The Cleveland Cavaliers changed tactics again, attacking small-ball Golden State Warriors lineups with size, but got the same result in Game 6 of the NBA Finals as in the previous two games: Within two points at the half, the wore down as the game went on, and lost 105-97.
Forward Andre Iguodala led the Warriors with 24 points, while guard Stephen Curry added 22 points and eight assists. Draymond Green, giving up six inches and 20 pounds against the Cavaliers Timofey Mozgov while playing out of position at center, had a triple-double, with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Mozgov had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, while LeBron Games added another absurd line to his dominant series, scoring 32 points while grabbing 17 rebounds. He ended the series with per-game averages of 36 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists — and an unheard-of 45 minutes. While his shooting percentages weren't stellar, the Cavaliers had few other options — no other Cavalier averaged more than 14 points per game.
Losing starting point guard Kyrie Irving in Game 1 left the Cavaliers with virtually no depth, and while they gutted out wins in the next two games with physical defense and an all-LeBron offense, the workload just wasn't sustainable. Matthew Dellavedova, the emergency Irving replacement whose energetic play in the two Cavaliers wins took the Warriors by surprise, scored one point in 25 minutes on the floor.
It's a painful loss for Cleveland sports fans, who haven't been able to celebrate a title in professional football, baseball or basketball since 1964.
For the Warriors, the title follows a regular season in which the Warriors sprinted past the rest of the league to a record of 67-15, seven more wins than any other team. It's Golden State's first championship since 1975, and fourth overall, with the team winning in 1947 and 1956 when it still was located in Philadelphia.
"We knew if we keep grinding and grinding it out, we're going to win games," Iguodala said after the game. "That's what we did all year."
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