After the Golden State Warriors failed to finish off the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year’s N.B.A. finals, blowing a 3-1 lead in the series, they knew they needed to get better if they wanted to go from a one-time title winner to a dynasty. So the team aggressively pursued superstar Kevin Durant in free agency. The former M.V.P. was worth every penny, leading the Warriors to their second championship in three years.
Durant, who became just the sixth player in N.B.A. history to score 30 or more points in each game of a finals, had 39 in the series-clinching Game 5 victory. He proved his value all over the court with dominant play inside, great outside shooting and tenacious defense as the Warriors beat the Cavaliers 129-120.
In a tear-filled interview on the court after the game, Durant said he had not slept in two days and was anxious and jittery prior to the game, but all of that was over now.
“We prevailed,” Durant said. “We’re champions and we did it on our own floor.”
Durant called James, who had 41 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists in the loss, the only person he has looked at since 2012 in terms of competition. He also joked that they were now even in finals after James’s Miami Heat had beaten Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder in that 2012 season.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/s...iors-cavs.html
I was a little disappointed when Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder, but I'm so happy for him and I'm glad he chose the Golden State Warriors with my favorite b-ball player Stephen Curry. Gotta give LeBron James his props, he played a fantastic game and is greatly responsible for making it as exciting as it was!
This was this most exciting Finals I've watched in a long time! I don't think I've been this excited over a basketball game since the Detroit Pistons won the championship back in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.