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Final thoughts
So the Cavaliers have spoiled the Warriors’ chance at a perfect postseason and forced a Game 5. Lebron, Kyrie and Kevin Love were all at their best and gave us one of the wildest first halves of playoff basketball that I can recall. It was a much better game than the final score indicates.
Most importantly this means we will have more basketball and we’ll be covering it right here at the Guardian. Thanks to everyone who followed along with today’s liveblog, stick with us over the next few days for more NBA Finals coverage. Ciao!
Cavaliers win!
Warriors 116-137 Cavaliers, FINAL
After a few meaningless baskets the clock winds down and the Cavaliers have won Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Warriors 113-134 Cavaliers, 1:05, 4th quarter
“Cavs in 7” chants fill the arena, a sly reference to JR Smith’s hastily deleted tweet after Wednesday’s debacle.
Warriors 111-132 Cavaliers, 2:15, 4th quarter
Bench emptying time! Hi James Michael McAdoo and James Jones.
Warriors 111-132 Cavaliers, 2:15, 4th quarter
JR SMITH WITH A THREE. And that might do it for the Warriors tonight. But just in case, Irving makes a three as well and we’re certainly going to get a Game 5 here.
Warriors 111-126 Cavaliers, 3:23, 4th quarter
Durant’s on the line again and hits both free throws once again.
Warriors 109-126 Cavaliers, 4:35, 4th quarter
…And the cliffhanger is over. Durant makes his second free throw as well.
Warriors 108-126 Cavaliers, 4:35, 4th quarter
Irving fouls Durant to prevent him from an easy dunk. On the line, Durant makes the first of the two free throws and…
The Cavaliers call a timeout.
Warriors 107-126 Cavaliers, 4:48, 4th quarter
Tristan Thompson tips in a rare Irving miss and it’s a 19 point game and the clock is on their side.
Warriors 107-124 Cavaliers, 6:22, 4th quarter
James makes just about the longest two possible. Green makes a layup immediately afterwards.
Warriors 105-122 Cavaliers, 7:26, 4th quarter
Yeah everyone is tired here, nobody’s shots are going in.
Although hey, Jefferson’s quality night continues when James sets up a layup attempt fr him.
And Irving fouls Klay Thomspon. He makes one of two. This is starting to be just kind of funny.
Warriors 104-120 Cavaliers, 8:42, 4th quarter
And another make by Irving forced the Warriors into a timeout.
Warriors 104-115 Cavaliers, 9:23, 4th quarter
And we’ve hit a weird two minute stretch where absolutely nobody can score. I wouldn’t be shocked if the players were starting to wear down here.
West tips in a missed McCaw jumper but Irving calls things down by draining a three.
Oh yeah and this is very much going to be a thing:
First half box we were given on press row, for what it's worth. Clearly states Draymond had been given that 1st quarter tech pic.twitter.com/wwDhCeophJ
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 10, 2017
Warriors 102-115 Cavaliers, 10:55, 4th quarter
Patrick McCaw makes a three pointer and…wait, there’s a NBA player named Patrick McCaw? That sounds like the name of a talking parrot in a pirate movie made for kids.
Thompson hits a three pointer and Lue wants none of this and immediately calls a timeout.
Warriors 96-115 Cavaliers, end of the 3rd quarter
Deron Williams hits a three… an hey if you ever wanted a sign that everything is going your way, there’s a pretty clear one.
And then Curry hits a three, because that’s what he does.
And then LeBron his a three pointer. And Durant attempts a last second half court shot and, considering this game, I’m a tad surprised he doesn’t somehow make it.
And the Cavaliers have won Game 4 by 96-116… Wait, what, we still have a whole another quarter to go?
Warriors 93-109 Cavaliers, 1:07, 3rd quarter
There’s a skirmish between Shumpert and Pachulia and the officials gather together to figure out how to call it. They eventually decide on double technicals (which is official-speak for “I dunno”)
Warriors 93-109 Cavaliers, 1:32, 3rd quarter
Pachulia gets to the line for his 1-of-2. Kyle Korver does what he does, i.e. makes a there pointer like it were a free throw.
