SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH
Steve Kerr struck gold in Game 4 when the Golden State Warriors decided to play small ball and inserted Andre Iguoadala into the starting lineup. His defense contained LeBron James a bit, but his multiple three-pointers and offensive spark gave the Warriors the pace we had seen from them all season to tie the NBA Finals series at two games a piece.
Going into Game 5, the question was how David Blatt would counter that strategy and if he would play small ball (the centers for both teams did not play more than 10 minutes combined between the two), as well as who would step up to the plate to help King James. Last game the Cavs seemed all but depleted and tired, and most questioned if two games was even enough rest for them to hang with the fast Warriors team.
That they did not.
For the first two quarters it was a close game, where both teams were going back and forth. J.R. Smith contributed with a few threes of his own and LBJ was doing everything he could to keep his team in the game. Dishing out assists, posting up, hitting threes. He was unstoppable.
But Chef Curry was playing like the MVP he was. One half of the splash brothers hit seven shots from beyond the arc and none were more clutch than those in the 4th quarter to pull away and give Golden State the emphatic win. Curry ended the game with 37 points.
LeBron had a triple double (40 points, 11 assists, 14 rebounds), but one of the stars of Game 4, Timofey Mozgov, was held to zero points in 9 minutes on the floor. Tristan Thompson scored 19 points when it was all said and done, but no other starter made much of a difference on the offensive end.
On the other side of the ball, Draymond Green scored 16 points, Iguodala had 14 points of his own and Klay Thompson had 12 points in the win.
The series now moves to Cleveland where the Warriors will be looking to close the series and secure their first NBA Finals since 1975, while the Cavs try to protect their home court.
FINAL: GS 104 | CLE 91