OAKLAND — Game 4 had erased the Warriors’ chance at playoff perfection. Game 5 was attached to rising angst about a repeat of last June’s collapse in the Finals.
But what always felt inevitable was finally made official late Monday night: the Warriors are NBA champions again, for the second time in three years, clinching the 2017 title with a 129-120 putaway of LeBron James and his powerful Cavaliers.
Before the final buzzer sounded, the Warriors shoveled the ball over the Kevin Durant, allowing him to dribble out the clock and bask in the moment, beginning an emotional celebration of the first major sports title won by a Bay Area team at home since 1974.
For Durant, this was the long-awaited NBA title No. 1, finally obtained in Year 10, playing for his second franchise. And in these Finals, it was well-earned. He had the dunk-fest in Game 1, the block-fest in Game 2, the iconic 3 in Game 3 and the loud closing statement to help seal Game 5, taking home the Finals MVP trophy.
“I hear all the narratives throughout the season that I was joining, I was hopping on the bandwagon, I was letting everybody else do the work,” Durant said. “But then that was far from the truth.”
And still, the Warriors only led by three points after LeBron James scored on the first possession of the fourth quarter. You could feel the nervousness circling the building.
But on the following possession, the Warriors just dumped it to Durant high up on the right post and he jab-stepped a defending LeBron and then planted a jumper right over him. The next time down, after a defensive stop, the Warriors went right back to the well and the Cavaliers, fearing the same result, tossed an extra help defender Durant’s way.
Durant perfectly read the situation, fired a cross-court pass into Andre Iguodala’s shooting pocket and the super-sub continued his huge night by burying a 3, jumping the lead back to eight.
The sequence summed up the series, a third version of Warriors-Cavaliers but the first with a Durant injection. Cleveland had an answer for plenty, but not Durant, not in the series-deciding moments.
Durant outplayed LeBron in Game 1 finishing with 38 points and zero turnovers. He backed it up with a 33-point, 13-rebound, 5-block Hakeem Olajuwon-like Game 2, stuffing a Kevin Love post-up to punctuate the dominant win.
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Then in Game 3, with the series teetering between a competition and a steamroll, he ripped out Cleveland’s hearts with a 7-0 run in the final minute, highlighted by the shot of his life — and he’s made nearly 7,000 of them in the NBA — a 26-footer from the left wing, one of his favorite spots on the floor, released high above LeBron James’ helpless contest.
Both Durant and the Warriors blew their first closeout chance in Game 4. But they were delivered a prime chance to vanquish that loss — and the 3-1 ghosts that haunted them — at home in Game 5. And though the Cavaliers crawled and LeBron played unbelievably, they were helpless to Durant’s lethal efficiency in the game’s biggest moments, impossible to contain him amid the other stars the Warriors already had.
“There’s some games I might not get shots, as many shots as I’m used to getting,” Durant said. “Some games where Steph is going to go off and hit 13 threes or Klay might hit 60 or Draymond might get a triple-double with no points. But nobody cared as long as we won.”
The Cavaliers had a strong start. But two Durant 3s helped bring the Warriors back in the first half. Then, as Cleveland tried to climb back in the second half, Durant continually delivered jab after jab to stagger the Cavaliers back.
Right after the pass to Iguodala to put the Warriors up eight, Durant nailed a 3 to erase the Kevin Love and-1 seconds prior. When a Kyle Korver 3 with 8:27 left cut it to six, Durant sliced backdoor for an easy dunk, uncontested just like the six dunks he had in the first half of Game 1.
“I played him in the 2012 Finals to now,” LeBron said. “Experience is the best teacher in life.”
In all, Durant made 14 of 20 shots, including five of eight from beyond the arc in the clincher. For the series, he shot 56 percent from the field. He scored at least 30 in every game. He led the team in rebounds and blocks.
And he dribbled out the clock in that final moment, sealing the win and then — after a congratulatory hug from LeBron — celebrated with his teammates and family. He got a hug from Stephen Curry. He got his TV interview interrupted by his mother: “Don’t matter what nobody say, you did it,” she told him.
Then he climbed on the stage and accepted the Finals MVP award, named after Bill Russell and delivered by Bill Russell, completing a first season with the Warriors that couldn’t have played out any better.
“Great group of guys,” Durant said. “Great community, great organization, great group of fans.”
“Kevin,” owner Joe Lacob said, “thanks for coming.”
