Final thoughts
And that will do us for tonight. Thanks for everyone reading, especially for all of your emails and tweets, sorry we couldn’t get to all of them tonight. We’ll be back with more NBA Finals coverage here at the Guardian, including a liveblog for all remaining games! Tonight’s Warriors victory means we have at least six! Ciao!
@HunterFelt shows what i know, @warriors use of @andrewbogut was inspired. 2 hard fouls on LeBron made all the difference!
— matt staunton (@MattStaunton73) June 12, 2015
And Iguodala starting paid off. 22 points, tying Curry for team lead.
@HunterFelt Thanks a million buddy. streaming has dropped in my house (Ireland). You're making it so real. Want this win for Riley #warriors
— Michelle (@O_Conartist) June 12, 2015
You’re welcome, although I’m not sure we’ll see a Riley Curry appearance until/unless the Warriors put this series away.
Golden State has tied the NBA Finals 2-2!
A pivotal game 5 in Oakland on Sunday!
Warriors win game 4!
Warriors 103-82 Cavaliers, end of game!
Joe Harris and Kendrick Perkins combine for three free throws for Cleveland. Mareese Speights hits one of two for Golden State. That’ll be the final!
Warriors 102-79 Cavaliers, 1:12, 4th quarter
Harrison Barnes adds to the Warriors total, the remaining Golden State fans are chanting for their team. Ballsy that.
Warriors 100-79 Cavaliers, 2:08, 4th quarter
Green makes a jumper, Warriors call a timeout, they’re bringing in the bench.
@HunterFelt Cavs should have rested the Delly Llama - too much hype and overworked - he would have played his butt off in Game 5
— Michael Knowles (@RastyTheCat) June 12, 2015
He was clearly exhausted this time around. And Cleveland is putting in Kendrick Perkins. The Human White Flag has been waved.
Warriors 98-79 Cavaliers, 3:06, 4th quarter
It’s going even better for them. Livingston hits one of two free throws. Curry hits a dagger that leads to a Cavs timeout. Goodnight Cleveland!
Warriors 95-79 Cavaliers, 3:36, 4th quarter
Green is back in for Lee. Livingston makes a shot to push the lead up to 16.
Stephanie Hanson steps in via email:
I’m in the Bahamas and the station is down so I can’t watch the game thank you so very much for these updates. I’m going for the Warriors
Well, it’s going well for them.
Warriors 93-79 Cavaliers, 4:30, 4th quarter
Mozgov on the line. He makes both. David Lee on the line. He makes none.
Warriors 93-77 Cavaliers, 5:01, 4th quarter
Iguodala with a three, and that’s a 16 point lead. Golden State has got this one.
Email from Tom Jenkins:
Can someone please explain to me why the Dubs aren’t hacking Thompson?! He’s not a great FT shooter and we already saw earlier in the series that he didn’t look comfortable with the pressure of being hacked. More crucially it’d rob the Cavs bigs of the rest that they’re getting on every long offensive possession, and, frankly, anything right now that stops LeBron putting up shots safe in the knowledge that there’s an absurdly high chance that the Cavs will grab another possession if he misses has got to be an idea worth pursuing.
It would make more sense than putting Mozgov on the line here, although he’s more of an “could score otherwise” threat.
Warriors 90-77 Cavaliers, 5:51, 4th quarter
Mozgov layup, he is the Cleveland offense! Warriors timeout! I have hit the point of the game where I overuse exclamation marks!
Updated
Warriors 90-75 Cavaliers, 6:43, 4th quarter
Green gets his 5th foul, putting Mozgov on the line. He makes one of two.
David Lee responds with a dunk. Cleveland can’t make up any ground.
Warriors 88-74 Cavaliers, 7:11, 4th quarter
Mozgov gets fouled by Livingston, makes two free throws. That’s good. Iguodala hits a three. That’s not good for Cleveland.
Warriors 85-72 Cavaliers, 8:00, 4th quarter
And then Smith misses three straight threes. Hitting that one shot was the worst thing to happen to Cleveland. Curry hits a three. Oof.
Warriors 82-72 Cavaliers, 8:59, 4th quarter
J.R. Smith hits a shot. Way to shut me up.
Warriors 82-70 Cavaliers, 9:38, 4th quarter
LeBron is back in the game. Also a good idea!
@HunterFelt please provide 2 feeds - one for Delly and one for the rest of the game
— Michael Knowles (@RastyTheCat) June 12, 2015
I am for this if it means two paychecks. Green fouls LeBron immediately, not shooting though. Curry hits a floater over James Jones!
