Warriors Sweep Blazers 4-0, Advance to NBA Finals

Despite missing some key players on Monday, the Golden State Warriors completed a 4-game sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers and advance to the NBA Finals. It was a challenging Game 4 as the Warriors were without Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala but they managed to pull off the 119-117 win in overtime.

The Warriors delivered a performance worthy of their defending-champion status. They overcame adversity and gave themselves some much-needed breathing room to rest and recuperate.

Both Draymond Green and Stephen Curry exploded for massive triple-doubles. Green had 18 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists with three steals and two blocks. Curry took care of business on the offensive end of the floor with a game-high 37 points on 11-of-25 shooting with 13 rebounds, 11 dimes and seven 3-pointers. Thankfully, their production was enough to take the win in overtime because Klay Thompson struggled finding his range, going 7-for-21 from the field to finish with 17 points, six rebounds and three 3-pointers.

With the game being a do-or-die one for the Blazers, we expected to see some heroics from players who didn’t want their 2018-19 NBA season to end just yet. Lo and behold, Meyers Leonard, a reserve big man who hardly saw much action in the regular season, outdid himself with an amazing fresh career-highs. He played the game of his life and posted 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting (five 3-pointers) with 12 rebounds, one steal and one block. Damian Lillard played arguably his best game of the series with a 28-point, 12-assist double-double. Sadly, their big games were not enough to take Game 4 and prolong the Western Conference Finals.

The Warriors are now on their way back to the NBA Finals and are set to defend their title. They now await the victor of the Bucks-Raptors series, which the Bucks currently lead 2-1.