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Wrap-Up -- It is a stretch to say that after Friday night’s victory, the Cavaliers have the Warriors right where they want them. It is not a stretch to say the Cavaliers have been here before and know what to do.
The Wine & Gold came out swinging on Friday night, cutting up Golden State with a record-setting first quarter and barely looking back – taking the 137-116 wire-to-wire win to avoid the sweep and send the Finals back to Oakland, trailing, 3-1, the same deficit they overcame to make NBA history and win the 2016 title.
Facing elimination on their home floor, the Wine and Gold came out of the locker room locked and loaded – hitting the Warriors with a record-setting first quarter flurry – notching 49 points on 58 shooting from the floor, hitting 7-of-12 three-pointers and making 22 trips to the stripe.
But despite the Cavaliers taking an early double-digit lead, the fireworks were only getting started.
Before the night was over, the pulsating, packed house at The Q saw LeBron James and Kevin Durant barking at one another at center court, Draymond Green nearly being tossed and (constantly being serenated) and Zaza Pachulia getting away with what looked like a shot to Iman Shumpert’s groin following a second-half scrum.
In other words: the series just got interesting.
”It causes too much stress, man. I'm stressed out,” joked James, talking about their backs against the wall bringing out the best in his team. “(We) deep doing this every year. But listen, at the end of the day we just got some resilient guys. The Warriors have championship DNA, and we do as well. We're battle-tested, they're battle-tested. And getting swept is something that you never want to have happen, especially this point. You get all the way to the Finals, you hate to get swept, lose two games on your home floor.
”So I think a lot of guys had that in their mind today, and they came out and played like it.”
Kyrie Irving was in fourth gear through the first two games of the series, but he’s been in overdrive over the last two, and after finishing with 38 in Game 3, exploded for 40 points in Friday’s night’s blowout – notching 17 points in the second quarter and finishing 15-of-27 overall, including 7-of-12 from long-range to go with seven boards and four assists.
”Every game is do-or-die, and we understand that,” said Irving. “We're ready to live in it. And it was great to see Kyle as well as Deron as well as T-Thomp just throw themselves in tonight's game and understand the importance of it. This is The Finals, man. A minute here, four minutes here, a rebound here, maybe a tech or two here, it matters. They brought it tonight. I'm super proud of those guys, of all my teammates.”
Irving was the aggressor against Steph Curry from the opening tip – and he and the Cavaliers managed the stymie the two-time MVP defensively all evening.
On the night, Golden State’s backcourt combo – which had been deadly through most of the series – were a combined 8-of-24 from the floor, including 6-of-19 from long-range. Curry finished 4-of-13 on the night, with as many field foals as turnovers. Klay Thompson, who’d gone 19-of-30 from the floor in the previous two games, was 4-of-11 on Friday and had a tough night at the office trying to contain Uncle Drew.
With another passing Finals game, LeBron continued to make history – tallying the ninth triple-double of his Finals career, finishing with 31 points, 11 assists and 10 boards and passing Magic Johnson for the most in NBA history.
James – who had a strong case for Finals MVP in 2015 and won it last year – is averaging a triple-double in this year’s best-of-seven: 31.8 points on 54 percent shooting to go with 11.8 boards and 10.8 assists per.
With his first basket of Friday’s win, he passed Michael Jordan for third-most points in NBA Finals history. With 1,204 points, he now trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West.
The Big Three combine for 94 points as the Wine & Gold take Game 4.
Like Kyrie, the four-time MVP did most of his heavy lifting before intermission – finishing with 12 of his 31 points in the second period, going 5-of-6 from the floor, 2-of-3 from deep as the Wine and Gold went into the locker room having posted 86 points on the league’s top defensive team.
Though the Warriors can score quickly and in bunches, the Cavaliers kept them at arm’s length throughout the second half. The closest Golden State got was to within 11 early in the fourth quarter. But from the second quarter on, the Cavaliers led by double-digits the entire way.
Kevin Love had yet another solid outing in the do-or-die win – finishing with 23 points, going 7-of-14 from the floor, 6-of-8 from beyond the arc to go with a five, boards and a pair of boards.
The trio of Love, LeBron and Kyrie combined for a franchise record of 94 points by a combined trio – equaling the mark set by Hot Rod Williams, Brad Daugherty and Mark Price – the latter who was in the building with his family, drawing a huge ovation from the sold-out throng.
J.R. Smith had his second straight double-digit game for the first time in the postseason and looks to have his swagger back – opening with scoring with a triple from the corner, drilling a 30-footer during Cleveland’s second-quarter barrage and send the crowd home happy with his fifth bomb of the night with 2:59 play that put the Cavs up 18.
”J.R.'s an assassin, so take his shots,” praised Coach Lue after the win. “We talked to him about trying to make plays, like I need you to shoot the basketball and be a scorer. And he's been shooting the ball well. He's made some big shots. Defensively he's been really good, so we’ll continue to ride this wave going into Golden State on Monday.”
Tristan Thompson, who’s been frustrated with just 11 rebounds through the first three games of the series finished with 10 boards on Friday – grabbing four off the offensive glass and adding five assists in the win.
The Cavaliers set the NBA Finals record, drilling 24 three-pointers on the night.
Overall, Cleveland shot 53 percent from the floor, 53 percent from long-range. Had they done better from the stripe – where they finished 21-of-31 – Friday’s drubbing of the Dubs would’ve been that much worse.
Turning Point -- The real turning point might’ve been before Friday night’s contest even started. The Wine and Gold were all business from the moment the ball went up. And the stats and score certainly bared that out.
But a key moment occurred at the 9:39 mark of the fourth quarter, when David West’s layup cut Cleveland’s lead – as much as 24 – whittled down to just 11, 115-104.
The Cavaliers answered immediately – with Kyrie Irving scoring on the next two possessions, drilling a three-pointer and hitting a floater to put Cleveland back up 19 and Game 4 essentially on ice.
By the Numbers – 49 … points the Cavaliers posted in the first quarter, and NBA Finals and Cavaliers franchise record – and were two off the NBA Playoff record. (If LeBron James would have hit his free throws, as he pointed out in his postgame presser.) Cleveland also set a Finals and franchise mark with 86 points in the first half – outdoing Sixers’ 61 against the Lakers in 1982.
Quotable – LeBron James, when asked the difference between him in the Finals now vs. his first experience in 2007 …
”I stunk in the first Finals. I don't stink anymore..”
Up Next -- After clobbering Golden State on Friday night at The Q, the Wine and Gold go back to Cali for Game 5 set for Monday night at Oracle Arena. If the Cavaliers can stay alive, they return to what promises to be a berserk Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday night. If history repeats and the series goes the duration – Game 7 goes down on June 18, Father’s Day once again, at Oracle Arena.