Kevin Durant capped his spectacular first season with the Warriors by bringing home that coveted National Basketball Association championship he joined Golden State in July so determined to get, scoring 39 points in a fast-and-furious, Finals-clinching 129-120 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
The Warriors, who beat Cleveland in the 2015 Finals only to lose to them past year after squandering a 3-1 series lead, went a record-setting 15-1 in the playoffs, their only loss coming in Game Four of the best-of-seven championship. Then it was Golden State's turn again, taking the title in five games.
So naturally, following the Warriors' 129-120 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Wanda Durant showed up front and center to shower her baby boy with love.
Kerr returned to coach the last four games of the NBA Finals after taking time off since the middle of the first round of the playoffs in hopes of finding a remedy to the nausea and migraines he was experiencing stemming from back surgery from almost two years ago.
James' dunk gave the Cavaliers all of the momentum.
A win would allow the Warriors to celebrate on their home floor after clinching the 2015 title in Cleveland. Indeed, sometimes lost in all the chatter about a possible Warriors dynasty is the fact that Golden State plays lovely, often generous team ball. Cleveland's bench has just four points. West, Thompson and J.R. Smith received technical fouls after a replay review. "So you have a clear sense of what matters when you go through that stuff".
"This is history", Warriors forward Andre Iguodala said.
Beyond LeBron's brilliance in this series, Kyrie Irving was once again an offensive superstar in the Finals, finishing with 29.4 points on 47.2/41.9/90.0 shooting.
Green had sat out this very game a year ago, suspended because of flagrant foul point accumulation after he swiped at James' groin in Game 4.
Kevin Love is scoreless for the Cavs, who have turned it over 11 times.
General Manager Bob Myers, who helped assemble the Warriors lineup after the franchise spent years as the league's laughing stock, and savvy owner Joe Lacob fill out the rest of the team.
Golden State went 67-15 this season in locking up the top seed in the Western Conference.
Just because other super-teams were toppled doesn't mean this one will. A capable backup point guard would ease Irving's offensive burden and give the Cavs a more potent second-unit.
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Then came the NBA Finals. Steph Curry scored 34 with 10 assists and six rebounds.
Golden State shot 14 free throws in the first quarter to Cleveland's seven. "Mom, you're the real MVP", he said.
The Warriors started the game lackluster and trailed at the end of the first quarter. The odds are heavily in favor of the Warriors running off a devastating dynasty. "Man, you got to want to sacrifice".
Game 2 saw more of the same. "They're assembled as good as you can assemble, and I played against some really, really good teams that was assembled perfectly, and they're right up there".
In addition, LeBron became the first league MVP to lose five Final series (3-5) in his career.
Although not flawless, the 16-1 play-off record for Golden State (.941) is the best win percentage of any team in National Basketball Association history, edging the 15-1 effort by the 2000 Los Angeles Lakers. Screaming at me from the sideline at my games at 8 or 9 years old.
WESTERVELT: Throughout the playoffs, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr encouraged his team to enjoy the ride, to play with joy. "Doesn't get much better than that". Golden State lost in record-setting fashion 137-116 on Friday.
The capacity crowd, most dressed in Warrior gold T-shirts, cheered and sang along with the tune "We Are The Champions" as confetti fell.
"We learned from everything we've been through", Curry said during the presentation of the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Last week, James said he didn't know how many years he has left. "Nervous is good. Appropriate fear is the Gregg Popovich line".
"So I would hope we're more ready, more prepared tonight".
"Appropriate fear", a stone-faced Lue said.
Lost in the uproar that greeted Durant's move to a Golden State team that won a record-breaking 73 games in the regular season and beat his previous employers, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in the Western Conference Finals past year, is that the core of this team has been built by the draft.
And this summer, when they reflect on the season and try to use that Finals heartbreak as fuel for a 2017-18 return, they will spend a bulk of the off-season bemoaning Game 3. "We won't have any excuses, because no one is hurt, everyone is playing".
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