A normally loud Quicken Loans Arena crowd was silenced by solid play from Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala as Golden State flexed their NBA’s best record muscle en route to an easy 103-82 victory at Cleveland, tying the best-of-seven series at two apiece heading into Sunday’s game five.
In full desperation mode, Golden State played with the same infectious hunger that led them to an incredible 67-15 regular season record. With the possibility of heading to Oracle Arena down 3-1, Golden State ended the first quarter up 31-24 and never looked back as Lebron James, who suffered a contusion to his head, was held to 20 points and just missed a triple double. Iguodala blanketed James most of the evening, throwing the acrobatic guard off balance during man coverage.
Cleveland shot a paltry 33 percent from the field, a sign they’re clearly missing Kyrie Irving’s presence. The Warriors put four starters in double figures, with Harrison Barnes adding 14 points and 8 rebounds and Draymond Green adding 17 points, 7 boards and 6 assists. Klay Thompson struggled to break free, going 4-9 from the field for 9 points in 39 minutes.
Although the stats dictate a pretty slow game defensively, Golden State hit the shots that mattered all evening without playing their guards a full 48 minutes. No overtime needed this time as regulation provide more than enough action for an inspired Golden State team poised to bring home a championship.
One season removed from a 33-49 record, Cleveland showed signs of tiredness but still have some fight left in them. The series is now a best-of-three with two of those games at Golden State. Kevin Love and Irving, at full strength, may have closed this series out in four games; instead, Cleveland was forced to use a bigger lineup that featured rising superstar centers Timofey Mosgov and Tristan Thompson playing in tandem. The size advantage proved moot to an inspired Warriors team that went 51-31 last season, good for fifth seed honors but an early NBA playoff exit.
Cleveland managed to best Golden State on the offensive boards 16-6, winning the overall rebound battle 49-44. However. Golden State went 12-30 behind the arc while Cleveland missed 23 of 27. Both teams shot below 72 percent from the charity stripe.
Game 5 is Sunday night in Oakland.
