After an incredible and exciting six-game series against LeBron James and the Cavaliers, the Warriors stand alone on the mountaintop as the best team in the League. Champions.
The regular season MVP, Steph Curry. The Finals MVP, Andre Iguodala.
Head coach Steve Kerr made adjustments that might have seemed crazy at the time. His players made sure they paid off. Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were key, as were veterans like Barbosa and Lee at times.
We’ll have plenty of time to put this series in perspective—and in historical context, no doubt. As for Game 6, it played out like a continuation of what we’d seen in the previous two contests.
The Cleveland crowd was hyped up during intros, and during the opening minutes of Game 6. But by the end of the first quarter, the Cavs had fallen behind by double digits yet again. And with every Cavalier push thereafter, the Dubs responded in turn. Every big shot LeBron hit was answered with a similarly big strike from Golden State.
Tristan Thompson finished off the first half with a monster putback slam to get the Cavs within two, 45-43, and the Cavs opened the third quarter on a 4-0 run. But as the third quarter progressed, the Warriors were just too much. Iguodala smashed home a gigantic dunk with 9 minutes left in the third to make it 50-47, and suddenly Golden State was off and running. The Dubs took a 73-61 lead into the fourth quarter.
LeBron did his now-typical superhero things—it was an 8-point game with 10 minutes left, on the strength of some of Bron Bron’s 32-point, 18-rebound and 9-dime performance. But as a team, the Cavaliers shot 39 percent (6-26 from three-point range) and turned the ball over 19 times. Matthew Dellavedova, once a darling of this NBA Finals, finished with just 1 point.
The fourth belonged to Curry, Iggy and Green. As Thompson struggled with foul trouble, Curry dazzled, making Iman Shumpert look silly on more than one occasion. Curry finished with 25 points, 8 assists and 6 boards. Iggy had 25, 5 and 5. Green messed around and got a triple-double to the tune of 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
The fourth was never really close, though the Cavs cut it to four in the final moments thanks to a couple desperation JR Smith threes. In the end, the depth of the Dubs was too much for the undermanned Cavs, even in their own building.
Golden State is on top of the world. Imagine that.
