Going into Game 4 of the 2015 NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Golden State Warriors were down 2-1 and needed to come away with a victory at the Quicken Loans Arena. On May 11, the Warriors were placed in a similar situation in their Western Conference Semifinals series versus the Memphis Grizzlies. Down two games to one and away from home, Golden State was able to bounce back, defeating the Grizzlies, 101-84, before taking the following two games to advance to the conference finals.
Tonight must've felt like deja vu.
Following a strong start by the Cavaliers, the Warriors were able to not only regain control of the game but they started to look like the team that won 67 games this season. After taking a 31-24 lead in the first quarter, Golden State never looked back, staving off numerous Cavs runs in the second and third quarter before putting the game well out of reach in the fourth.
In an effort to switch things up, Steve Kerr put Andre Iguodala in the starting lineup and he rewarded his head coach's trust by scoring a team-high 22 points and eight boards. On the defensive side of the ball, Golden State looked to constantly put pressure on LeBron James with double teams. The new approach forced James to rely more on his teammates to knock down shots and everyone but Timofey Mozgov weren't able to answer the call. While Mozgov score a team-high 28 points, J.R. Smith, Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert were a combined 7-for-35 from the field, scoring just 19 points.
Towards the second half of Game 4, LeBron looked tired and Dellavedova was seen on the sidelines battling cramps. The time between now and Game 5 should help the Cavs, but the Warriors have already shown in these playoffs that they know how to put away a team that could be teetering. Sunday's contest will be a make-or-break game for both teams.
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