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Rivalries are what makes sports interesting. It is almost a necessity to have a rivalry in a sport. Over the years, we had some great rivalries in the game of basketball. This matchup (Cavs-Warriors) between the two, although very different in its own way from the previous ones, is undoubtedly one of the best rivalries in the history of this league.
Never before in the 4 major North American sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) have the same teams faced off four consecutive times in a championship round. That just goes to show the way these two teams have dominated the league over the years and therefore have developed a kind of animosity as well as mutual respect for each other.
Although the 4 Finals have been lob sided, there are bound to be some brilliant performances considering that the two teams possess some of the best talents of this generation. Everything from clutch plays to players making one unbelievable shot after another to record-breaking performances, this great rivalry has provided us with some of the best performances this game has ever seen.
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Therefore, let us look at the top 10 finest performances from the Warriors-Cavaliers rivalry.
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#10 Andre Iguodala - Game 4 of the 2015 NBA Finals
Stat line: 22 points, 8 rebounds and 1 steal
The Golden State Warriors playing their first NBA Finals were facing an arduous task ahead, being 2-1 down in the series against a short-handed Cavaliers team. With the next game on the road, the Dubs were in desperate search of inspiration from somewhere to help them win game 4 and keep their hopes alive in the NBA Finals.
Head coach Steve Kerr, taking advice from one of the personals in the Warriors team, decided to insert Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup and decided to go small. Iguodala, who had never started for the Warriors that season, came up big when it mattered the most.
He scored 22 points, took down 8 boards while shooting 44 per cent from three-point range and 53.3% from the field. He did a fabulous job of guarding 'the King' and made it as difficult for him as possible. LeBron James ended up scoring only 20 points, which were the lowest he scored in that Finals.
Although the numbers are not comparable to the other performances that have been listed here, the significant impact that he had on the game made all the difference and allowed the Warriors to level the series. Iguodala's Game 4 performance spread like a virus and inspired the Warriors as they went onto to win the next two games and therefore their first championship. Iguodala was named as the 2015 Finals MVP.
#9 Stephen Curry - Game 4 of the 2018 NBA Finals
Stat line: 33 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds
Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history and this game proved just that.
Nobody can open up a defense the second they cross half-court like he does. In Game 2 of the NBA Finals, he showed everybody why his jumper is so feared by opposing defenses.
The Warriors were up by 10 points to start the 4th quarter and then Curry just buried Cleveland in a barrage of three-pointers that not only saw him hit one ridiculous shot after another but also set an NBA Finals record. Curry hit a total of 9 three-pointers in the game, but none were like this one.
With the shot clock winding down, and the Warriors just trying to get a shot up, Curry threw up a prayer. For anybody else, this is just an attempt to get the ball near the rim. For Curry, it's a legitimate shot attempt, because we have seen him hit shots like these hundreds of times now.
Later on in the fourth, Curry hit another 3-pointer to set the NBA Finals record.
Curry finished the game with 33 points on 11 of 26 shooting which included 9 of 17 shooting from beyond the arc. He also dished out 8 assists and grabbed 7 boards. Curry's fourth-quarter outburst helped the Warriors defeat the Cavaliers and take a 2-0 advantage in the 2018 NBA Finals. The Warriors ended up sweeping the Cavaliers and winning their 3rd championship in 4 years.
#8 Kyrie Irving - Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals
Stat line: 40 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists
The Golden State Warriors had been perfect in the playoffs after winning a close Game 3. Heading into Game 4, the Warriors were one win away from ending the season with a perfect record of 16-0, something which had never been achieved in the history of the NBA. But the Cavaliers were adamant not to allow the Warriors to celebrate once again on their home floor.
Kyrie Irving put on an incredible show as the Cavaliers rallied behind his game high 40 points to go along with seven rebounds and 4 assists and one steal in 41 minutes to win 137-116 against the Warriors in Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals.
He blitzed the visitors from the opening tip with 11 points in the first quarter and finished the first half with 28 points, many of the highlight-reel variety. After missing all of his 7 attempts in Game 3, Kyrie went crazy from the beyond the arc shooting 7-12 (58.3 percent). Kyrie continued his offensive onslaught in the second half and hit one jaw-dropping shot after another. Even the legendary Kobe Bryant was impressed by Irving's Game 4 performance and agreed with a fan on twitter saying that Irving had the Mamba mentality.
