NBA: Kevin Durant scores 39 as Golden State Warriors win championship
The Golden State Warriors secured their second NBA championship in three seasons with a 129-120 Game Five win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, capping a near-perfect run through the playoffs.
The Warriors, who beat Cleveland in the 2015 Finals only to lose to them last year after squandering a 3-1 series lead, went a record-setting 15-1 in the playoffs, their only loss coming in Game Four of the best-of-seven championship.
The win provided redemption for the Warriors, who brought Kevin Durant over from the Oklahoma City Thunder last offseason to bolster their already high-powered offense.
Durant, who lost in his only previous Finals appearance in 2012, led the way for the Warriors with 39 points and was relieved after feeling pressure to deliver prior to the game.
“I couldn’t sleep for two days,” Durant, who was named the Finals MVP, said during an on-court interview. “I was anxious, I was jittery.
“I just wanted to lay it all out there. I put in work, I just had to trust in it. We were really good tonight.”
Cavaliers’ forward LeBron James had a game-high 41 points and guard Kyrie Irving hit tough shots all night but defensive breakdowns by Cleveland led to easy baskets late in …read more
