The Latest: LeBron looks to avoid elite group swept twice
CLEVELAND (AP) The Latest on the NBA Finals from Game 4 (all times local):
11:30 p.m.
The Warriors have romped to their second straight NBA championship, beating Cleveland 108-85 to finish a four-game sweep.
It's the third title in four years for the Warriors and the second one they won in Quicken Loans Arena, where their 2015 title was secured. The Cavaliers won the rematch the next year but Golden State has handled them easily to finish the last two seasons.
Stephen Curry scored 37 points and Kevin Durant had 20 for the Warriors, who won their sixth NBA title to tie Chicago for third place behind Boston and the Lakers.
LeBron James checked out with 4:03 remaining in what could have been his final game in Cleveland, with fans chanting ''MVP! MVP!'' as he went to the bench after congratulating some of the Warriors.
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11:20 p.m.
Stephen Curry is up to 37 points and seven 3-pointers as the Warriors lead 102-76 with about 5 minutes left in Game 4.
Kevin Durant has a triple-double and needs a strong finish to continue his streak of scoring 25 or more in every NBA Finals game he's played. He's done so in all 13 games.
The Warriors are poised to finish off the first NBA Finals sweep since San Antonio in 2007 - a romp that also came at the expense of LeBron James and Cleveland.
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11 p.m.
With one last third-quarter onslaught, the Warriors are up big heading to what could be the last 12 minutes of the NBA season.
They lead Game 4 of the NBA Finals 86-65 as they try to sweep their way to a second straight championship and third in four years.
Golden State outscored Cleveland 25-13 in the third quarter, the period when the Warriors either turned around or blew open so many games during their run to the NBA Finals.
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10:55 p.m.
Another big third quarter for the Warriors has them headed toward the title.
Golden State leads 81-63 with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the period. It's the largest lead of the game.
Stephen Curry leads the way with 25 points and Kevin Durant has 18.
Meanwhile, LeBron James has picked up a fourth foul while the Cavaliers try to stay close enough to make a comeback a possibility.
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10:40 p.m.
ESPN has released a statement on Hall of Famer Hubie Brown and his condition after he got hurt before Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Brown has been covering the series as an analyst on ESPN Radio.
The network says Brown ''was injured when he bumped his knee on a table during pregame. He's in good spirits and being treated by the medical staff on site. He hopes to return to the ESPN Radio booth if there is a Game 5.''
The Warriors aren't cooperating on that front: They're up 11 in the third quarter, as they try to sweep Cleveland for the title.
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10:20 p.m.
Golden State is one half away from a second straight NBA championship.
The Warriors have a 61-52 lead over Cleveland at halftime of Game 4. Golden State led by 11 in the first quarter, fell behind midway through the second, and went into the locker room with momentum after Stephen Curry made a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the period.
Curry has bounced back from his struggles in Game 3 with 20 points, making four of the Warriors' nine 3-pointers. Andre Iguodala has three off the bench.
Golden State is trying to celebrate on Cleveland's home floor for the second time, having wrapped up its 2015 title at Quicken Loans Arena.
LeBron James has 16 points for Cleveland.
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9:55 p.m.
Cleveland has battled back from an 11-point deficit to regain the lead in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
The Cavaliers went ahead 39-38 when LeBron James finished off a fast break with a basket midway through the second quarter. That gave him a game-high 13 points.
Golden State controlled the first quarter but the Cavaliers outscored the Warriors 14-4 to open the second.
Klay Thompson picked up a third foul for the Warriors and remained scoreless.:55 p.m.
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9:40 p.m.
Stephen Curry had 12 points and the Golden State Warriors made six 3-pointers in taking a 34-25 lead after one quarter of Game 4.
Curry made two 3s after hitting only one in Game 3. He already had more points than in that 11-point outing.
Andre Iguodala also made a pair of 3-pointers after entering early when Klay Thompson went to the bench with two fouls.
Kevin Love scored nine points and LeBron James eight for the Cavaliers.
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9:35 p.m.
Stephen Curry already has as many baskets in the first quarter of Game 4 as in all of Game 3.
Curry made his first three shots, including an off-balance 3-pointer when he was trying to draw a foul as he shot. His nine quick points sent the Warriors to a 13-3 lead.
