The Cleveland Cavaliers showed they had some fight left on Friday night and in the process, ended the Golden State Warriors’ quest for the first perfect postseason ever.
LeBron James recorded his ninth NBA Finals triple-double, a new record, while Kyrie Irving exploded for 40 points as the Cavs survived to play another game with a 137-116 win over the Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Warriors now lead the series 3-1.
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Cleveland jumped all over the Warriors from the outset, scoring 49 points in the first quarter and 86 in the first half, both NBA Finals records. The Cavs also made 24 three-pointers, shooting 53.3 percent from deep overall.
Kevin Durant continued his outstanding Finals performance as he led the Warriors with 35 points. Draymond Green added 16 points and 14 rebounds, but the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, both struggled offensively.
Curry finished with 14 points on only 4-13 shooting, though he did add 10 assists. Thompson had only 13 points and the two combined to make only six of their 19 three-point attempts. As a team the Warriors shot a terrible 28.2 percent from three-point range.
Things got extremely testy between the two teams, especially in the third quarter. There were multiple minor incidents that resulted in technical fouls on both sides. At one point, Durant and James were seen jawing at one another on the baseline.
Zaza Pachulia and Iman Shumpert also got into a skirmish that ultimately saw Pazhulia take a swipe at Shumpert’s groin area. Both were assessed technical fouls but neither was ejected.
The Finals will resume on Monday with Game 5 in Oakland as the Warriors will look to close out the series at home which would be a first in this trilogy. In each of the previous two Finals the Warriors and Cavs ended the series on the other’s home court.
