Home » Sports » Basketball
Warriors rebound, rout Cavs
Print Edition
GOLDEN State held LeBron James scoreless in the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 103-82 win at Cleveland on Thursday to tie the NBA Finals at 2-2.
Andre Iguodala scored 22 points in a surprise start, league MVP Stephen Curry also had 22, and Draymond Green returned to form with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Warriors avoided going down to a perilous 3-1 series deficit. James scored 20 points — 21 under his average in the series — with 12 rebounds and eight assists, and to make matters worse for Cleveland’s megastar, he needed stitches to his head after falling onto a TV camera in the first half.
Game 5 is tomorrow at Oakland’s rambunctious Oracle Arena, where the teams split two overtime games last week. This wasn’t quite make-or-break for the Warriors, but it was close, as none of the 32 teams which have fallen behind 1-3 in the finals has won a title.
Timofey Mozgov led Cleveland with 28 points and guard Matthew Dellavedova, again battling leg cramps after a hospital stay for dehydration, had 10.
The Cavs shot just 2 of 18 from the field and were outscored 27-12 in the fourth quarter. They also got nothing from their bench as J.R. Smith missed all eight 3-point attempts and Cleveland’s reserves combined to score seven points.
“Offensively we were terrible,” James said, noting the Cavs were 4 of 27 on 3-pointers.
Missing All-Stars Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, the Cavs didn’t have enough firepower and their legs were heavy after playing three games in five days against the relentless Warriors.
Golden State showed a sense of urgency from the outset. Iguodala, who played so well coming off the bench in the first three games, made his first start this season and made coach Steve Kerr’s decision look brilliant.
Known for his defense, Iguodala drained four 3-pointers, kept James in check and Curry, who finally found his range in the fourth quarter of Game 3, also dropped four 3s, including a deep dagger in the fourth over Shumpert to end any thought the Cavaliers had of a comeback. Iguodala made things tough on James, who went 7 of 22 from the field and 5 of 10 from the free-throw line.
Since losing Game 3, the Warriors vowed to use the experience they gained when rallying from a 1-2 deficit against Memphis in the Western Conference semifinals.
“It’s just a street fight,” Green said. “Nobody’s doing anything dirty, but they’re battling and we’re battling and that’s why this series is so exciting.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
