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Sports
Curry, Iguodala Combine For 50 As
LeBron James: Cavaliers 'Ran Out Of Talent'
LEBRON JAMES
Warriors Close Out Cavs In Game 6
CLEVELAND -- As the final seconds ticked off and the Warriors began bouncing in celebration on their bench, Stephen Curry looked up and saw LeBron James coming at him.
James could do nothing more. He extended a conced- ing hand and congratula- tions. Moments later, Curry was hoisting a trophy in the air -- one as golden as his team.
Revived by Curry, their fresh-faced shooting super- star, and bonded by first-year coach Steve Kerr who made them believe, the Warriors ended a 40-year NBA cham- pionship drought Tuesday night by finishing off James and the undermanned Cleve- land Cavaliers 105-97 in Game 6.
Curry and Finals MVP Andre Iguodala scored 25 points apiece, Draymond Green recorded a triple- double and the Warriors -- using a barrage of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to put Cleveland away -- won their first title since 1975, when
STEPHEN CURRY And ANDRE IGUODALA
CLEVELAND – LeBron James – disappointed, sub- dued, contemplative, plain- tive – had all the words to describe how the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors and how he lost the Finals for the fourth time in six trips. Five words encapsulated what happened to James and the Cavaliers: "We ran out of talent."
The Cavaliers were with- out guard Kyrie Irving and forward Kevin Love for sev- eral playoff games, Love missing the last three rounds and Irving in and out of ro- tation in the Eastern Confer- ence semifinals and finals and out for the last five games against the Warriors.
Center Anderson Vare- jao also missed more than three-fourths of the regular season and playoffs.
"Tried as much as we could to try to make up for those guys, but it's a lot of talent sitting in suits," James said.
He elaborated.
"I've been watching bas- ketball for a long time. I'm an historian of the game. I don't know any other team that's gotten to The Finals without two All Stars. I cannot re- member thinking of it. I can't remember in the back I don't even know if it's ever happened, for a team to lose two All Stars and still be able to make it to The Finals."
LeBron Was Given An Impossible Task In The NBA Finals
LeBron James could play Game 6 another 99 times and he probably still
wouldn’t win.
As the Golden State War-
riors celebrated their first NBA title in 40 years, follow- ing a 105-97 win, a dejected James exited the Quicken Loans court.
LeBron was the best player on the court through- out the finals. There isn’t room for debate. Without him, Cleveland doesn’t take the Warriors six games. Hell, they probably aren’t even in the series.
The 2015 playoffs were a war of attrition for many teams. For James, it was a war of will. His will against literally everything else. In- juries, opponents, and even coaches stood in LeBron’s path. All were reasons he shouldn’t win games or series depending on the narrative of the day. And yet there he was, a win from taking the best team in the NBA to a seventh game in finals with- out a single star to play with.
It’s remarkable, and under most circumstances, it bears celebrating. But it feels a little hollow with the back- drop of Golden State’s cele- brations.
No matter how great Le- Bron was, he was never going to beat Golden State over seven games on his own. With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love sidelined, play- ers like J.R. Smith, Matthew Dellavedova, and Iman Shumpert were tasked with supporting roles, and they came up woefully short.
An impossible burden was placed on LeBron’s shoulders, and he almost car- ried it.
Gerald Ford was in the White House, disco was in vogue and Rick Barry was flicking in free throws under- handed.
And these Warriors are a lot like Barry and his old crew: fluid, balanced, to- gether. Just like Steve Kerr hoped.
"I'm kind of speechless," Curry said. "This is special. To be able to hold this trophy and all the hard work we've put into it this season, this is special. We're definitely a great team and a team that should go down in history as one of the best teams from top to bottom."
James, who fell to 2-4 in the Finals, didn't hide his de-
jection.
"Doesn't matter if I'm
playing in Miami or playing in Cleveland or playing on Mars," he said. "You lose in the Finals, it's disappoint- ing."
Stephen And Riley Curry Had An Adorable NBA Championship Celebration
STEPHEN And RILEY CURRY
On Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors captured the NBA championship by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6, 105-97.
So, obviously, Stephen Curry immediately cele- brated with his adorable daughter, Riley. It was defi- nitely a late night for the smallest Curry, but she still stole our hearts.
Warriors' Harrison Barnes Never Had
A Sip Of Alcohol Until Celebrating
HARRISON BARNES
The Golden State War- riors were looking to close out the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals last night, andalotwasontheline— the championship, the chance to return the Larry O’Brien trophy to the Bay Area after 40 years, and, per- haps most importantly, the chance to get Harrison
Barnes his first sip of alco- hol ever.
Barnes had never touched the stuff in his young life, but before the game, he promised that a win would end that impressive streak.
After the game, he kept his promise:
I just hope he was reason- able. Too many of us get ag- gressive our first times drinking. I myself put down like six Mike’s Hard Lemon- ades and yakked, and I didn’t win an NBA Championship before doing so.
Let’s hope Barnes kept it reasonable and his team- mates kept him safe.
PAGE 14-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015