LeBron James found wanting as Golden State Warriors show their muscle
Forward Andre Iguodala delivers clutch performance in rare start as best-of-seven series tied at 2-2
Andre Iguodala helped re-energise Golden State in his first start of the season and the Warriors ripped Cleveland 103-82 on Thursday to level the NBA Finals at two wins each.
On a night when Cleveland superstar LeBron James needed stitches after cutting his head on a camera, the Warriors had 22 points each from Iguodala and NBA Most Valuable Player Steph Curry while forcing a fast tempo to frustrate the Cavaliers.
“The biggest difference was we played a lot harder,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We didn’t do much differently against LeBron. We were just more competitive and more active.
Not only do we have a good first unit but we’ve got a second unit that is coming at you with the same type of speed, same type of high-IQ basketball. It’s hard to keep up with us
“We controlled the tempo and rhythm of the game. It’s not just about playing hard. It’s about playing every possession like it’s your last.”
No team have ever recovered from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals, which made it vital the Warriors avoided their first three-game losing skid of the season, which they did by starting Iguodala and using a smaller line-up to end a run of slow starts.
“We just wanted to speed up the pace a little bit,” Iguodala said. “We said, ‘Let’s throw a little wrinkle in and see how it works’.”
“Not only do we have a good first unit but we’ve got a second unit that is coming at you with the same type of speed, same type of high-IQ basketball. It’s hard to keep up with us.
“We’re going to try to keep it going.”
A bloodied James, who had been averaging 41 points in the finals, suffered two cuts to the right side of his head after a second-quarter fall and battled leg cramps and fatigue in the second half.
“He’s the best player in the world for a reason,” said Iguodala. “It was a great opportunity to see what we could do.”
Golden State opened a 63-50 edge in the third quarter before a 20-10 Cleveland run. James scored 10 points and Mozgov added eight in the rally, which ended with a James free throw cutting the Warriors lead to 73-70.
Golden State answered with a 20-7 run, Curry scoring eight points and Iguodala sinking two 3-pointers in the span as the Warriors seized a 93-77 edge with 5:35 to play, too much for the weary Cavaliers to overcome.
“Tonight we came in with the mentality that we had to win this game,” Curry said.
