10.1 seconds left in overtime. He then harassed Stephen Curry as he had all night into an air-ball jumper as the Cleveland Cavalierssurvived a furious Warriors rally in regulation for a 95-93 victory that evened the series at one game apiece heading back to Cleveland on Tuesday night. Led by LeBron James’s triple-double (39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists), the Cavaliers built an 11-point lead with 3 minutes 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter. But the Warriors who had misfired on 3-pointers all night, with Curry the worst culprit (2 for 15) stormed back to send a second straight game to overtime on a driving scoop by Curry. In overtime, Curry hit two free throws to give Golden State a 93-92 lead with 29.2 seconds left. After Draymond Green blocked a James drive, Cleveland’s James Jones fired a 3-point attempt from the right corner that missed. But Dellavedova, at 6 feet 4 inches, got into the lane, got his hands on the ball and was fouled trying to tap it in. He made both free throws and then aggressively defended against Curry’s left-side jumper. Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 34 points, but his team made only 8 of 35 3-point shots many of them rushed from deep against a gritty defense. For all the great talent on the floor, the story of the game was that of Dellavedova, a second-year guard. The Game 1 injury a fractured left kneecap that took Irving out of a playoff series once again thrust Dellavedova into the starting lineup. But Dellavedova, who played his college ball at nearby St. Mary’s, had already had a memorable and turbulent postseason. With his playing time increased while Irving was struggling with tendinitis in his knee and a sprained foot, Dellavedova gave the Cavaliers a lift with long-range shooting and all-around hustle. But what was inspiring for Cleveland was infuriating for opponents. After entanglements with Dellavedova led to the ejection of Chicago’s Taj Gibson in the second round and Atlanta’s Al Horford in the Eastern Conference finals and after Dellavedova fell into Kyle Korver while pursuing a loose ball and Korver left with an injury all of Cleveland, James included, was insisting Dellavedova was merely scrappy, not dirty. But Irving who was also born in Australia while his father, Drederick, was playing pro basketball there acknowledged that he and Dellavedova had had their share of practice tussles as Dellavedova battled for bench minutes. Andrew Bogut, the Warriors’ center and another Australian, agreed before the game that Dellavedova could provide the energy and emotional lift the Cavaliers probably needed after the deflating news on Irving. Dellavedova may not have been recognizable to the Uber driver who drove him into San Francisco after he missed the team bus earlier in the week, but “he’s a big-game player,” Bogut said. “Big shots in college, big shots for the national team. He’s always doubted and that’s what he thrives on.” The downside for the Cavaliers and no small concern for them was how they would compensate for Irving’s ability to create off the dribble and, at the same time, ease some of the pressure on James to manufacture scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. That was not the concern of Warriors Coach Steve Kerr, whose job it was to make sure his team did not start to believe that destiny had already chosen its champion. “This is a team that has dealt with this throughout the playoffs,” he said before the game. “I’m talking about Cleveland dealing with Kevin Love’s absence, dealing with Kyrie’s absence the last series. They’re still a great team. Dellavedova has come in and done a hell of a job.” Maybe it was coincidence, Curry being due for an off night, or the fact that Dellavedova was annoying him (or at least not losing track of him when Curry was on the move without the ball). But in the first half, Curry was far off his form from the regular season, when he was named the league’s most valuable player. Misfiring from afar and from inside the lane, he made two of his first 12 shots, scoring 8 points. Luckily for the Warriors, Thompson, his Splash Brothers partner, was up to the task of carrying a sluggish, turnover-prone offense. Otherwise, the Warriors would have risked being blown out. Thompson scored 21 first-half points, making nine of 13 shots. His teammates were 8 for 25. James aside, the Cavaliers were not much better as J. R. Smith continued his struggles from Game 1 and Dellavedova missed all three of his attempts. But James, hit with criticism that he had settled for a long jumper with a chance to win Game 1 in regulation, attacked the lane with regularity, creating havoc within the Warriors’ interior defense. His 20 early points were encouraging enough, but with six assists, he also helped Timofey Mozgov score 11 and his old Miami buddy Jones contribute 8 off the bench. A Curry 3-pointer with Dellavedova on the bench drove a late run that cut a 7-point Cavaliers lead to 46-45 at the half; the Cavaliers then inched it up to 62-59 after three quarters. By the end of the fourth, the teams had played eight regulation quarters in the Warriors’ building where there were blowouts aplenty this season and the only way to separate them was overtime. Now they return to Cleveland, locked up. The message from Sunday night: Never count out the king, and don’t crown the Warriors champions just yet. Correction:June 8, 2015 An earlier version of this article misstated the score after three quarters. It was 62-59, not 62-49.
