NBA MVP scores 38 points as reigning champions take 3-1 lead over Cleveland Cavaliers after a 108-97 win.
Stephen Curry scored 38 points and Klay Thompson had 25 to help Golden State to a 108-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Four of the NBA Finals, moving the Warriors within one victory of a second straight championship.
Golden State Warriors bounced back from an embarrassing road loss two days ago to deal a devastating blow to LeBron James’s Cavaliers, who lost their first home game of the postseason and now trail the best-of-seven NBA Finals 3-1 with Game Five scheduled for Monday in Oakland.
Of the 32 teams that have faced a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals none have ever come back to win the championship.
Kyrie Irving scored 34 points and James had 25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Cavaliers.
Cleveland went scoreless for 6:30 in the fourth quarter to lose at home for the first time in the playoffs.
The tightly contested first half, easily the most intense 24 minutes of the series so far, included 15 lead changes, which was more than the previous three games combined.
Cleveland looked ready to pull away to start the second half when they extended their lead to eight and whipped the home crowd into a lather but Golden State would not fold.
The Warriors quickly took over in the final quarter when they shored up their defense and kicked their offense into a higher gear.
With just under six minutes to play Harrison Barnes gave the Warriors their largest lead of the night up to that point when he drained a three-pointer for a 93-84 lead.
It marked a 17-point turnaround from the third quarter when Cleveland, who went without a field goal for a six-minute stretch of the fourth, led by eight points.
No team has come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals.
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