Warriors Blow Out Cavaliers 103-82 in Game 4 to Even NBA finals
The Warriors made some bold adjustments in Game 4 and they paid off in a big way. The Warriors played a small ball line up with 6'7 forward Draymond Green taking the place of the struggling Andrew Bogut. Head coach Steve Kerr also handed Andre Iguodala his first start of the season, and the veteran forward responded in a huge way. The former all-star poured in a playoff high 22 points on 8-15 shooting, while chipping in 8 rebounds and some superb defence on Lebron James.
The Cavaliers superstar was unable to keep up his historic scoring pace in Game 4. Through the first three games, the four time MVP was averaging a simply mind boggling 41 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists per game. In Game 4, James could only muster 20 points on 7-22 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds and assists. By no means a bad box score, but James knows nothing less than perfection will suffice if he wants to lead his hometown Cavaliers to their first NBA championship in franchise history. James received a gash on the side of his head when he collided with a camera on the sidelines.
"Offensively we were terrible," James said, noting the Cavs were 4-of-27 on 3-pointers. "Sometimes, your offense just doesn't show up."
The Warriors on the other hand finally resembled the juggernaut that torched the league during the regular season. Their number ranked defence stymied the Cavs, forcing them to shoot an abysmal 33% from the field as a team. The Cavaliers role players were a non-factor in Game 4. The recently hospitalized Matthew Dellavedova only chipped in 10 points on 3-14 shooting, while JR Smith and Iman Shumpert also posted similar stat lines. The lone bright spot was Cavs center Timofey Mozgov, who notched a team high 28 points to go with 12 boards.
Reigning MVP Stephen Curry regained the shooting touch that has eluded him for the first three games. He dropped 22 points, including 4 three pointers and a host of highlight reel plays.
The Warriors will look to take a 3-2 series lead when Game 5 tips off this Sunday.