The Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 at the Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night to win their first NBA title in 40 years.
Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala scored 25 points apiece while Draymond Green had a triple-double effort of 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the Warriors clinched the best-of-seven series four games to two.
Bench players Festus Ezeli and Shaun Livingston contributed 10 points apiece. It was Golden State’s third-straight win over Cleveland after trailing 1-2 in the series.
“This is truly special. This group is a special group. From the time we started the season this is what we envisioned and a lot of hard work goes into it, all the way down to the last minute of this game,” said Curry, who also had eight assists and six rebounds. “This is what it’s all about. … We’re going to remember this for a long time.”
Iguodala, whom head coach Steve Kerr inserted in his starting line-up in the last three games, was later named Finals MVP. The veteran wingman was the first player to receive the award without starting a single game in the regular season.
Kerr, for his part, became just the seventh rookie head coach to win an NBA title and the first to achieve the feat since Pat Riley led the Los Angeles Lakers to the championship in 1982.
“The sacrifice every guy made from Andre and David (Lee) stepping away from the starting lineup, we just played,” said Kerr, who added another NBA crown in his resume after winning five titles as a player. “And they were all in it just to win. That’s all that mattered. This is an amazing group of guys.”
It was a fitting climax for the Warriors, who won a franchise and league-best 67 wins in the regular season with Curry winning the prestigious MVP award. This is Golden State’s first NBA title since Rick Barry led the California club to a sweep of the Washington Bullets in 1975.
For LeBron James and the residents of Cleveland, the five-decade title drought in major professional sports continues. The four-time MVP finished with 32 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists but his efforts were not enough to force a deciding Game 7 back in Oakland. James almost single-handedly led the Cavaliers in the playoffs after fellow All-Stars Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving suffered season-ending injuries.
JR Smith had 19 points off the bench while Timofey Mozgov posted 17 points and 12 rebounds after being a non-factor in Game 5. Tristan Thompson tallied 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Cavaliers dominated the boards 56-39.
