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Warriors capture NBA title, ending 40-year drought
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SNAPPING a 40-year title drought, the Golden State Warriors downed the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 on Tuesday to win the NBA Finals and become one of the league’s most unconventional championship teams.
Andre Iguodala, the first player to earn NBA Finals Most Valuable Player honors without starting every game of the series, and Stephen Curry, the 3-point sharpshooter who won NBA regular-season MVP honors, each scored 25 points as the Warriors took the best-of-7 title series 4-2.
“World champions,” Curry said. “This is something special. This is a special group. From the start of the season this is what we envisioned.”
Golden State became the first team since the 1991 Chicago Bulls to win a title with no players having prior NBA Finals experience.
Steve Kerr, who won five titles as a player with Chicago and San Antonio, became the first rookie coach to capture the crown since Pat Riley with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982.
“I almost forgot how grueling this stretch is, two straight months of emotional and physical stress, just the roller coaster ride you are on,” Kerr said of the playoff run. “There’s a lot of pent-up energy and relief more than anything in that locker room.”
Iguodala spent 758 career games as a starter before being consigned to a reserve role this season, only to have Kerr start him in the last three finals games to produce a quicker lineup that wore down the stubborn Cavaliers.
“This is awesome,” said Iguodala, who saved his season-high scoring night for the decider. “We’re going to remember this for a long time.”
Iguodala averaged 7.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in the regular season but 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds, becoming the first NBA Finals MVP who didn’t start a single game for his team in the regular season.
As importantly, he played stellar defense against Cavaliers superstar LeBron James, who became the first player to lead an NBA Finals in all three major statistical areas — averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists.
But the best team proved more than the greatest player could handle and Iguodala joined Magic Johnson as a rookie with the 1980 Lakers as the only finals MVPs who played alongside a season MVP.
Curry became only the sixth player to win his first MVP and first title in the same season, the first since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000.
James scored 32 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and passed out nine assists to again lead the Cavaliers, but he could not bring Cleveland its first sports title since 1964.
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