Oracle rumble ends in victory dance
The Cavaliers walked into Oracle Arena on Sunday night and punched the Warriors square in the mouth.
Golden State punched back. And the brawl was on.
The sheer physicality of Game 5 was something to behold. Big- boy basketball played by large, large men. Back and forth it went, brutal pick after vicious screen. If Cleveland’s intention was to test Golden State’s mettle, the Warriors passed with flying colors. Black and blue, to be precise.
The West Coast finesse team could play East Coast basketbrawl, all right. And then follow it up with some basket ballet. That’s how it went in Golden State’s Game 5 victory over Cleveland. The first half was a physical free- for- all. Then, having survived the onslaught, the Warriors checked to see if the Cavs could hang with their free- flowing, three- ball circus.
That test came back a winner, too: Warriors 104, Cavs 91.
There has been a lot of talk about intensity and desire throughout these Finals. The Warriors seemed to lack the requisite fire for the first three games, finding it only in Game 4, when they blew past the Cavaliers by running them off the court with a small lineup.
Cleveland countered in Game 5 with its own small lineup, but it packed a punch. Literally.
The Warriors had jumped out to an early lead, using a fast- paced attack led by Golden State’s own point- forward, Draymond Green, who was doing his impression of LeBron James, pushing the ball and scoring a quick 10 points.
Midway through the first quarter, Cavs shooting guard J. R. Smith set the physical tone, lowering his shoulder and dropping the stout Green right onto his keister. The brutal collision riled up the crowd at Oracle. And they let the refs hear it. Smith was assessed a flagrant foul and the shoving match was on.
The Warriors’ Leandro Barbosa checked in and returned the favor, flattening a Cavalier as he fought through a screen. ... Green hooked elbows with Matthew Dellavedova, crashing to the ground with the spunky, punky Cleveland point guard, as the boos rained down. ... The Cavs’ James Jones committed a very rough foul on Andre Iguodala, hooking the Warrior’s arm while driving the lane. ... Dellavedova spent the second quarter harassing Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, who had an extraspecial revenge waiting for the Aussie in the second half.
The hits came fast and furious, and Cavs coach David Blatt was just fine with that.
“I thought that was the flow of the game,” said Blatt. “We’ve tried and should be physical, as does the other team.”
Some of the Warriors were less than enthralled with the physical strategy.
“I was a little angry at what took place,” said Green, specifically referring to his tussle with Dellavedova. “I was upset when it happened.”
This is not a new tactic against the Warriors. It usually starts with teams harassing Curry, and Cleveland has been no exception. And it makes sense. One look at Curry and teams immediately think: We can push this guy around. You’d be thinking wrong, of course. The league MVP has shown for years that he can take the best NBA giants have to offer and not miss a note.
“Well, I think this team — going back to when Steph first got in the league and he first started establishing himself as that guy — he’d seen it a lot,” said Iguodala, who was on the receiving end of a series of late- game fouls from the Cavs. “Even when I played against him in the playoffs when I was in Denver, there was talk of, ‘ Let’s get into him. Let’s hit him and see how he responds to being physical.’
“So I think he’s seen it a lot throughout his career. We’ve seen it this year a lot, even in the regular season. So we know how to adjust, stay physical, but not let it take us away from who we really are.”
On Sunday night, Curry responded to the rugged first half with a second half for the ages, trading shots with James in a spectacular shootout that will be remembered alongside the best Jordan and Bird and Magic and Isiah ever offered in the NBA Finals. It was all capped by a fantastic sequence with a behind theback, crossover, fadeaway three- pointer over Dellavedova that should stand as Curry’s signature moment in the series.
Golden State beat back Cleveland’s muscular bullying with artistic, creative, beautiful basketball.
Curry and the Warriors had taken the Cavs’ best punch, and they countered with a knockout blow of their own ... Warriors style.