Warriors 92-106 Cavaliers, 2:17, 3rd quarter
Deron Wiliams, in a rare non-garbage time appearance,is is in the name and I’ll be damned if he doesn’t make a layup here.
Warriors 92-104 Cavaliers, 2:38, 3rd quarter
Curry’s back on the line thanks to a not particularly well thought out foul on Shumpert’s part. Curry makes one of two free throws because that’s what all the cool kids are doing today.
Warriors 91-104 Cavaliers, 2:48, 3rd quarter
A Curry shot cuts the Cavs lead down to 13 points. The Warriors call a timeout.
Warriors 89-104 Cavaliers, 3:38, 3rd quarter
Thompson of the Tristan variety gets on the line and makes one of two free throws. And then Durant gets back on the line, he makes both of his shots and he has 30 points already here in the 3rd quarter despite his slow start.
Warriors 87-103 Cavaliers, 5:01, 3rd quarter
Durant with a layup. The Warriors definitely feel very, very, very much still in this game and he’s a big part of it.
Warriors 85-103 Cavaliers, 5:37, 3rd quarter
Green and Durant cut the Cavaliers lead down to 14. Then Green gets his second technical foul of the game? But he’s staying in? How is that… I guess that earlier tech was actually on Steve Kerr? What the heck. Green should be out of he game now. This is ridiculous.
Also ridiculous? JR Smith gets a three pointer after Irving makes a technical free throw.
Warriors 81-99 Cavaliers, 7:26, 3rd quarter
Love makes a three pointer. And we get a breather here as the officials decide whether or not to give Love a flagrant foul on a blocked shot attempt on Durant. To the protestations of the crowd, they do so.
Durant’s on the line to make free throws, he makes one of two.
Warriors 80-96 Cavaliers, 8:07, 3rd quarter
The Warriors go on a run again, not for the first time and certainly not for the last time. Durant with a dunk, Klay with a three and it’s a 16 point game.
Warriors 75-96 Cavaliers, 8:45, 3rd quarter
Green splits a pair of free throws. James and Pachulia trade layups. Then the Cavaliers avoid disaster, LeBron makes a bad pass that Curry corrals but Durant misses a three on the other end. Love gets the rebound and LeBron unleashes a thunderous dunk.
Warriors 72-92 Cavaliers, 10:12, 3rd quarter
The Cavaliers are going for the hot hand here, getting the ball into Irving’s hand and Irving swiftly responds with a three pointer for the first Cavaliers points of the second half.
Kevin Love follows that up with a three pointer of his own.
2nd half begins!
Warriors 72-86 Cavaliers, 11:15, 3rd quarter
Now here’s the worry for the Cavaliers; they’ve had a problem with maintaining their energy for all 48 minutes. Plus they’ve been lucky that Curry and Klay Thompson have been ice cold in the first half and there’s no way that they won’t heat up here.
And look just as I type that, Curry opens up the second half with a basket and then assists Green for a layup that causes the Cavaliers to immediately call for a timeout.
@HunterFelt Do you regret liveblogging the highest-scoring NBA Finals game of all-time?
— DJ Gallo (@DJGalloEtc) June 10, 2017
I’m fine with it. My fingers are the ones who hate it.
Kyrie Irving’s been the biggest part of this record-breaking first half, leading all scorers with 28 points while going 4-of-6 past the three point line and making 4 assists. Who says LeBron needs Chris Paul.
I really try to do as much play-by-play as possible here, but it’s hard when one team is breaking multiple scoring records all at once.
Highest scoring 1st quarter.
— Spark ⚡️ Sports (@Spark_Sports_) June 10, 2017
Highest scoring 1st half.