Warriors 80-70 Cavaliers, 10:11, 4th quarter
Cavaliers call a timeout. I say give it to Mozgov and see what happens. And don’t let J.R. back in the game.
Warriors 80-70 Cavaliers, 10:11, 4th quarter
Smith misses yet again. Holy freaking hell, Warriors MVP this series.
Tristan Thompson with a layup. Cavs have come out day-old diet soda flat.
Warriors 78-70 Cavaliers, 11:30, 4th quarter
Make that 15 points. Green with the dunk.
@HunterFelt im not even watching the game, just checking the blog every 10min. Imagine my surprise, a boxscore show moz/thom have 31 & 16
— matt staunton (@MattStaunton73) June 12, 2015
And Green is leading Golden State with 13 points. Not ideal for the Warriors despite the lead.
@HunterFelt this is no way for a Clevelander to watch game 4 from Dublin, but thank you for your work #ALLinCLE pic.twitter.com/2ihGApHDqM
— TJ Mulloy (@MulloyTJ) June 12, 2015
Thanks for checking in. And allowing for this moment of recursion with this screenshot.
Warriors lead by 6 after 3rd quarter!
Warriors 76-70 Cavaliers, end of the 3rd quarter
LeBron makes one of two free throws after being fouled by Livingston. Oof, big defensive bad break for Cleveland, Curry with a three to extend the Warriors lead.
Warriors 73-69 Cavaliers, :34, 3rd quarter
LeBron LayUp.
Warriors 73-67 Cavaliers, 1:29, 3rd quarter
LeBron fouls Iguodala, the dance between the two continues. He makes two fee throws.
Warriors 71-67 Cavaliers, 1:31, 3rd quarter
Iggy hits a jumper, Warriors extend the lead. Verry briefly. Mozgov with a layup.
Warriors 69-65 Cavaliers, 3:00, 3rd quarter
David Blatt calls a Cleveland timeout as the Cavs fail to gain any ground.
Warriors 69-65 Cavaliers, 4:05, 3rd quarter
Iguodala fouls LeBron, who makes one of two himself.
Warriors 69-64 Cavaliers, 4:20, 3rd quarter
David Lee goes to the line, makes one of two.
Warriors 68-64 Cavaliers, 4:31, 3rd quarter
Mozgov putback on a LeBron miss. He’s having a game still.
Warriors 68-62 Cavaliers, 4:35, 3rd quarter
Possible idea for Steve Kerr, who might need one this quarter:
@HunterFelt am i the only one who thinks @warriors need to combat Mozgov/Thompson with Bogut/Lee? Whats wrong with a 12345 lineup?
— matt staunton (@MattStaunton73) June 12, 2015
Well, there’s an idea. Harrison Barnes three out of the TO.
Updated
Warriors 65-62 Cavaliers, 5:02, 3rd quarter
What just happened? 12-2 Cavs run after that ally-oop!
Warriors 65-62 Cavaliers, 5:02, 3rd quarter
Curry turnover leads to LeBron layup! Five point game! Another Curry turnover leads to ANOTHER LeBron basket, assisted by Delly! Three point game!
Warriors timeout! Quicken Loans is going crazy! It should!
Warriors 65-58 Cavaliers, 6:13, 3rd quarter
Cavs fans call “animal fecal matter” on a foul call against Mozgov. Barnes makes two free throws.
Warriors 63-58 Cavaliers, 6:31, 3rd quarter
That’s 17 points for Mozgov.
And Shumpert hits an off-balance shot on a LeBron assist!
Warriors 63-56 Cavaliers, 7:13, 3rd quarter
Green fouls Mozgov. He is BACK on the line. And he makes the first of two free throws. And the second.
Warriors 63-54 Cavaliers, 7:58, 3rd quarter
Shumpert misses another three. Wow.
Warriors 63-54 Cavaliers, 8:13, 3rd quarter
Delly comes back in to replace J.R. Smith, good riddance once again. LeBron, who apparently glued his head back together rather than going for stitches, actually has one more free throw coming. Which he makes.
Warriors 63-53 Cavaliers, 8:13, 3rd quarter
Mozgov makes a layup, been a huge part of the Cavs offense. Iguodala fouls LeBron, who makes one of two free throws and we have a Warriors timeout.
Warriors 63-50 Cavaliers, 8:53, 3rd quarter
And Smith fouls Curry, who makes both free throws. Thanks for playing J.R..