The Cavaliers team as a whole came together in this match as they scored an unbelievable 49 points in the first quarter, 89 points in the first half and 24 three-pointers in the game. All three are NBA Records. James ended with triple-double which moved him past Magic Johnson for first All-Time.
#7 Steph Curry - Game 5 of the 2015 NBA Finals
Stat line: 37 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals
Even with a short-handed Cavaliers team with no Kyrie and Love, the Warriors found themselves in a dogfight with the series tied at 2-2 in 2015 NBA Finals.
Although Steph Curry was averaging nearly 23.5 points per game in the 4 Finals Games, he had been subpar in the 4th quarter and more was certainly expected from the 2015 MVP if the Dubs wanted to get over the edge. Curry erupted for 17 points in the 4th quarter as he connected on 7 out of his 13 from beyond the arc (53 percent) and 56.7 percent from the field to end the game with 37 points.
Finally, Steph Curry showed why he was the 2015 NBA MVP and that also in an emphatic fashion. Prior to Game 5, Mathew Dellavedova had earned himself a reputation of being the Curry stopper with his aggressive defense in Games 3 and 4 keeping Curry in check. But Curry put away all the chatter as he put on an absolute dribbling clinic and hit two crossover fadeaway three-pointers with Dellavedova as his primary defender. The two shots gave the Warriors a 10 point lead and they ended up winning the game 104-91 to put themselves in a strong position to close out the series.
The Warriors ended up winning Game 6 and finally their first championship in 40 years.
#6 LeBron James' Epic 51 points in Game 1 of the 2017-18 Finals
Stat line: 51 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals
LeBron entering the Finals for the 8th straight time was facing the Warriors for the 4th time in a row. With the Cavaliers being massive underdogs entering into Game 1, all the responsibility was on LeBron’s shoulders once again to produce another masterpiece if they had any chance of winning against this loaded Warriors team.
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LeBron James topped all expectations and played some of the best basketball of his career as he scored playoff career-high 51 points. He was just unstoppable and even a great defensive team like the Warriors were mere spectators to the show that the 3-time champion put on display.
With this performance, he became the first player in 25 years to top the 50-point milestone in a Finals game becoming only the sixth player to ever score 50 in a Finals game. The last person to do so was none other than his airiness, Michael Jordan, who torched the Charles Barkley Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of 1993 NBA Finals. Speaking of Jordan, James tied him for the most 30 point games in playoff history within this game and also tied Jerry West for most 40-point games in a single postseason with eight.
Sadly for LeBron, even after putting a once in a lifetime performance, he lost the game 121-114 in OT due to George Hill’s missed free throw and J.R. Smith’s blunder in the end. With this loss, James became the first player in NBA History to lose a match after scoring 50 in the game. Even though LeBron lost, this performance will definitely be one of the best games he has ever played in his career.
#5 Kevin Durant - Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals
Stat line: 31 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists
The Golden State Warriors had dominated the Cavaliers in their two home games in the 2017 NBA Finals. As expected, the Cavaliers came out with all guns blazing in Game 3.
The Cavs became physical with the Dubs on defense, something which they had done in the previous Finals, while James and Irving hunted down mismatches on the offensive end of the floor. But even though, the Cavs two superstars hit the Warriors with their best punch, the Cleveland Cavaliers ended up being knocked senseless by Kevin Durant over the last three minutes of the game.
LeBron finished with a game-high 39 and Kyrie added 38, but neither of them scored down the stretch as Cleveland went 0-for-8 in the last 2:45 and were outscored 11-0.
Although Durant ended the game with 31 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists which are his lowest totals in each category of the 2017 Finals, he scored 7 of the Warriors 11 which included the shot of the 2017 Finals. With just 45 seconds remaining on the clock, Durant hit a dagger three in front of LeBron, a cold-blooded finished he walked into with obscene confidence.
Durant with his clutch performance in Game 3 helped the Warriors win 118-113 and win their second championship in 3 seasons.
#4 Kyrie scores - Game 5 of the 2016 Finals
Stat line: 41 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals
With the Cleveland Cavaliers facing elimination in Game 5 of the 2015-16 NBA Finals, Kyrie Irving put on a monumental performance at the Oracle as he scored 41 points to stun the home crowd.
With the game tied at halftime, the two Cavaliers superstars started to assert their dominance over the Draymond-less Warriors. Kyrie Irving who scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter and once again proved that he is the finisher for the Cavaliers. He shot an astounding 17-24 (70.85%) from the field and knocked down 5 of his 7 three-point attempts (71.4 %).