Cavaliers unreal, up 86-68 at the half. pic.twitter.com/qHDJ5XRehT
Halftime
It’s safe to say that the Cavaliers just played their best basketball of the entire season. I can barely comprehend what we just saw in this first half.
Warriors 68-86 Cavaliers, end of the,1st half
A Kevin Durant three pointer RIGHT at the buzzer ends one of the most ridiculous first halves in NBA playoff history.
Warriors 61-80 Cavaliers, 1:37, 2nd quarter
James with a layup and an and one opportunity… that he converts. it’s also the third foul on Klay Thompson, something to pay attention to.
Duran with a layup. James splits a pair of free throws. Durant gets two free throws. LeBron makes a three pointer. Hunter’s wrist begins to hurt from having to type so fast.
Warriors 57-73 Cavaliers, 3:04, 2nd quarter
The Shaun Livingston One Man Dunk Contest continues.
Warriors 56-73 Cavaliers, 4:01, 2nd quarter
Curry’s shot is still surprisingly suspect, but Green manages to tip in his miss.
And here’s Irving again, he knocks down a short distance jumper.
Warriors 53-71 Cavaliers, 4:48, 2nd quarter
And who do the Warriors turn to to stop the bleeding. Shaun Livingston, obviously. Livingston scores on two straight possessions.
This is starting to feel like the reverse of the earlier games in the series, now it’s Golden State that can’t seem to cut the deficit down. Irving, certainly the player of the game so far, scores almost immediately after Livingston
Warriors 49-69 Cavaliers, 5:37, 2nd quarter
How good has this Cavaliers offense been tonight? Good enough that I can’t even keep track of their scoring. Curry gets off a three, about time, but other than that it’s been all Cavaliers who push the lead to 20.
Warriors 46-60 Cavaliers, 7:18, 2nd quarter
Dahntay Jones, out of absolutely nowhere, comes in and picks up a tech. Curry coverts that into a successful free throw.
Warriors 45-60 Cavaliers, 7:26, 2nd quarter
It’s always a good sign when James starts hitting from long distance.
It’s less of a good sign when you give up a three point play to David West, who makes a layup but misses the freebie. Lots of misses there tonight it seems.
How good are things going for Cleveland so far? JR Smith makes a 30 foot three-pointer just before the shot clock wet off. The crowd goes wild, as they say.
Warriors 43-54 Cavaliers, 8:38, 2nd quarter
Durant finished up his three point play by making the free throw, so make that a 8-0 run.
Warriors 42-54 Cavaliers, 8:38, 2nd quarter
Well Cleveland had to know that this was coming: the Warriors strike back, scoring seven unanswered before Lue wisely calls a timeout.
Warriors 35-54 Cavaliers,10:47, 2nd quarter
Irving hits a layup and OH MY STARS on the Cavs’ next possession, he hits a long, long three that gets the crowd as loud as they’ve been all game.
Warriors 35-49 Cavaliers,11:33, 2nd quarter
David West hits a old fashioned jumper to get things started in the second.
Warriors 33-49 Cavaliers, end oft the 1st quarter
Curry gets two free throws, but other than that it’s all Cavaliers who end up scoring 49 in the first quarter, THE FIRST QUARTER,
Warriors 31-46 Cavaliers, :47, 1st quarter
This is the best Cleveland has played all series. Jefferson makes two free throws, Love hits a three, old man Jefferson dunks. It’s such a great sequence that they don’t get too miffed by the fact that they let McGee and Shaun Livingston hurt them.
Warriors 27-38 Cavaliers, 1:54, 1st quarter
Hey you’ll never guess who just picked up a technic- yeah, it was Green. Love makes the technical free throw.
Warriors 27-37 Cavaliers, 2:20, 1st quarter
Iman Shumpert gets to the line and 21 Shump Street follows the lead of his teammates and makes just one or two free throws. The foul’s on Curry, which may or may not be relevant by the time we hit the fourth quarter.
Warriors 27-36 Cavaliers, 2:34, 1st quarter
Another three-pointer for Kyrie.
