Golden State jumped out to a big lead, going up 28–15 in the 1st quarter. However, the Cavaliers went on a big run to cut the deficit to 2 at halftime, trailing 45–43. Cleveland carried that momentum into the 2nd half, taking an early 47–45 lead in the third quarter. This was the only time in the 2nd half that the Cavs would get a lead. Golden state took over the basketball game from there out, outscored the Cavaliers 28–18 in the 3rd quarter. The Warriors were, at one point, leading by as many 15 before taking a 12 point lead into the 4th, leading 73–61. Once the 4th quarter got rolling, the Cavs cut the deficit down to 7, but the Warriors pushed the lead back to 15.
The Cavaliers, led by J.R. Smith, made a late surge to cut it to 4 with under 40 seconds remaining. However, the Warriors hit their free throws and closed out the series clinching win, giving the franchise their first title since 1975. Lebron finished the game with 32 points, followed by 19 from J.R. Smith and 17 from Timofey Mozgov and last but not least, 15 points from Tristin Thompson. They were the only Cavs players to hit double digits in points in this basketball game.
Golden State woke up after falling down early. Stephen Curry dropped nine of his twenty five points in the 1st, all of it coming in a span of 4:15. Then Igoudala took over from there. He hit three of four shots after missing his first three shots. Ball movement proved to be the key to Golden State’s early success, as the Dubs recorded assists on 11 of their 12 first quarter field goals. Cleveland didn’t do themselves any favors, as the Warriors notched 14 points off the Cavs’ nine turnovers. Cleveland spent most of the game shooting themselves in the foot.
Its no surprise that J.R. Smith didn't really show up till the basketball game was already out of reach. That doesn't come as a surprise, that has been J.R. Smith's MO his entire career. He plays when he wants to. To a degree I almost felt bad for Lebron. Almost. The guy had a fantastic series, practically carrying the Cavs on his back. He's only one guy, it's not possible for him to do everything himself. The two guys you would expect to be his supporting cast were hurt. The rest of the team had a chance to step up and help. Mozgov did an admirable job, so too did Thompson, but that was about it. There had been some questionable coaching by David Blatt, like not playing Mozgov more early in the series. I'll give Cleveland credit for going down fighting in game six, as they had a couple of good runs in the 2nd and 4th quarters. But it wasn't enough.
Golden State did in the finals, what they did against Memphis in the West Finals. Were down early in the series, made adjustments and dominated the rest of the series.Stephen Curry and Andre Igoudala each dropped 25 points. Then you chip in 16 from Draymond Green, and 10 each from Sean Livingston and Festus Ezeli. This goes to show the difference between Cleveland and Golden State. Golden State had their big gun in Stephen Curry, just like the Cavs have Lebron. Golden State had more depth scoring and role players, something which the Cavs never did. Even if they would play, it wouldn't be until the game was pretty much out of reach. Golden State was a dominating team this season, beating the league going wire to wire to win the crown/
Andre Igoudala, who did not start for the Warriors until Game 4 of the Finals, was named the Finals MVP for his instrumental defense against LeBron James. Igoudala came in the series in game four and had a major impact, shutting Lebron down and forcing the rest of the Cavaliers to try and help out the King, which is something they clearly weren't ready for.
So congratulations to the Golden State Warriors, your 2015 NBA Champions!
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