Warriors 61-50 Cavaliers, 9:04, 3rd quarter
J.R. Smith is in the ga- I can’t even finish the sentence before he misses a three.
Warriors 61-50 Cavaliers, 9:33, 3rd quarter
Tristan Thompson with a dunk. The Cavaliers have moment- Oh Curry hits a shot, nevermind.
Warriors 59-48 Cavaliers, 10:40, 3rd quarter
Dellavedova hits a three, Barnes gets fouled and makes two free throws, the Cavaliers respond with... another Dellavedova three! Caffeine is clearly working.
Warriors 57-42 Cavaliers, 11:38, 3rd quarter
Iguodala hits a three-pointer to start the scoring for the third quarter.
Our own Jeb Lund has an important and astute observation:
Adam Silver always looks as if he just hatched.
— Big Sexy Jeb Lund (@Mobute) June 12, 2015
Silver’s comment on James not going out for a concussion test: “He’s a warrior.” Could you use literally any other word here commissioner? It would be less confusing.
Anderson Varejao, Matthew Dellavedova's coffee runner, seen entering Cavs locker room with 2 fresh cups.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) June 12, 2015
Note: I am almost out of Coke Zero. Is there anybody in the Somerville MA area who is willing to help?
The Cavaliers are saying that LeBron James didn’t get checked because the concussion protocol is only activated when a player is exhibiting signs of acting differently? I... It’s because it’s LeBron and they aren’t taking him out for any reason, let’s not play pretend.
Your halftime reminder that I’m taking your tweets and emails throughout the game. Emails can be sent to hunter.felt@theguardian.com tweets can be directed at @HunterFelt.
Oh the Cavaliers news is even less sunny than previously stated:
HALFTIME: Warriors 54, Cavaliers 42. Dellavedova, Shump and Smith are shooting a combined 3-for-16. pic.twitter.com/xPn2UIM0oo
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) June 12, 2015
Halftime!
The Cavaliers look absolutely gassed and there’s also a chance that protocol will force doctors to check out LeBron after that head injury. Otherwise this is going okay for Cleveland.
12-point Warriors lead at halftime!
Warriors 54-42 Cavaliers, end of the 1st half
LeBron James finally makes a shot but Cleveland can’t get a stop. Curry knocks down a shot close to the basket to end the first half scoring!
Warriors 52-40 Cavaliers, :35, 2nd quarter
Cavaliers now are over the limit, after Smith fouls Green. His third. Green misses one of two free throws. Still, not really his series it seems.
Updated
Warriors 51-40 Cavaliers, :58, 2nd quarter
Tristan Thompson, the superior Thompson this series somehow, cuts the lead to 10. Green gets fouled and makes one of two free throws.
Warriors 50-38 Cavaliers, 1:35, 2nd quarter
LeBron James is now 3-of-11 after a missed layup.
And David Lee makes it 50 points for Golden State.
Warriors 48-38 Cavaliers, 2:29, 2nd quarter
The Warriors turned the ball over before that timeout, so they have possession here. There are potential concussion concerns for LeBron James here discussed over the timeout.
David Lee is in for Bogut who is in foul trouble. And Iguodala fouls Mozgov, who makes two more free throws.
Warriors 48-36 Cavaliers, 2:56, 2nd quarter
Holding out on Bogut brings Mozgov to the line. He makes one of two. And then makes a layup. Cavaliers call a timeout.
Warriors 48-33 Cavaliers, 3:38, 2nd quarter
Bogut fouls LeBron, who misses both free throws. Green makes a defensive rebound and... he scores. Not good for CLE.
Warriors 46-33 Cavaliers, 4:11, 2nd quarter
Nope LeBron’s still in. Wow. Klay Thompson scores out of the timeout for Golden State though.
Warriors 44-33 Cavaliers, 4:41, 2nd quarter
Steve Kerr calls for a 20 point timeout for the Warriors. Looks like LeBron is coming out.
Warriors 44-33 Cavaliers, 4:52, 2nd quarter
James stays in to hit one of two free throws.
LeBron hit his head HARD on a camera https://t.co/2VvVZgGlUc
— BuzzFeed Sports (@BuzzFeedSports) June 12, 2015
Warriors 44-32 Cavaliers, 4:52, 2nd quarter
They are looking over to see if that’s a flagrant foul. It looks like James got injured by running into a cameraman.
Warriors 44-32 Cavaliers, 4:52, 2nd quarter
Andrew Bogut is making his Warriors debut. Gotta think the Iggy starting move working out okay so far. Warriors turnover, Green fouls Mozgov and, oof, hard foul by Bogut on LeBron James who gets cut on the head and needs stitches.