And now it’s time for the veterans to get into the action. Iguodala dunks for the Warriors. The he fouls Jefferson who gets to the line and makes both this time around.
Warriors 25-31 Cavaliers, 3:33, 1st quarter
Durant was doing his best Sue Storm impression for the first half of this quarter. He’s not so invisible now. He makes a mid-ranger and then gets on the line for three free throws and, of course, he makes all three.
This is like a textbook example of how to let a team back in the game.
Updated
Warriors 20-31 Cavaliers, 4:01, 1st quarter
And more free throws, How fun. It’s James turn and he also makes one of two, it feels like the Cavs are splitting these free throws an awful lot.
And as soon as I type that, Richard Jefferson gets to the line and goes 0-2 rather than 1-1. Maybe splitting isn’t the worst thing.
Warriors 20-30 Cavaliers, 4:24, 1st quarter
Irving makes one of two free throws.
And Tristan Thompson fouls Durant, which isn’t… ideal. He gets to the line and knocks Cleveland’s lead down to 10 points
Warriors 18-29 Cavaliers, 4:54, 1st quarter
Oh hey there’s Kevin Durant. He makes his first basket of the game and it’s a triple.
Warriors 15-29 Cavaliers, 5:22, 1st quarter
And then the Cavaliers get a bit sloppy. They let Green get an easy layup and then James picks up a foul. That’s a recipe for letting a team back in.
Warriors 13-29 Cavaliers, 5:39, 1st quarter
Tyronn Lue calls a timeout, which feels a tad bit odd, considering it comes right after a made basket.
Warriors 13-27 Cavaliers, 5:45, 1st quarter
James misses one of two free throws, one of the few things that haven’t worked out for the Cavaliers so far. And Andre Iguodala, who’s in the game btw, makes a jumper. All Golden State has to do is hang around. Cleveland has to remember that.
Warriors 11-26 Cavaliers, 6:54, 1st quarter
Draymond Green gets on the line, drains two free throws. But Thompson tips in Love’s miss and Cleveland has a 15 point lead early..
Warriors 9-21 Cavaliers, 7:54, 1st quarter
Kevin Love knocks down a three-pointer and then, after Klay Thompson hits a three of his own, he draws a foul on Klay and gets to the line. He makes both.
Warriors 6-16 Cavaliers, 8;51, 1st quarter
Irving commits a foul to put Pachulia on the line, he makes just one of two free throws but it does end Golden State’s scoring drought.
Warriors 5-16 Cavaliers, 9:02, 1st quarter
Out of the timeout, Green promptly throws the ball away. Smith gets the steal and on the other end, Love takes it to the basket.
Warriors 5-14 Cavaliers, 9:22, 1st quarter
Instead of trading baskets, the Warriors wisely decide to go on a run. James gets fouled near the basket after making his shot and drains his free throw and then JR Smith makes another three-pointer! Steve Kerr wisely calls a timeout.
Warriors 5-8 Cavaliers, 9:56, 1st quarter
And Kyrie Irving hits another three for Cleveland. Of course, the Warriors strike back, Pachulia makes a layup. Irving hits another short, which is answered by a Draymond Green three pointer. The Cavs can’t play “trading baskets” if they want to win this thing.
Opening tip
Warriors 0-3 Cavaliers, 11:25, 1st quarter
Cavaliers win the opening tip. J.R. Smith starts off the game by hitting a three-pointer. There could be a worst start.
Folks? It’s lit.
🔥🏀🔥 pic.twitter.com/ThMmnFZNf0
— Erik Malinowski (@erikmal) June 10, 2017
Cavaliers starters
PG Kyrie Irving
SG J.R. Smith
SF LeBron James
PF Kevin Love
C Tristan Thompson
Warriors starters
PG Steph Curry
SG Klay Thompson
SF Kevin Durant
PF Draymond Green
C Zaza Pachulia
Email from Gregory:
Durant, the Difference: NBA finals mvp, turned what should have been a competitive series into a blow-out.
