Kevin Durant capped his spectacular first season with the Warriors by bringing home that coveted National Basketball Association championship he joined Golden State in July so determined to get. "It's a combination of talent and an unselfish nature".
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant gestures as he holds the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award after Game 5 of basketball's NBA Finals between the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Oakland, Calif., Monday, June 12, 2017.
James' dunk gave the Cavaliers all of the momentum.
"This is history. We're going down as one of the best teams ever, and that's a special thing you can not take away from us", reserve Andre Iguodala said.
"I hear all the narratives throughout the season that I was joining, I was hopping on bandwagons, I was letting everybody else do the work", Durant said.
"The toughest challenge was to come in here and see how I can help Steph get better, see how I can help Klay get better, Draymond, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, JaVale McGee, the whole team, just see how I can help them get better, that was more important to me than anything". Before this series, his best performance in a series defeat was probably from the 2009 Eastern Conference finals, when the Cavs lost to the Orlando Magic in six games despite James averaging 38.5 points, 8 rebounds and 8.3 assists. Thompson and West went at each other face to face. It took him until his third Finals appearance to get a championship, when his Heat beat the Thunder in the 2012 Finals.
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They did it in typical Warriors fashion, a stunning 21-2 blitz in the second quarter giving them control of the game and holding off every run Cleveland made at them in the second half. Then it was Golden State's turn again, taking the title in five games.
"I can't believe it, but I have to", Durant said recently of where he is after a decade. The Cavaliers made 15 of 24 shots in the first quarter to seize a 37-33 lead, James and Irving each scoring 12 points in the period, as did Curry for Golden State. That stung ever since, and even Durant understood, because he gave up the same lead to the Warriors a round earlier with Oklahoma City.
James' barreling drive and reverse layup past Durant had cut Golden State's lead to three, but Durant didn't wait long to answer.
Both were joined by Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith in getting technical fouls with 3:08 remaining in the second quarter before cooler heads prevailed, although James yelled at Durant for an extended span over the incident.
And, with James and Kyrie Irving doing all they could to extend the series, it was Durant who put the Warriors on his back again late in game five - totalling 39 points in another outstanding show of his offensive brilliance.
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