Warriors 44-32 Cavaliers, 5:41, 2nd quarter
We have an official time out after Mozgov draws a foul on Harrison Barnes. There’s something good for Cleveland I guess.
Warriors 44-32 Cavaliers, 5:41, 2nd quarter
That doesn’t last. Draymond Green hits a three-pointer, his best half of the series so far.
Warriors 41-32 Cavaliers, 6:28, 2nd quarter
J.R. Smith fouls Draymond Green, who makes one of two free throws. Largest Golden State lead of the series.
But Tristan Thompson cuts it down to 9.
Warriors 40-30 Cavaliers, 6:54, 2nd quarter
Maybe Livingston should be playing more, he scores over Delly to increase the lead back to 10.
Warriors 38-30 Cavaliers, 8:00, 2nd quarter
James makes a jumper. That’s a positive. He also picks up his first foul. Not entirely positive, but probably not something Cleveland has to worry about.
Warriors 38-28 Cavaliers, 9:06, 2nd quarter
Klay Thompson hits a three and that’s a 10 point Golden State lead.
Warriors 35-28 Cavaliers, 9:40, 2nd quarter
Dellavedova gets to the line, hits both free throws. LeBron is back in the game after getting the first minute plus of the quarter off. Warriors call a timeout.
Warriors 35-26 Cavaliers, 10:23, 2nd quarter
Mozgov misses, gets his own rebound and makes a shot to respond to Barbosa’s layup. Jones scores Livingston on the other end and makes both free throws.
Warriors 33-24 Cavaliers, 11:17, 2nd quarter
Curry and Delly had words before the end of the first quarter. This might get chippy. Leandroa Barbosa extends the lead for Golden State with a layup. He is also in the game.
Email from R. Hendricksen:
Game will be tied tonight, we’re not ready to see the golden boys choke on my delicious curry
A tad graphic, I think, in imagery but doesn’t seem like a stretch after that first quarter.
Updated
Warriors lead by 7 after 1st quarter
Warriors 31-24 Cavaliers, end of 1st quarter
Thompson scores to cut the Golden State lead to 7 points before the end of the first. That was still some iffy shooting for Cleveland in the quarter’s last few minutes.
Warriors 31-22 Cavaliers, :33, 1st quarter
David Lee makes a lineup. Andre Iguodala hits a three, this is an offensive meltdown for Cleveland.
Warriors 26-22 Cavaliers, 1:46, 1st quarter
James Jones just blocked Iguodala. Not a sentence I expected to write in a game’s first quarter in 2015 I will admit. Iguodala eventually gets his points on a dunk after being assisted by Shaun Livingston. Yes really.
Warriors 24-22 Cavaliers, 2:38, 1st quarter
Delly airballs... but J.R. Smith gets the rebound and goes for the layup. Niice.
Warriors 24-20 Cavaliers, 3:12, 1st quarter
Foul on J.R. Smith puts David Lee on the line, the crowd is not a fan of Joey Crawford for that one. Lee makes both free throws.
Warriors 22-20 Cavaliers, 3:25, 1st quarter
Delly’s back in for the Cavs after a brief absence. He takes a contested three. No good. He then fouls on the othe end. The magic over?
Warriors 22-20 Cavaliers, 3:57, 1st quarter
Tom from Colorado Springs:
If Curry can’t pull his team through to win against a really depleted Cavs team, that will impact his path to being a star in the realm of Magic, Bird, Jordan, etc. And if LeBron carries his depleted team, that will surely set him in the same league as those guys - reminds me of Magic playing Center for an injured Kareem.
I am waiting for a Willis Reed moment and see Kevin Love limp onto the court ready to play.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks. Curry is definitely stepping up this game so far. Don’t think we’ll see Love though. but, again, I’ve been wrong about LITERALLY EVERYTHING this series.
Warriors 22-20 Cavaliers, 3:57, 1st quarter
Oh man the Warriors are zooming here. Thompson makes a layup but Green gets fouled on the other end by Mozgov on the way to a make. He adds the “and one” to even out the score. Then Klay Thompson makes an appearance to give Golden State the lead. Cavaliers timeout.
Warriors 17-18 Cavaliers, 4:52, 1st quarter
Mozgov is running he offense in the first, adding another shot but Harrison Barnes cuts the lead to one.
