Warriors sweep Spurs, enter NBA Finals 12-0



 The Golden State Warriors have advanced to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year after sweeping the San Antonio Spurs by way of a 129-115 victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Monday.

The Warriors are now a perfect 12-0 in the playoffs, and they are the first team in NBA history to accomplish such a feat. They're also the first team in NBA history to sweep three best-of-seven series in the same postseason.

Stephen Curry produced a game-high 36 points on 14-of-24 shooting. He also had five boards, six assists and five 3-pointers.

He dribbled circles around whoever was guarding him. There was minimum defensive resistance, whether he was penetrating to the basket or getting open for 3s out of pick-and-pop sets.

After drilling his fourth 3-pointer of the game, Curry passed Kobe Bryant (292) for fifth place on the NBA's all-time playoff 3-pointers list. Curry now has 295 career postseason 3s.

Curry said that starting 12-0 is great, but it doesn't mean anything going into the next series. He harped on how impressed he was with his team's overall closeout mentality.






 
Kevin Durant dominated this game while in cruise control. Nothing was rushed on his part. He picked his spots and attacked when needed, which resulted in 29 points on 10-of-13 from the field to go with 12 rebounds.


You look down at the box score, and KD had a heck of a game scoring, Brown said. He was very efficient with his scoring.


Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich tossed in a little starting-lineup wrinkle by inserting veteran Manu Ginobili in his starting five, and Brown countered with the starting of rookie forward Patrick McCaw.

San Antonio's adjustment didn't work out. With no dependable playmaker in uniform, an abundance of the Spurs' field goal attempts were tough, contested shots. The Warriors, on the other hand, got what they wanted when they wanted.

San Antonio simply didn't have the firepower.

In the second quarter, Spurs rookie point guard Dejounte Murray got a steal and took off for a fast-break opportunity with only one man to beat: Durant.


San Antonio gave it an effort, cutting what was a 22-point, third-quarter margin down to 10 with three minutes to go in the quarter. However, Golden State responded with a fierce 10-0 run and never looked back.


The Spurs were held to 42.3 percent shooting. The Warriors shot 55.8 percent. Curry, with his six turnovers, had two fewer than what the Spurs committed as a team. A 24-4 advantage in points off turnovers still wasn't enough to substantially help the home team.


Golden State will await the winner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals. The NBA Finals will start June 1 at Oracle Arena.

"Like Steph said, 12-0 really doesn't matter into the next series. We know it's going to be a battle," Durant said.

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