Warriors are 2015 NBA Champions!
Warriors first NBA championship since 1975
2015.06.16 – CLEVELAND – Strength in numbers, Warriors finished the Cleveland Cavaliers with a complete team balanced effort from offense and defense.
The Dubs beat the Cavaliers with a systematic 105-97 win in Game 6 of the NBA Finals and found themselves celebrating a new title. Warriors are NBA Champions!
The newly minted NBA Champions captured its first championship trophy since 1975, using the balanced formula it had relied all season long.
From day one, Stephen Curry’s leadership and 3 point shooting, plus contributions from up and down their roster, the Dubs with a highest-scoring offense and a swarming, top-ranked defense under coach Steve Kerr, a five-time champion as a player.
“I think what was probably overlooked all year long was that what really wins is the combination of great offense and great defense,” said Kerr. “Whether you’re shooting threes or twos, it’s about the balance. To win a title, you have to be able to make stops.”
Despite averaging 35.8 points per game in the series, LeBron James’ 32-point night and the injury-plagued Cavaliers were no match for such an opponent as Cleveland’s 51-year major professional sports championship drought continues.
Klay Thompson smiled with the NBA Championship Trophy beside him and pointed at Curry, saying the Warriors are “the best team in the world with the best player in the world.”
Curry, who led the Warriors with 25 points, threw the ball toward the heavens as the final buzzer was about to sound. He embraced Kerr and what the coach preached.
“Every decision he made, I think everybody bought into it,” Curry said. “Whether you understood it or not, you bought into it. Because he’s a champion.”
When Kerr stood on the stage at Quicken Loans Arena, the first two players he mentioned were Andre Iguodala and David Lee, former All-Stars who had accepted bench roles in the regular season.
Iguodala ultimately became the Finals MVP after his insertion in the starting lineup turned around the series, and he scored 25 points in the clinching win. Kerr said the award was fitting given all that Iguodala had sacrificed.
Draymond Green, propelled the team, with a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
“They can still say, ‘Oh, he’s too small, he’s too this, he’s too that,’ ” Green said of the doubters. “They can never take this away from me.”
“Ever,” added owner Joe Lacob, who had promised to deliver a championship after buying the team in 2010.
Even on a night when Thompson was held to five points and fouled out, the Warriors could not be stopped and showed just how well-rounded they were with what Iguodala called “a team of believers.”
The Warriors clinched the championship with a decisive victory much like the ones they had all through a 67-win regular season.
The Warriors dominated the first quarter and led 28-15, with Iguodala serving as the spark plug in the Warriors’ small lineup.
James, who was 13 for 33 from the field, kept coming. He hit a 3-pointer to start an 8-2 run that cut the Warriors’ lead to 45-43 at halftime.
“Every time I’d get past (Iguodala), another guy would step up — Draymond Green or whatever the case may be,” James said.
The Warriors gave major minutes to Shaun Livingston after Iguodala committed his third foul, as he took on the defensive assignment against James.
Leandro Barbosa also played as much in the first half as Thompson, who committed three fouls in 10 minutes.
The Cavaliers took the lead briefly with back-to-back baskets to start the second half, but Harrison Barnes hit his third 3-pointer of the game to put the Warriors back on top. Iguodala had a dunk, and Green hit a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 53-47 lead.
Then the Warriors ran away from the Cavaliers, pushing the ball in transition off missed shots and turnovers. During the last eight minutes, it was very clear the Warriors were just too much.
Their full worth was on display in Game 6 as they defied the perception they live and die by 3-pointers, especially when they needed to most.
The Warriors knocked down five in a span of less than four minutes, each one snatching a chunk out of the Cavaliers’ hope.
Stephen Curry started it. And Klay Thompson broke out of a nightmare performance to hit a dagger 3. Then Iguodala twisted it with a 3-pointer from the corner.
Iguodala added five rebounds, five assists and two steals as Warriors forged a 15-point lead entering the final five minutes of the fourth quarter.
Then, Kerr took him off the floor with 3:40 left to prevent the Cavaliers from intentionally fouling him. The Cavs rallied and with 1:50 left, Kerr sent Iguodala back into the game.
After Cleveland fought within four points, Iguodala grabbed two key rebounds in the final 21 seconds and was fouled both times. He made one of two free throws each time, helping to clinch the victory.
The Cavaliers didn’t stand a chance, because the Warriors could win with defense. They could outscore and beat teams. Their starting lineup was well-rounded yet they could switch and go small, like they did to change the tide of the Finals.
If the star players were off, the bench players filled in. And when nothing seemed to go right, they had MVP Curry, who could take over games and pull off something spectacular.
More than an hour after the game ended, the usually reserved Thompson returned to the locker room and screamed. “We won the championship! We did it!”
Read more at: Golden State Warriors Media Services / More AP NBA
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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