He was only 3 for 16 in Game 3, including 1 for 10 behind the arc.
The Cavaliers surged back with eight straight points to cut it to two points midway through the period.
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9:20 p.m.
ESPN Radio broadcaster and Basketball Hall of Famer Hubie Brown was injured shortly before Game 4 of the NBA Finals and was taken to a nearby hospital for an apparent knee injury.
The 84-year-old Brown was checked out by doctors in the arena, and will not be working the game as an analyst. There was no immediate word on the status or severity of his injury.
Brown is a two-time NBA coach of the year and two-time Emmy nominee who is working the finals for the 17th time as a radio and television analyst. His broadcasting career goes back to the 1980s, and he's been with ABC and ESPN since 2004.
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9:10 p.m.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals is underway and Cavaliers are in a bad situation, but Game 4s have been good for them lately.
Cleveland has won seven straight Game 4s, dating to last season.
That includes a victory over the Warriors last year in the NBA Finals, when the Cavaliers were in the same 3-0 deficit they face now.
The Cavs are facing elimination for the fourth time this postseason. They won Game 7 in the first round against Indiana, then Games 6 and 7 when trailing Boston 3-2 in the Eastern Conference finals.
But Stephen Curry and the Warriors are off to fast start. Curry has six points and Golden State leads Cleveland 10-3.
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8:15 p.m.
One game at a time may be a sports cliche.
It's also the only way the Cavaliers can survive.
None of the previous 131 teams which have fallen into a 3-0 hole in the NBA playoffs has ever rallied to win a series. Some team may eventually could break the drought, but Cleveland's chances appear remote against a Golden State team that hasn't lost four straight since March 2013.
Still, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was quick to point out that his team has already defied huge odds.
''No team has ever come back from 3-1 either, and we did it,'' Lue said, referring to the Cavs' comeback to stun the Warriors in the 2016 Finals. ''So our main focus is tonight, our Game 4. Not winning four, but winning Game 4, so that's all we're going to focus on.''
Lue said he did not consult Indians manager Terry Francona, who guided the Boston Red Sox back from a 3-0 deficit to win the 2004 AL Championship series.
''I didn't want to bother him,'' Lue said of Francona, who attended Game 3. ''He has a lot of things going on as well.''
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7: 50 p.m.
Steve Kerr got asked a light-hearted question before Game 4 of the NBA Finals - and the Golden State coach loved it.
The question was basically this: Would you rather win an NBA championship on Friday night in Cleveland and hear booing from the Cavaliers' home crowd, or finish off the series in Golden State before happy Warriors fans?
Kerr got a good laugh.
''They both sound awesome,'' Kerr said.
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5:40 p.m.
LeBron James, most definitely, does not want to get swept in the NBA Finals for a second time.
But if it happens, at least he'll be in elite company.
Should Cleveland lose Game 4 of this series Friday night and get swept by Golden State, James would be the fifth player to actually be on the floor for a pair of 4-0 defeats in the NBA Finals. James was on the Cleveland team that lost 4-0 to San Antonio in 2007 as well.
The other four guys to be twice-swept? They're not bad.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper all played in a pair of swept-out defeats in the finals with the Los Angeles Lakers. James Worthy was on both of those teams - 1983 and 1989 - but didn't actually play in the first sweep because of injury.
So besides Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson and Cooper, the only other player to appear in two finals sweep losses was Wes Unseld - with the Bullets in 1971 and 1975.
Golden State could hand James his second sweep loss Friday night. The Warriors lead this year's NBA Finals 3-0.
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9:15 a.m.
If the Golden State Warriors win the NBA championship on Friday night, it'll mark the earliest start to the offseason in more than three decades.
The last time the NBA Finals ended on or before June 8 was back in 1986, when the Boston Celtics defeated the Houston Rockets in six games. Since then, the earliest any title series has ended was June 12.
That means the Warriors get two chances to bring on an early summer: If they lose Game 4, they'll play host to Game 5 on June 11.
The NBA season started earlier than the previous norms this year, part of the league's initiative to add days to the schedule in order to limit back-to-backs and help get players more rest during the 82-game regular season grind. These finals started May 31, just the second time since 1986 that Game 1 wasn't played in June.
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