Warriors 15-16 Cavaliers, 5:33, 1st quarter
And then there’s a series of misses... Until Steph Curry cuts it a one point lead with another three-pointer.
Warriors 12-16 Cavaliers, 6:58, 1st quarter
Well, this is a faster pace. LeBron hits a three-pointer and a layup. Iggy hits his second shot. Mozgov makes a jumper. Barnes hits a three-pointer. Welp.
Warriors 7-9 Cavaliers, 8:27, 1st quarter
Iguodala hits a jumper assisted by Steph Curry. Delly hits a floater. Draymond Green hits his first shot of the game.
Warriors 3-7 Cavaliers, 9:36, 1st quarter
Steph Curry hits a three to start the scoring for the Warriors. They really, really need more of that.
3 shots in 2:17 for the #Warriors. They need to trap LeBron in the backcourt to force pace even if it means easier #Cavs shots. @HunterFelt
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) June 12, 2015
True. Cleveland has slogged things down, which is not how the Warriors like to play.
Warriors 0-7 Cavaliers, 9:42, 1st quarter
Curry-Livingston-Thompson-Iggy-Lee. Let's see it.
— Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) June 12, 2015
Time for the lineup reset option?
Updated
Warriors 0-7 Cavaliers, 9:42, 1st quarter
Steph.... misses his first shot. This will have to end eventually right?
There’s a few misses before Mozgov provides an emphatic month. And Shumpert hits a three. Golden State take a timeout, they have gone 0-3. Will they score again?
Updated
Warriors 0-2 Cavaliers, 11:21, 1st quarter
LeBron hoists one up, misses... but Tristan Thompson tips it in to start the scoring for Cleveland.
Opening tip
We’re off! Oh crap, there’s Joey Crawford. This already has started poorly.
These Cavaliers intros are chopped and screwed. I dig this. Clear enunciation is for other sports.
@HunterFelt LeBron fatigue in the media is clearly a thing. Tonight I predict LeBron fatigue on the court. Dubs by 7. LBJ goes for <30
— Brin Paulsen (@brinpaulsen) June 12, 2015
He has to tire out at some point right? I mean, theoretically he’s human, yes? I don’t know anymore about anything....
“Death March” during opponent lineups is the most played out thing ever. It only works when it’s the Yankees.
National anthem review
6/10. Passable. If longish and boring and not at all memorable. In other words, very much like every Usher song and performance that is not “Yeah!”
National anthem
Usher is performing right now. This is him seven months ago in Cleveland:
Lineup change!
Andre Iguodala is replacing Andrew Bogut in the Warriors lineup! I knew I should have waited on that.
Predictions
Email from Jesse Harrington:
I am predicting an 91-83 GSW win today.
A part of me wishing I went for a bigger margin in a Warriors win today. It just didn’t work out last time. Nothing worked out last time.
Email from Tom Jenkins, who has some thoughts on Dellavedova:
Re: 1:35. It’s hard not to get caught up in the Delly madness just because he’s been such an integral part of the Cavs’ run over the last couple of series, but I think it’s important to remember that the context of this series matters when trying to determine whether or not he’s actually any good. First, the refs are letting him hand-check Curry with virtual impunity; it’s borderline shocking given how much the league’s cracked down on it these last few years. It’s a lot easier to look like a great defender when you’re being allowed to make illegal physical plays against the skinniest guy in the league. Secondly, the Dubs are straight-up giving him open shots, because LeBron needs extra coverage and Delly’s a shaky shooter. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a guy throwing up multiple underarm lobs around the paint in Playoff ball?! Give 90% of NBA ballers the consistent open looks that Dellavedova’s getting and they’ll suddenly look like offensive threats too. Finally, the Cavs are playing caveman, attritional basketball which suits Delly’s demented grizzled wallaby game perfectly. Ask him to play Golden State or Spurs-style basketball and I think you’d pretty damn quickly see his limitations. In other words, he’s the right guy in the right place at the right time and somebody - probably GM LeBron - is going to pay him more than he’s worth because of that.
I would definitely say that this success is more of a byproduct of what LeBron is doing this series than anything else. It’s also kinda boring to keep hitting the “LeBron James is great at basketball, so it’s a more fun story.”
Cleveland starters
PG Dellavedova
SG Shumpert
SF James
PF Thompson
C Mosgov
(I tried to go the lazy route and find this in a Tweet, no dice.)