The performance marked Irving’s third straight game of at least 30 points after scoring 30 points in Game 3 and 34 points in Game 4, respectively. Irving added six assists and three rebounds in the Cavs’ 112-97 Game 5 victory. With LeBron also scoring 41 points in the game, the two became the first pair of teammates to finish with at least 40 points apiece in a Finals game.
This historic effort from these two opened up the series for the Cavaliers as they headed home for a Game 6. The Cavaliers ended up winning the next two games and the title in an emphatic fashion.
#3 LeBron James - Game 6 of the 2016 Finals
Stat line: 41 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds
Exactly one year before this game, the Golden State Warriors had dispatched the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 at the Quick Loans Arena to win their first title. The Cavaliers were not going to let history repeat itself. The Eastern Conference champions flipped the switch this time around behind a masterful performance from the 'King'.
LeBron had a once in a lifetime performance in Game 5 scoring 41 points to force a game 6. If it was even possible, LeBron backed that up with a similar if not better performance to force a Game 7. Playing the role of the point guard, LeBron orchestrated Cleveland's attack with unmatched brilliance. LeBron, who already owned the NBA's highest-ever scoring average in elimination games prior to this night, finished again with 41 points along with 11 assists and 8 rebounds shooting 59.3 percent from three and 50 percent from the field.
LeBron became the only player in the history of the game to have back to back 40 point games.
The 4 time MVP was all over the Warriors and completely got into the head of the defending champions. A signature moment in this 2016 NBA Finals came with four minutes remaining in the fourth when LeBron James anticipated Curry's layup, blocked it and then let him knew about it.
This legendary performance from the three-time champion helped the Cavaliers force a game 7 and played a pivotal role in the greatest comeback in the history of the NBA as the Cavaliers went onto to win Game 7 and their first ever NBA Championship.
#2 LeBron James - Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals
Stat line: 41 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists
With the Cavaliers losing a crucial Game 4 at home in the 2016 NBA Finals, game 5 looked like a mere formality with the Warriors trying to close out the series at their home floor where they had been almost perfect throughout the year.
But the 4 time MVP, after the feud with Draymond Green in the previous match, was determined to prevent this game from being the last one of this series. LeBron with no regards for human life was just completely outrageous during the course of the game. Without Draymond Green and his imposing shadow on defense and the glass, LeBron bulldozed his way through the porous Warriors defense on almost every possession and seized advantage of the situation. With Kyrie as his sidekick, the duo were so dominant that they combined to score or assist on each of Cleveland's final 25 made field goals and combined for a total of 33 baskets.
LeBron ended with a monster stat line of 41 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists to go along with 3 blocks and 3 steals all the while shooting above 50 percent for the whole game. He became the first player since Shaq in 2001 to go for at least 40 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in the Finals.
This marked one of the greatest performances in a must-win game and one of the best from LeBron we have ever seen.
1.) Kevin Durant torches the Cavaliers for 43 points in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals
Stat line: 43 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists
The situation stood exactly similar to the 2017 NBA Finals. The Warriors were up 2-0 and the Cavaliers again were looking to win a crucial Game 3 to keep their season alive. For a second straight year, Game 3 of the NBA Finals will be remembered as the night Kevin Durant sucked all the air out of the Cavaliers’ season.
With the Splash Brothers shooting an awful 7-27 from the field, the Warriors needed every single bucket that Durant could provide them. Durant in that night went from a luxury to a necessity for the Warriors.
Durant’s full repertoire was on display as he torched the Cavs for the entirety of the game.He scored in nearly every way imaginable. He pulled up from beyond the arc and hit repeatedly. He peppered the Cavs with jumpers from mid-range or the top half of the paint, making contested shots look like layups. And when all else failed, he slithered his way to the rim for simple looks.
Still, the Cavaliers had managed to keep the scores close and were only down by three. With just under a minute remaining and with the shot clock running out, Durant again hit the shot of the series, a Deja Vu dagger three to clinch the game. His reaction was even more notable, in the sense that he didn’t react at all. The shot, like the entire game, came easy for Durant. This was, unarguably, the greatest performance of his career so far.
The Warriors won Game 3 and ended up sweeping the Cavaliers. Durant was named the 2018 Finals MVP.
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