The NBA finals consisted of the Cleveland Cavaliers representing the Eastern conference and the Golden State Warriors representing the western conference team.
The Warriors won game one with a final score of 113, while Cavaliers scored only 91 points. This lead the Warriors to be up by one game. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant combined for 66 points, 14 rebounds, and 18 assists, and Klay Thompson and Draymond green provided much needed defense despite Thompson shooting just three of 16 from the field, and going 0-5 from downtown.
Game one consisted of great performances from LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, but the Warrior’s defense helped override the rest of the Cavaliers’ role players. Although Golden State had a few turnovers, the powerful duo of Durant and Curry were able to continue on the offensive end and manage to pull through with a 21 point lead by the end of third quarter.
According to nba.com, “Cleveland’s 20 turnovers were tied for the most they’ve committed in 55 playoff games over the last three years.”
Golden State Warriors won game two as well, once again blowing out the cavs 132-113.
A close victory in game three put the Warriors up 3-0 in the series with a potential sweep seeming likely. The final score of 118-113, was the only competitive and back and forth game in the finals up to that point. The Warriors were able to lead the Cavaliers 3-0 after another big performance from Kevin Durant making great plays throughout the whole game. The Warriors also set a new NBA finals record with nine 3-pointers in the first quarter. The previous record was only seven.
Facing elimination, as well as the potential of getting swept at home court, the Cavaliers were able to pull through and manage to win game four with a score of 137-116. It took a historic offensive performance from the Cavaliers to finally defeat the Warriors in the playoffs, snatching away their 15 game winning streak in the playoffs and preventing them from going a perfect 16-0 in the playoffs.
The final score of game five was 129-120, making Golden State the Nba Champions. Durant scored a total of 39 points, had seven rebounds, and five assists with his counterpart, LeBron James also scoring a 41 points, and dishing out eight assists, with 13 rebounds With only 10:14 remaining in the second, Warriors were resilient and eventually were able to take a lead of 45-43.
Durant who was named finals MVP, helped lead the way with scoring 39 points, having seven rebounds, and five assists.
Curry, Thompson, Andre Iguodala, and Draymond Green have now won two championships, but Durant was able to get his first ring.
After the Golden State Warriors were not able to finish off the Cleveland Cavaliers during last year’s Nba finals, blowing away a 3-1 lead in the series, they were able to come back strong and redeem themselves defeating Cleveland Cavaliers.
