Golden State, who beat Cleveland in the 2015 finals only to lose to them previous year after squandering a 3-1 series lead, set a record in this season's playoffs by losing just one of their 16 games, their only loss coming in Game 4 of the finals.
Remember, the Warriors - for all their dominance this spring - were down 25 points to San Antonio in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals and came back to win only after Spurs star Kawhi Leonard was knocked out of the series with a sprained ankle.
But unlike last year's comeback when they took advantage of Harrison Barnes' offensive struggles, Durant answered every charge during a 39-point night and Cleveland will need to find new answers if these teams meet in a fourth straight Finals next season. It's a team that scored 113 points or more in four of their five Finals games, and won just once, which underlines Golden State's dominance more than it does any deficiency on Cleveland's roster.
He becomes just the third player in history to capture the Finals MVP award in his first season with a team. David West fought for the ball with Irving, then they got tangled up and Tristan Thompson entered the fray and he and West went at each other face-to-face. The group was close to unstoppable in the regular season and postseason. "I thought we played well, got better each game, but against good teams you can't give away games", he said.
Adding George alongside James and Kyrie Irving would be a definite improvement for a Cavaliers team that would likely also be seeking a rim protector and a playmaker off the bench. "So, this is the culmination of a year where they grew together and learned each other's games and got better and better all year, and it was just phenomenal to be part of".
Cleveland has now lost two of the three showdowns in this Finals trilogy.
LeBron realizes this, and understands that the narrative going into these Finals was not about the result defining LeBron's career, but that he is the only player in the league who was even capable of potentially stopping this super team from winning a championship. "But as far as that team, they're going to be here for a while".
It was the second time he and Durant had met in a finals series, following 2012 when James and the Miami Heat beat Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1.
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American concern is growing over North Korea's acceleration toward having a nuclear missile that can strike the USA mainland. But the spokesman, whom state news did not identify, said that American doctors who flew to Pyongyang to evacuate Mr.
"They're going to be here for a while".
After eight NBA Finals appearances, LeBron set the record for most triple doubles (9) in the Finals, surpassing Magic Johnson (8). "I have no reason to put my head down".
"You can't turn the basketball over, you can't take bad shots because you don't have floor balance", coach Tyronn Lue said.
"They were aggressive, you have to give them some credit", said Green, who nonetheless still complained that so many Warriors were in early foul trouble that they couldn't be as aggressive as they wanted.
In the end, coach Steve Kerr - who missed 11 games of these playoffs due to acute pain, but came back for Game 2 of the Finals - was crying tears of happiness, and only he knows what he endured and fought through to get to this point.
"I credit our guys".
"Well, it's a two-sided question because for me personally - I don't know", said James.
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