Not much happened in the third quarter, other than a flagrant foul on Love, an apparent second technical and automatic ejection on Green, a friendly exchange between pretty good friends Durant and James - both were hit with technicals - and a scrum that resulted in double technicals on Golden State's Zaza Pachulia and the Cavs' Iman Shumpert.
Both figures broke NBA Finals records, while the Cavs also made history with their 24 three-pointers in the game as they dealt the Warriors their first defeat in this season's playoffs.
No team has escaped a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series in 126 tries and the Warriors can claim the crown by winning game five at home on Monday in Oakland, California, but the Cavs made the greatest NBA Finals comeback previous year from 3-1 down to beat the Warriors.
Kevin Durant scored 35 points but the Warriors could never slow down the Cavs and missed their chance for the NBA's first ideal postseason. Yet from his plays came the next one; a behind-the-back feed to Tristan Thompson turned into a wide open corner three for Richard Jefferson.
Said fan Doug Capry: "We'll regroup". I know what losing is like.
That's the question the Cavs asked themselves in the days leading up to Game 4 after falling behind 3-0 to the explosive Warriors while wilting away from long range.
James logged a triple-double - 31 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists - to overtake Magic Johnson for the most triple-doubles in Finals history, with nine.
Kyrie Irving produced a huge scoring display as the Cavs came out on top. He scored 28 in the first half.
"We tried to limit them", Irving said.
Showing an aggressive nature from the start, the Cavaliers jumped out to an early double-digit lead and had held a 27-11 advantage just five minutes into the contest.
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And once again, their hubris and lack of emotional control came roaring back to bite them in the Golden State again.
Irving cut through Golden State's defense like a hot knife through butter scoring 40 points, including hitting 7 threes. "They had nearly 50 points (in the first quarter). We're going against a juggernaut of a team, but we're a juggernaut of a team, too". "We haven't shot the ball well".
Toss in three threes from Smith, one of them a 35-footer, and the Cavs went 13-for-22 on 3-pointers in the opening half.
As seen on TV and expressed in ESPN's box score, it was once again the Kyrie Irving and LeBron James show.
This was the fourth straight game in The Finals, dating back to last summer historic rally from being down 3-1, when the Cavs won an elimination game. Golden State also caught a break during a weird moment with 6:18 left in the period when Draymond Green was assessed a technical foul. Reserve guard Dahntay Jones was called for a technical in the first half for trash talking with Durant from the bench. However, officials indicated that Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had been called for the earlier technical, despite individuals from the scorers' table noting that officials had given the earlier technical to Green.
Warriors fans streamed into Oracle Arena Friday night hoping to witness history as their team swept the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In the third, Cleveland continued to stave off the Warriors' efforts.
"We have championship DNA as well".
"When we're making shots and playing with pace, we're a tough team to beat", Lue said. "We know it's (Game 5) going to be a challenge". We've got to be better.
The Cleveland Cavaliers needed a fast start to Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night, and they got one.? That contest will be back at Oracle Arena in Oakland, with the Cavs seeking to pull off the impossible by becoming the first National Basketball Association team ever to come back from a 3-0 deficit. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 pm ET. "We're battle tested, they're battle tested".
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