Volume 4: Golden State Prosperity

James was unstoppable—or rather, no one dared to stop him. Irving had never feared contact; he relied on dribble moves and changes of pace to evade defenders and create shooting space, so he rarely got to the free-throw line. Even with home-court advantage, he did not have many chances to shoot free throws. No matter how poor his finishing at the rim was, the Cavaliers could not just watch him go in for uncontested layups. Someone had to collapse into the paint to protect the rim. The Warriors had shown a few openings in the first half and been caught by the referees, but they quickly learned their lesson. If they could avoid reaching in, they would, and if they could avoid contact on the final contest, they would. At first, all the opportunities came from Leonard. Afraid to use his body on defense, he let James blow past him for easy scores, leaving him deeply frustrated. Once he got chances to vent on offense, he showed no mercy, scoring 10 points in half a quarter. Yet the Warriors kept their lead on the scoreboard and even steadily widened it, from six points at the end of the first quarter, to eight at halftime, to ten by the end of the third. The Cavaliers had the momentum but could not turn it into points. Klay, Leonard, and Olynyk all had accurate three-point shots and were highly reliable when left open, repeatedly punishing the Cavaliers for sagging off. That created openings on the perimeter, allowing Green to use his broad vision and deft passing to deliver the ball to open teammates. Seeing the Cavaliers constantly behind, the referees were frantic to help them but could not find an opportunity to intervene. This fantasy, which had once existed only in the minds