Warriors win second NBA title in 3 years

OAKLAND - It was billed the Trilogy. The Three-Match. Warriors-Cavaliers III. The third matchup between champions in three years did not disappoint.

In Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday, the Golden State Warriors held off a stubborn Cleveland team, 129-120, to win their second championship in three years.

They did it with near-perfection, rolling through three rounds of playoffs undefeated and barely challenged, going 12-0 heading into the finals against the Cavaliers.

And despite losing just one game to Cleveland, this championship did not come easy.

This was, after all, the LeBron James-led defending NBA champions. The same Cavs who staged a historic comeback last year to dethrone the 2015 Warriors from their seat atop the NBA.

“We learned from everything we’ve been through,” said guard Stephen Curry, who scored 34 Monday, second only on the Warriors to Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant’s 39.

James scored a game high 41.

After coming so far last year only to let it slip away in seven games, the Warriors added All-Star and league MVP Durant to the mix of an already record-setting team - a lineup filled with stars in their own right.

Durant, who lost in the 2012 Finals when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder and crumpled afterward into the arms of his mother in tears, came to Golden State to win a title.

“We did it,” he told his mother, Wanda, Monday night as yellow confetti fell from the heights of Oracle Arena. “I told you when I was 8 years old.”

As the final horn blew, James, Durant’s adversary for much of the time on-court, grabbed Durant in a huge hug.

James has played in the past seven NBA Finals with the Miami Heat and Cleveland, winning three titles.

Durant, whose teammates were pulling for him to win a championship as much as for themselves, heaped praise on everyone but himself.

“This is a great group of guys, a great community, a great arena, great fans,” he said. “I’m so happy to be part of it.”

Shrugging off the ugly memories of last year’s collapse, this year’s Warriors set their sights on a 2017 championship from day one.

Though they couldn’t pull off a perfect postseason, the Warriors’ 16-1 record through this year’s playoffs was still a record.

Going into the Finals, they were heavily favored, mostly because of Durant’s addition. They soundly defeated the Cavs in the first two games, prompting talk of a sweep.

But Cleveland and James were not about to go down without a win, and drubbed the Warriors in Game 4 as badly as Golden State did in the opener.

That set up a familiar 3-1 lead for the Warriors. That’s where they lost it last season, allowing Cleveland to roar back as Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5. The Cavaliers took the series in seven, in Oakland.

The Warriors felt it was their year, particularly with what Durant brings to a team. But the 137-116 loss in Game 4 in Cleveland sowed small seeds of doubt.

Could the Cavaliers come back again?

Closing out is difficult, Golden State coach Steve Kerr said.

Monday’s game almost never felt completely in hand, until the final few minutes - even though the Warriors were up at one time by 17 points.

“It was a typical closeout game,” said Kerr, who’s been in five as a player and now two as a coach. “It seems like every closeout game is difficult. You’re nervous, you have all this energy. It’s usually not pretty from the beginning.”

It wasn’t.

The first quarter left a feeling that the game could go either way.

The Warriors shot just 42 percent from the floor (10 of 24) while Cleveland made 63 percent of its shots (15 of 24). Still, the Warriors were down only by four, 37-33.

Then Golden State went on a tear in the second quarter, outscoring Cleveland 21-6 over the next 7:20 to take a commanding 54-43 lead.

The Warriors turned an 8-point Cavs first-quarter lead into a 17-point Warriors advantage with 1:10 left in the first half when Curry was fouled by Richard Jefferson and hit both foul shots to go up, 69-52.

Durant scored 13 and Curry added 12 in the second quarter.

The Warriors were still shooting below average, but better - 47 percent - by the half, and took advantage of 16-of-20 free-throw shooting, 9 of 11 from Curry.

In a game that officiating was being closely watched after the previous game, Cleveland was whistled for 14 fouls and Golden State 10 in the first half.

But Cleveland wasn’t going away.

Golden State took an 11-point lead into the third quarter, but Cleveland chipped away until Tristan Thompson scored on an alley oop dunk from James that cut the lead to 90-86 with 3:34 left in the quarter.

Cleveland outscored Golden State 33-27 in the quarter to trail by five, 98-93, going into the final 12 minutes.

Andre Iguodala, who was named MVP two years ago in the Warriors championship run, said his team has immense patience - and learned from Game 4’s defeat.

“As can you see, the way we took care of the ball in the fourth quarter and we didn’t panic when they made their runs, I think that was growth,” he said.

In a shootaround before the game, Iguodala said he had a conversation with Kerr that set the tone.

“He said, ‘How many minutes you got? I said, ‘Whatever you need. I’ll be ready.’ And I kind of just had a good feeling, that inkling like tonight’s the night to attack and get it over with.”

Iguodala had a postseason high 20 points.

Coming out strong in the fourth quarter looking to extend the five-point lead, Durant scored on a 17-foot fadeaway jumper, followed by Iguodala’s 27-foot 3-point shot after a pass from Durant.

Durant knocked the ball away from James and moments later hit a 25-foot step back jumper to put the Warriors up 106-98.

While it wasn’t over, it began to feel like the Warriors had the game won. Cleveland never got closer than six points from then.

“It was 55 seconds left and I went over to the half court line and I bent down and I’m like, ‘Is this really happening?’” Durant said after the game, clutching his MVP trophy and wearing goggles to protect his eyes from locker-room champagne sprays.

James spoke for his team after the loss: “Golden State is a worthy opponent, obviously been the best team in our league for the last three years, the best team this year, and they showcased that throughout the postseason.”

Kerr praised his team’s unselfishness, particularly at a time when there was much talk about trying to fit a player of Durant’s status in a team that already had defined stars and role-players who could be starters on another team.

“You’ve got a bunch of guys who are talented and can shoot and pass and dribble, and they’re unselfish,” he said. There was never any question in my mind that this was going to work. This is the culmination of a year where they grew together and learned each other’s games and got better and better all year, and it was just phenomenal to be part of.”

For his part, Curry isn’t satisfied with two championships in three years: “I want to do it again.”