Golden State starters
#WARRIORS STARTERS PG STEPHEN CURRY SG KLAY THOMPSON SF HARRISON BARNES PF DRAYMOND GREEN C ANDREW BOGUT #LetsGoWarriorsLive
— LetsGoWarriors (@LetsGoWarriors) June 12, 2015
The Guardian’s own David Lengel has his advice for the Cavaliers on the Delly situation:
I suggest IV infusion stations on the #Cavs bench. @HunterFelt
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) June 12, 2015
J.R. Smith wonders why nobody thought of this idea when he had to play afternoon games after he was up all night in his New York Knicks days.
Tonight’s national anthem performer? A slight stepdown from Carlos Santana, but only slightly. And mostly because really “The Star Spangled Banner” should only be done as an instrumental.
.@Usher warming up to sing the National Anthem for Game 4. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/oo1C62roik
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 11, 2015
The main storyline for this game is how much Matthew Dellavedova is going to be able to give the Cavaliers this game considering that two nights ago he went to the hospital with dehydration after his game 3 performance? Okay I’m going to ask this even though it means I will never be fully welcomed in Ohio: how much will he be able to keep up his performance even at perfect health, he’s just not this good of a player.
I mean, right, he’s not? Am I going mad? I think this Finals might have proven that everything that I thought I knew beyond “LeBron James is good at basketball” has been a lie.
NBA Finals is always the best people-watching time:
I just realized that LeBron, Kanye, Jimmy Goldstein and Ric Flair are in the same building at the same time. We must preserve that building.
— Brian Schroeder (@Cosmis) June 12, 2015
Predictions
Lord help me, I’m predicting the Golden State Warriors will win tonight. Yes I know I predicted they would win game 3. And game 2. And game 2 once again when they tied it and forced overtime and I said the Cavaliers had missed their chance and wouldn’t win another game in this series.
I have been wrong okay? But the Warriors can’t lose three games in a row, right? Can they? Steph Curry can’t go this cold for a series? Draymond Green will have to hit a shot now that the Cavaliers have left him wide open, right? They can’t let LeBron James approach 40 points yet again, right? I’m saying the Warriors win this in a squeaker, they build on their 4th quarter momentum from Game 3.
Your predictions? Email them to Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com or tweet them to @HunterFelt.
My colleague DJ Gallo has presented a challenge to me that I will not be picking up.
@HunterFelt If you're not doing tonight's liveblog on Segway/Hovertrax, you're doing it wrong. https://t.co/EYTCZnpihl
— DJ Gallo (@DJGalloEtc) June 12, 2015
How is this not Dwight Howard doing something this silly looking and mockable. Okay, besides the fact that his team didn’t make it this far.
I have no idea what is happening in the NBA Finals. I have no idea what’s going to be happening in this upcoming game. I am probably not the ideal person to preview this.
I had the Golden State Warriors in five games. Mathematics says this is not going to happen. And that was before Kyrie Irving got hurt in game 1. I was tempted to change it to Warriors in 4. I decided that LeBron James would single-handedly win at one game in this series and one game only this series. I did not think it was going to be Game 2 at Oracle.
I did not think he would lead the Cavaliers to a massive third quarter lead in Game 3. I did not think that then the Cavaliers would nearly lose that lead in the 4th. I did not think that the Cavaliers would still manage to hold on to this lead once Golden State threatened.
I clearly did not think he would then win two games back-to-back to take a series lead in game 3.
I was wrong.
The Cavaliers have a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals and just need to win two of the next four games to win the most improbable Finals in recent times. It will be the biggest accomplishment of LeBron’s already storied career. This may already be LeBron’s most impressive Finals ever, and he’s won two of these before.
What will happen in tonight’s game 4? We’ll see. You can give your thoughts, comments, questions and predictions throughout tonight’’s action. Email them to Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com or tweet them to @HunterFelt and we’ll use them in this liveblog. It’s the Golden State Warriors against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Action tips off at 9:00pm EST/2:00am BST but I’ll be back here well before that will lineups, predictions and assorted pre-game nonsense.
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a piece on Matthew Dellavedova – and why an Australian town is honoring the Cavs’ playoff star:
Maryborough, with a population of around 8,000, about 60km north of Ballarat is where the Cleveland Cavaliers guard grew up, a long way away from the camera bulbs that accompany team-mates LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
CEO of Central Goldfield Shire, Mark Johnson is supportive of plans for the local stadium to be renamed the “Dellavedova Dome”.
“That’s where Matt Dellavedova learned his craft and the Maryborough Basketball Association have suggested that the stadium, which is a two-court stadium, ought to be renamed after Matthew,” Mr Johnson told 3AW Breakfast.
