalized and had the N-word spray painted on the gate on Wednesday.

“At the end of the day, we had 20 turnovers,” James said. “We got to clean that up.”

James’ teams drop to 1-7 all-time in Game 1s of the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers’ forward is making his league-record seventh Finals appearance this year.

Kyrie Irving scored 24 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field, while Kevin Love finished with 15 points and a game-high 21 rebounds. Love shot 4-of-13 from the field.

The Warriors had a 60-52 lead at halftime thanks in large part to the 27-9 fastbreak edge and committing just one turnover in the first half.

Curry’s 14 points in the third quarter prove to be the difference-maker for Golden State Thursday night.

Golden State out-shot Cleveland (42.5-percent to 34.9-percent) for the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NBA Finals with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Warriors-Cavs III: By the numbers

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Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James dons a cap after winning 135-102 against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals, on Thursday, May 25, 2017, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
Sports Radio Service Writer

OAKLAND, Calif — Like the rest of the sports world, I myself can’t wait for the start of the NBA Finals between the reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.

Both teams enter the Finals with a combined 24-1 record, first in NBA history.

Golden State buzz-sawed their way through the West seemingly untested by Portland, Utah, and San Antonio to a 12-0 record, the first team in NBA history to do so; while Cleveland went 12-1 in the East with their only loss coming in the conference finals against the young Boston Celtics, minus superstar Isaiah Thomas.

To be perfectly honest, both of these teams used the playoffs as a warmup for a Finals series that no true sports fan will miss a second of.

ABC, who has broadcasted the Finals since 2003, is hoping that Golden State and Cleveland provides another classic series for the ages.

According to viewership data obtained from Nielsen Ratings, the last two meetings in the Finals by Cleveland and Golden State have been the two-highest rated championship series broadcasted on ABC.

In 2015, an average of 19.94 million viewers per game watched Golden State win its first title in 40 years on the Cavaliers’ home floor by derailing LeBron James and Co. 4-2, with super-sub Andre Iguodala becoming an unlikely series MVP largely due to his defense on James.

Last season’s rematch did was no different, as an average of 20.28 million viewers per game tuned in to watch Cleveland return the favor by crawling back from a 3-1 deficit to steal the title from Golden State on the Warriors’ home floor in Game 7 last season.

Kyrie Irving’s dagger 3-pointer from the right side of the floor over Stephen Curry to seal the Cavaliers’ first championship in franchise history will forever live on in Finals’ lore.

Oracle Arena will no doubt be electric when the ball is tipped for Game 1 on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. PDT between the two teams that many of us thought would be playing for the Larry O’Brien for a record-setting third year in a row.

When you dive into the numbers for both teams journey through the playoffs, they are nearly identical.

Offensively, Golden State had no trouble scoring points as they led all teams with 118.3 points per game. Cleveland was second in playoff scoring with 116.8 points per game. The Warriors, who love sharing the ball, is averaging 27.8 assists per game in the playoffs.

The Cavaliers were tops in field goal percentage (50.7), while Golden State were second in shooting at 50.2 percent from the floor.

Even though the Celtics made more three-pointers in the playoffs than any other team with 229, Cleveland is second with 190, followed by Golden State with 145.

With all due respect to Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson, the guy that Cleveland will need to stop will continue to be the aforementioned Curry, who in my estimation, is still the key that turns the engine on for the Warriors.

Think about this stat from NBA.com’s John Schuhmann, the Warriors have scored 122.5 points per 100 possessions with Curry on the floor and just 97.4 with him on the bench. The 25.1-point differential is the largest on-of differential among players who have logged at least 100 minutes in the playoffs.

Curry dropped 36 points in Golden State’s 129-115 victory in Game 4 of the conference finals against San Antonio that propelled the Warriors into their third straight Finals appearance.

For Cleveland, it usually begins and ends with James, who leads all Cavaliers players in points (32.5), assists (7.0), steals (2.2), and blocks (1.4), but Irving is just as vital to a Cleveland repeat as is James.

When James was forced to the bench with four fouls in the first half of Game 4 of the East Finals, Irving stepped up and took over the game like no other.

With James on the bench, Irving scored 19 points in under five minutes and 33 during a 19-minute stretch with an array of easy layups and pull-up 3s.

Even after rolling his left ankle in the game, Irving finished with a playoff career-high 42 points en route to a 112-99 victory that gave Cleveland a commanding 3-1 before ending the Celtics’ season in five games.

Cleveland’s 44-point win in Game 2 of the East finals at Boston is the highest margin of victory in the playoffs this year.

According to NBA.com, James (16) and Irving (12) have taken 28 of the team’s 35 shots in the clutch and are a combined 9-for-28 (2-for-10 from 3-point range). James is also just 4-for-9 on clutch free throws. His assist rate is more than twice as high in the first quarter (25.9 assists per 100 possessions used) than it is in the fourth (12.7). Irving’s assist rate is 23.0 in the first quarter and just 2.5 in the fourth. He has one assist in 59 fourth-quarter minutes.

It’s only four days away, but it feels like an eternity waiting for one of the biggest collisions in sports to arrive.

Take plenty of notes.