Warriors Go For the Jugular Against Cavaliers in Game 4
The Golden State Warriors take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday night in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Warriors lead the series, 3-0.
The Warriors (3-0) have earned the right to be on the brink of a clean sweep of the Cavaliers (0-3) after getting the best of the Eastern Conference champions through multiple methods thus far in the series. Whereas Golden State lit up the scoreboard in their trademark, fast-paced fashion over the first two games out west, they were forced into much more of a defensive battle on Cleveland's home court on Wednesday night. Ultimately, the defending NBA champs were able to pull out a hard-fought, 110-102 victory due to a stellar effort on the part of Kevin Durant, who led all scorers with a career playoff-high 43 points. His red-hot shooting helped make up for sub-par offensive nights on the part of the fabled Splash Bros. tandem of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who shot a combined 7-for-27 from the field.
Durant added a game-high 13 rebounds, seven assists and one steal to his aforementioned scoring haul. Curry totaled just 11 points on a 3-for-16 tally, his worst shooting performance of the season. He added six assists, five rebounds and one steal. Thompson followed with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Draymond Green matched Thompson's scoring total and also dished out nine assists, hauled in two rebounds and recorded a pair of steals. JaVale McGee managed 10 points of his own and added three rebounds and two blocks. Jordan Bell paced the second unit with a postseason-best 10 points and also brought down six boards and recorded one block. Andre Iguodala, who made his return from a knee injury and was a factor on defense, also provided eight points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Iguodala is the one player on the Warriors injury report heading into Game 4 after appearing to reaggravate the knee Wednesday, but he'll be listed as probable.
LeBron James paced the Cavaliers with 33 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Kevin Love put together a third straight impressive offensive performance to open the series, generating a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double that also included three assists and one steal. Rodney Hood received his most extensive amount of playing time -- 26 minutes -- since the first round of the playoffs, and he parlayed it them into 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks. J.R. Smith poured in 13 points and added four boards and three steals. Thompson delivered eight points, seven rebounds and one block.
The Cavaliers come into Friday's game without any injuries to report.
The Warriors (3-0) have earned the right to be on the brink of a clean sweep of the Cavaliers (0-3) after getting the best of the Eastern Conference champions through multiple methods thus far in the series. Whereas Golden State lit up the scoreboard in their trademark, fast-paced fashion over the first two games out west, they were forced into much more of a defensive battle on Cleveland's home court on Wednesday night. Ultimately, the defending NBA champs were able to pull out a hard-fought, 110-102 victory due to a stellar effort on the part of Kevin Durant, who led all scorers with a career playoff-high 43 points. His red-hot shooting helped make up for sub-par offensive nights on the part of the fabled Splash Bros. tandem of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who shot a combined 7-for-27 from the field.
Durant added a game-high 13 rebounds, seven assists and one steal to his aforementioned scoring haul. Curry totaled just 11 points on a 3-for-16 tally, his worst shooting performance of the season. He added six assists, five rebounds and one steal. Thompson followed with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Draymond Green matched Thompson's scoring total and also dished out nine assists, hauled in two rebounds and recorded a pair of steals. JaVale McGee managed 10 points of his own and added three rebounds and two blocks. Jordan Bell paced the second unit with a postseason-best 10 points and also brought down six boards and recorded one block. Andre Iguodala, who made his return from a knee injury and was a factor on defense, also provided eight points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Iguodala is the one player on the Warriors injury report heading into Game 4 after appearing to reaggravate the knee Wednesday, but he'll be listed as probable.
LeBron James paced the Cavaliers with 33 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Kevin Love put together a third straight impressive offensive performance to open the series, generating a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double that also included three assists and one steal. Rodney Hood received his most extensive amount of playing time -- 26 minutes -- since the first round of the playoffs, and he parlayed it them into 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks. J.R. Smith poured in 13 points and added four boards and three steals. Thompson delivered eight points, seven rebounds and one block.
The Cavaliers come into Friday's game without any injuries to report.