Monday, June 08, 2015
N.B.A. Finals: Matthew Dellavedova Shines in Cavaliers’ Taut Win
10.1 seconds left in overtime. He then harassed Stephen Curry as he had all night into an air-ball jumper as the Cleveland Cavalierssurvived a furious Warriors rally in regulation for a 95-93 victory that evened the series at one game apiece heading back to Cleveland on Tuesday night. Led by LeBron James’s triple-double (39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists), the Cavaliers built an 11-point lead with 3 minutes 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter. But the Warriors who had misfired on 3-pointers all night, with Curry the worst culprit (2 for 15) stormed back to send a second straight game to overtime on a driving scoop by Curry. In overtime, Curry hit two free throws to give Golden State a 93-92 lead with 29.2 seconds left. After Draymond Green blocked a James drive, Cleveland’s James Jones fired a 3-point attempt from the right corner that missed. But Dellavedova, at 6 feet 4 inches, got into the lane, got his hands on the ball and was fouled trying to tap it in. He made both free throws and then aggressively defended against Curry’s left-side jumper. Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 34 points, but his team made only 8 of 35 3-point shots many of them rushed from deep against a gritty defense. For all the great talent on the floor, the story of the game was that of Dellavedova, a second-year guard. The Game 1 injury a fractured left kneecap that took Irving out of a playoff series once again thrust Dellavedova into the starting lineup. But Dellavedova, who played his college ball at nearby St. Mary’s, had already had a memorable and turbulent postseason. With his playing time increased while Irving was struggling with tendinitis in his knee and a sprained foot, Dellavedova gave the Cavaliers a lift with long-range shooting and all-around hustle. But what was inspiring for Cleveland was infuriating for opponents. After entanglements with Dellavedova led to the ejection of Chicago’s Taj Gibson in the second round and Atlanta’s Al Horford in the Eastern Conference finals and after Dellavedova fell into Kyle Korver while pursuing a loose ball and Korver left with an injury all of Cleveland, James included, was insisting Dellavedova was merely scrappy, not dirty. But Irving who was also born in Australia while his father, Drederick, was playing pro basketball there acknowledged that he and Dellavedova had had their share of practice tussles as Dellavedova battled for bench minutes. Andrew Bogut, the Warriors’ center and another Australian, agreed before the game that Dellavedova could provide the energy and emotional lift the Cavaliers probably needed after the deflating news on Irving. Dellavedova may not have been recognizable to the Uber driver who drove him into San Francisco after he missed the team bus earlier in the week, but “he’s a big-game player,” Bogut said. “Big shots in college, big shots for the national team. He’s always doubted and that’s what he thrives on.” The downside for the Cavaliers and no small concern for them was how they would compensate for Irving’s ability to create off the dribble and, at the same time, ease some of the pressure on James to manufacture scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. That was not the concern of Warriors Coach Steve Kerr, whose job it was to make sure his team did not start to believe that destiny had already chosen its champion. “This is a team that has dealt with this throughout the playoffs,” he said before the game. “I’m talking about Cleveland dealing with Kevin Love’s absence, dealing with Kyrie’s absence the last series. They’re still a great team. Dellavedova has come in and done a hell of a job.” Maybe it was coincidence, Curry being due for an off night, or the fact that Dellavedova was annoying him (or at least not losing track of him when Curry was on the move without the ball). But in the first half, Curry was far off his form from the regular season, when he was named the league’s most valuable player. Misfiring from afar and from inside the lane, he made two of his first 12 shots, scoring 8 points. Luckily for the Warriors, Thompson, his Splash Brothers partner, was up to the task of carrying a sluggish, turnover-prone offense. Otherwise, the Warriors would have risked being blown out. Thompson scored 21 first-half points, making nine of 13 shots. His teammates were 8 for 25. James aside, the Cavaliers were not much better as J. R. Smith continued his struggles from Game 1 and Dellavedova missed all three of his attempts. But James, hit with criticism that he had settled for a long jumper with a chance to win Game 1 in regulation, attacked the lane with regularity, creating havoc within the Warriors’ interior defense. His 20 early points were encouraging enough, but with six assists, he also helped Timofey Mozgov score 11 and his old Miami buddy Jones contribute 8 off the bench. A Curry 3-pointer with Dellavedova on the bench drove a late run that cut a 7-point Cavaliers lead to 46-45 at the half; the Cavaliers then inched it up to 62-59 after three quarters. By the end of the fourth, the teams had played eight regulation quarters in the Warriors’ building where there were blowouts aplenty this season and the only way to separate them was overtime. Now they return to Cleveland, locked up. The message from Sunday night: Never count out the king, and don’t crown the Warriors champions just yet. Correction:June 8, 2015 An earlier version of this article misstated the score after three quarters. It was 62-59, not 62-49.
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