QUICKEN LOANS ARENA, CLEVELAND, OH — The Golden State Warriors were at “The Q” to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the 2015 NBA Finals.
Andre Iguodala started in place of Andrew Bogut for the Warriors. The Cavs’ injury report remained Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and Anderson Varejao.
1ST QUARTER: Iguodala And Lee Contribute
The Warriors got off to a shaky start, falling behind early, 7-0, with 9:43 to go, as Tristan Thompson, defended by the smaller Harrison Barnes, got a putback of a missed runner by LeBron James, although Draymond Green got switched onto him.
After an open trey from the right side went too hard off rim for Barnes, Timofey Mozgov then was a recipient of an impressive no-look over-the-head backwards pass by James from the left baseline. Mozgov dunked it through, then after a wide-open corner three miss by Iguodala, Iman Shumpert got an early catch in transition and drained the triple.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr called timeout with the Cavs taking the early seven-point skunking.
But Golden State got back on the saddle and strapped up. Out of the timeout, Stephen Curry shook Matthew Dellavedova with a crossover and buried a triple from the top…
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…James then drove on the right side and stepped on the baseline for a turnover, and Iguodala received a swing pass to find himself iso’ed against Mozgov with plenty of space between them.
Iguodala took one dribble toward the hoop, pulled up, and swished the shot.
The Cavs and Warriors then traded punches and after James used his shoulder to push Iguodala away, then crossed over for a layup down the left side, Iguodala took off 94 feet and the Warriors found him for a dunk with Mozgov trailing.
Mozgov answered with a jumper and Barnes answered back with a tic-tac-toe triple from the right corner via Green via Curry, trimming the Cavs’ lead to 12-16 with 7:14 to play.
AFter a few empty possessions by both teams, with the Cavs missing a few inside buckets and the Warriors scrambling inside on defense, Klay Thompson miss a catch-and-shoot trey from the right elbow, but Barnes got the rebound, passed it out to Green, who passed it to Curry, who drilled a trey from the top before the Cleveland defense could react.
The Cavs bigs were still an advantage over the Warriors’ interior, as JR Smith found Mozgov cutting down the lane for a lefty dunk, but Barnes made a ferocious one-handed putback slam of a missed three-pointer by Iguodala.
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Tristan Thompson then got a dunk on a pass from Mozgov who got it passed from James, then Green came back with an attack of Mozgov down the lane that banked in for an and-one, a call Draymond did not get in Game 3.
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It was 20-20 with 4:29 left and Cavs head coach David Blatt took a timeout.
The Warriors finally got some long-forgotten separation as Smith went short on a runner and Klay came back with a runner banker past Shumpert and over Mozgov…
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…then David Lee, who had subbed in for Green at the timeout, spun against Smith, lost the ball, but referee Joey Crawford blew a late whistle.
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Lee made one of two free throws.
Later, LeBron attacked the left side, got some contact but no foul on Barnes, and Curry led the break and found Iguodala with a nice-angled bounce pass for the slam.
The Warriors ended the quarter with a Lee layup assisted by Shaun Livingston…
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…an Iguodala three from the right wing, delivered by Lee on a curl away from James, and Golden State sported a 31-22 lead with 31.7 seconds remaining.
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But the inside play of the Cavs’ bigs remained strong as Tristan Thompson scored over smaller players. Curry couldn’t get a shot off as he was doubled at the arc, but somehow managed to fling a lefty that actually hit the rim at the buzzer.
The Warriors took a 31-24 lead into the second quarter.
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2ND QUARTER: Bogut Relegated To Kendrick Perkins Role, Does The Job
Leandro Barbosa and Livingston were solid off the bench, although Barbosa blew a layup on the left baseline and fouled Dellavedova on the ensuing runner.
Kerr called timeout and Klay swooped around a screen on the baseline for a catch at the arc, Shumpert fell down, taking down another Cavalier in the vicinity like a domino, Klay took one more dribble, set, and canned the triple from the right elbow.
With that, the Warriors went ahead, 38-28, but James once again stopped the Cavs’ bleeding with an iso on the right side against Livingston, attacking the middle.
Later, after a Livingston turnaround on the right baseline on a iso against Dellavedova…
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…Green finally broke his spell of missed three-pointers as Klay found him off the dribble.
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Andrew Bogut made his first appearance of the game and quickly became a factor as LeBron was left alone on the left baseline on a miscommunication by the Warriors’ defense. Bogut wrapped him up and was sent sprawling in to the baseline. James quickly grabbed his head, possibly hit by a camera. The referees reviewed the play and determined it was a common foul.
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LeBron missed one of the two freebies and the Warriors held a 44-33 lead with 4:43 to go. On the offensive end, Klay nearly threw a bad entry pass to Bogut in the left post. The ball got deflected out, Iguodala and Klay had a lively discussion, and Kerr called timeout to talk things over.
It paid off as Klay got a runner out of the timeout to fall, over Smith.
Golden State was in the penalty, but Cleveland couldn’t capitalize. LeBron missed both after Bogut fouled him again on a help as James went past Iguodala on the left baseline and Green pushed the Warriors’ lead to 15 with 3:53 to play as he got a righty banker just over the outstretch arm of Mozgov, on a pick-and-roll with Curry.
Mozgov also missed two free throws as Bogut committed his third personal.
Lee came back, found himself iso’ed against Smith, and made an inside bucket look easy. Green drew fouls inside, but couldn’t make the Cavs pay, as he missed two of four from the charity stripe.
The Warriors’ defense was sharp, but LeBron went down the lane for a must-bucket against Klay, to cut the lead to 52-42, Golden State, with 25 seconds remaining, but Curry answered back by crossing Dellavedova multiple times at the right arc, drawing body contact, then turning the corner for a righty scoop.
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Steph did his best to stay in front of Delly on the inbound, disrupting a halfcourt shot at the buzzer. Tristan Thompson two-hand dunked the wayward heave, but it was well after the buzzer.
The Warriors took a 54-42 lead into halftime.
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