The Golden State Warriors have been a favorite for most of the playoffs series, and little has changed with the Finals.
Irving, the Cavaliers point guard, was bumped by the Warriors' Klay Thompson as he attempted to shoot during the second quarter of Game One at Oracle Arena in Oakland on June 2.
The Warriors beat the Cavaliers easily in two of the first three games of the NBA Finals. They are up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series - again.
Game 5 of the NBA Finals tips tonight at 9pm on ABC and the WatchESPN app, neither of which will cost you a fortune to watch.
"A team source said that a Warriors season-ticket holder sold the seats on the team's Ticketmaster resale site on Sunday night". That's how we like to remember what happened.
The Cavaliers were running around with plenty of flaws exposed here; see, for instance, the fact that Kevin Love scored a grand total of zero points in the first half or that there was no legitimate defense to speak of for much of the game or that J.R. Smith seemed at multiple points to be their best hope.
Just a year ago Golden State were in the exact same position they find themselves tonight knowing they could clinch the National Basketball Association title in front of their home fans at the Oracle Arena. But then Cavs roared back to flatten the Warriors in Game 4.
Myers chose to stay with Green as he sat out that game last June. We just kept our composure. This year, recognizable names such as LeBron, Curry, and Durant are all looking to make their own history. "Whatever he's doing, he should keep doing it". And he's really been able to do that.
"I have no reason to put my head down", James said.
The Warriors became the first Bay Area team to capture a championship at home since the A's finished the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1974 World Series. Look for Oakland to party well into Tuesday morning after the Warriors take the series and Kevin Durant is named Finals MVP. We have championship DNA.
Unraveling the case of Draymond Green and the disappearing technical foul
For several minutes, however, the only people who seemed to know that in the entire arena were the three officials. But I thought I heard the announcer say, the PA announcer say that it was on Draymond.
For almost a year, Golden State star Kevin Durant has been answering questions patiently about how his joining the Warriors came about.
But that was in Cleveland.
James is always a big game player, and one does not need to brief him about the importance of this game in the context of the final.
Durant, who lost in his only previous Finals appearance, led the way for the Warriors with 39 points and was relieved after feeling pressure to deliver prior to the game. That will remain the case even as both Curry and his coach, Steve Kerr, tried to downplay his performance Friday.
Meanwhile, Durant (2 of 9) and Stephen Curry (2 of 9) struggled for Golden State at the other end.
Green has stayed just on the right side of the line this postseason, not in danger of an automatic suspension for technicals or flagrant accumulation.
But it seems like an even more improbable task than it did a year ago. And also perspective and experience. You can tweak some things, but are we going to play hard? He has been the barometer for Cleveland the past two years around the constant greatness from James.
But be that as it may, I do believe the Warriors will come out on fire Monday night and complete the run with a win in front of their hometown crowd. "We did a good job of that in game four".
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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