The Warriors have built a great, exciting team composed of their own long bets on young talent, cultivating the growth of Curry, Green, and Thompson while keeping a strong depth of bench players that know their roles and are happy to just be along for the ride. With the addition of Durant, a monstrous team became a juggernaut for the ages, worthy of being in the conversation about the greatest teams of all time.
I thought last year’s Warriors team was building a solid case as one of the all-time best teams in NBA history and all they’ve done since is replace Harrison Barnes with Kevin Durant. No, they don’t have that gaudy regular season record this time around, what they’ve done this postseason might be even more impressive. A win tonight? They’re absolutely in the G.O.A.T. discussion.
It’s strange that there’s been relatively little talk about the Warriors being on the verge of going through an entire postseason without a single loss. Just a season ago, the main story was their quest for the best regular season win-loss record ever. Maybe we’re just burned out with this team after that campaign.
Predictions
This is probably fairly obvious from my preamble.I think the Cavaliers lose tonight and I wouldn’t be shocked if they were checked-out by halftime. Wednesday night’s game might be about the most dispiriting losses possible. I’m expecting this to be a 15+ point plus blowout. You think differently? Feel free to send me your predictions either through email (Hunter.Felt.Freelance@theguardian.com) or Twitter (@HunterFelt).
The NBA is still doing the Finals???
— DJ Gallo (@DJGalloEtc) June 10, 2017
There’s an argument to be made that this series has actually been over for at least a few days.
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to the final game of the NBA season.
Okay, okay, I probably should have put a “maybe” somewhere in that sentence. After all, f the Cleveland Cavaliers manage to take a game against the Golden State Warriors we will have at least a Game 5 on Monday.
But man that’s a big “if.” The Cavaliers gave it all against the Warriors on Wednesday and had a 113-107 lead with three minutes left in the game. And then the Warriors did what the Warriors do: they closed out the game with an 11-0 run and quieted the entire arena. With their 118-113 win, they put the Cavaliers into a 0-3 hole, a series deficit that no NBA team has been able to dig their way out of yet.
I’ll say this about Game 3: at least it was a close and entertaining game, something we’ve been wishing for after enduring weeks of blowouts. Hopefully we’ll get one more competitive game before the NBA closes shop. Even if the Cavs basically have no shot of winning this series, they sill could prevent the Warriors’ perfect postseason with a win today. There are stakes here, even if they’re a tad more abstract than normally.
In any case, if you want to contribute to a NBA Finals liveblog… well, now may be your last chance. Send me your thoughts through email (Hunter.Felt.Freelance@theguardian.com) or on Twitter (@HunterFelt) and I’ll share them to the rest of the world.
It’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Opening tip will be at 9pm EST but I’ll be back way before then.
Updated
Hunter will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s Les Carpenter on the series so far:
The obvious reaction three games into an NBA finals the Golden State Warriors are almost certain to win is that Kevin Durant is the series MVP. After all, he is averaging 34 points and 10 rebounds a game and pulled out Game 3 for Golden State with a three-pointer that clinched the 118-113 victory over Cleveland. Most will say he is clearly the difference between the 2017 and 2016 finals, which the Cavaliers won in seven games.
But that forgets that the Warriors also have Stephen Curry back.
The man who was considered the league’s best player two years running was not himself in last year’s playoffs. Part of this was because he sprained his knee early in the postseason and didn’t appear to be playing at full strength. But there was something else too, something that might have had more to do with the Warriors losing the finals than an aching knee: mentally Curry wasn’t there.
This wasn’t something that got much attention as Golden State built up a 3-1 lead in last year’s championship round and yet it was discussed around the team. Something was eating at Steph. At the time sources told the Guardian Curry was “distracted”: that the previous 13 months had become too much. And it’s little wonder: in that time he had won a title and two league MVPs, as well as adapting to a new level of fame and all the obligations and pressures that come with that.
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