There would be no gentlemen’s sweep this year. The Warriors made damn sure of that as they got a decisive 108-85 win in Game 4 on Friday night to take home their second straight NBA title and their third in the last four years. Golden State dominated pretty much the entire way, and in the process exacted revenge for that single loss in last year’s playoffs that tainted an otherwise pristine postseason run.
With the four-game loss, the Cavs made history as just the first team in more than a decade to get swept out of the Finals. The last team to accomplish that dubious feat? The 2007 Cavs. And this iteration of the team bore a striking resemblance to that squad in that the supporting cast wasn’t much help to LeBron James as it took a Herculean effort from him on a nightly basis just to keep their heads above water.
After a historically dreadful outing in Game 3, Steph Curry was locked in from the very start, scoring 20 points in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc and finishing with 37 points, including seven three-pointers, to put the finishing touches on what presumably would be his first ever Finals MVP, the last remaining blank spot on an otherwise legendary career resume.
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1005288230076416000
LeBron led the way for Cleveland with 23 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, but as the Warriors pushed the lead to 21 going into the final frame, his body language said it all. And looming over all of it was the very real possibility for fans in Cleveland that they may have just witnessed LeBron’s last game in a Cavaliers uniform.
MVP chants for LeBron James as he checks out for what might be the last time in Cleveland https://t.co/ki07pvDwNd
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) June 9, 2018
Kevin Durant, who has been phenomenal this series and submitted a strong argument for his own Finals MVP candidacy, finished with a triple double – 20 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists.
A summer of uncertainty now awaits the Cavs as LeBron weighs his future, but for now, it’s a celebration for the Warriors as they add another Larry O’Brien trophy to the display case and cement their legacy as one of the greatest teams in NBA history.
