WATCH: Nike celebrates end of Cleveland's sports curse

Nike commemorated the Cleveland Cavaliers' first-ever NBA championship with a video focusing on the city's long-suffering fans.

Cleveland has not celebrated a major sports championship in 52 years, not since the Cleveland Browns won the NFL championship.

That "curse" ended on Sunday (Monday in Manila) when the Cavaliers stunned the Golden State Warriors, 93-89, at the Oracle Arena to complete a truly historic comeback.

"After years of holding its breath, Cleveland can finally breathe easy," Nike said. "They always knew this day would come. They just didn't know when."

"A curse broken. A city can rejoice."

The Cavaliers became the first team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals. LeBron James was named the Finals MVP.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Warriors focused on repeating as champions, not on records

The Golden State Warriors have reached 50 wins faster than any team in National Basketball Association history although the players are far from complacent as they work towards their goal of repeating as league champions.

Golden State improved to 50-5 with a 102-92 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, eclipsing the mark set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls who needed one more game to get to the milestone en route to landing their fourth NBA title in six seasons.

But the Warriors, chasing the record 72-10 mark put up by the Michael Jordan-led Bulls in that same season, are more focused on perfecting their game to ensure they are the last team standing when the NBA championship is decided in June.

"We understand the potential we have but can't get ahead of ourselves," Stephen Curry said after scoring a game-high 36 points against the Hawks.

"Fifty wins is great but we've got to keep plugging away and stay hungry because nobody wants to talk about that in June."

The Warriors appeared to be heading for a rout against the struggling Hawks before a 23-point advantage turned into a four-point deficit during a seven-minute span.

A dominant finish by Curry and solid defence from Andrew Bogut helped Golden State silence the Atlanta crowd and send a message to the league that their team can handle adversity.

"I liked our response," said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. "They were on fire in their home building.

"Everything was going against us and we maintained our poise and pulled away down the stretch. It was a really good win."

While the Warriors have dominated all season they still have plenty of work to do to ensure they retain the top seed heading into the postseason since the San Antonio Spurs are only 3-1/2 games back in the Western Conference.

The Warriors will try to keep their momentum going over the final three games of a seven-game road trip before returning home where they have not lost all season.

"We're on the right track. We're not complacent and we're trying to get better and find different ways to win games," said Curry who is averaging an NBA-high 29.8 points this season.

"We've got great chemistry and we're relying on that every single night. It's a special group."

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Business as usual as mighty Warriors improve to 17-0

The reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors are rolling like a well-oiled machine, extending their record setting start with a 135-116 rout of the Phoenix Suns.

In what is becoming the status quo for the mighty Warriors, guard Stephen Curry scored 41 points and made nine three-pointers as they stretched their unbeaten streak to start the season to an NBA-record 17 games.

The Warriors had a season-high in points and made a season-high 22 three-pointers and shot 56.8 percent from the field, 57.9 on three-point attempts.

Curry said they are attracting new fans where ever they go.

"It was packed in our section," Curry said. "Dub Nation is growing by the day. It's fun to see on the road. Even some 'Let's go Warrior' chants during the game. And we played well to back it up."


Reserve guard Leandro Barbosa had 21 points and made all five of his three-point attempts for Golden State, who set the NBA record for consecutive wins at the start of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

Reigning league MVP Curry drained a season-high nine three-pointers and added eight assists and six rebounds at Talking Stick Resort Arena. He made nine-of-16 three-point attempts.

"A lot of that is based on our ball movement," Curry said. "We shoot a lot of threes, but we like to shoot a lot of good ones. Ball movement leads to in-rhythm shots. I knew we made a lot."

Said Phoenix forward Markieff Morris, "They shoot threes like layups."

Forward Draymond Green finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double of the season, and guard Klay Thompson had 15 points for the Warriors in the win.

Reserve forward T.J. Warren had a career-high 28 points for the Suns, who lost their fourth straight and fifth in their last six.

Guard Eric Bledsoe had 21 points and seven assists and Brandon Knight had 21 points and five assists in the loss.

Warriors forward Harrison Barnes left the game with a sprained left ankle with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter and did not return. Barnes finished with seven points and seven rebounds.

In Denver, Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and Tony Parker added 13 as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets 91-80 to win their fourth game in a row.

The Spurs were without forward Tim Duncan and guard Manu Ginobili who stayed home to rest.

Leonard became the first player since Hakeem Olajuwon on December 12, 1992, to record 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five blocked shots and four steals in a NBA game.
Denver led by as many as 11 in a first half.

Elsewhere, guard Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves continued their hot start on the road with a 101-91 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

The Way of the Warriors

It’s been said that one man can make a world of difference. In the first few weeks of the 2014-2015 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors might just be able to say that the one man is their new coach, Steve Kerr. After replacing the player-friendly Mark Jackson as mentor, the Warriors currently stand with a 19-2 win-loss record and are in the middle of a league-best 14-game winning streak. And the main difference between last year’s squad that made the playoffs and this year’s iteration is Kerr.

Highs and lows with Jackson

When Jackson took over the Warriors, he brought to Oakland the toughness that he was known for as a player for the Knicks, Pacers, Clippers, and Raptors. The son of a preacher was loved by his players for his motivational skills and he helped mold the backcourt duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson into the deadly combo that would be known as “the Splash Brothers.”

However, Jackson was also set in his ways and bristled when there was any perceived interference with the way he ran his team. Last season, the 1987 NBA Rookie of the Year reassigned assistant coach Brian Scalabrine to the D-League for what he termed “a difference in philosophies.” The Warriors also fired Darren Erman in April for reportedly recording discussions during coaches’ meetings and conversations between players and coaches without their knowledge.

Despite taking Golden State to back-to-back playoff berths and receiving support from players like Curry and Thompson, Jackson was fired by team owner Joe Lacob after they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Clippers. The team aggressively went after Kerr, the former Phoenix Suns general manager who had spent the last few seasons in the broadcast booth.

Going after Kerr
Kerr was viewed as a can’t-miss prospect in the coaching ranks. Always viewed as someone with a high basketball IQ, the years in charge of the Suns and the insights he shared while covering games made Kerr a target of both the Warriors and his former coach and new New York Knicks president Phil Jackson. Rather than join a rebuilding team with high salaried-players and no draft picks in coming seasons, Kerr rejected Jackson to come to the Bay Area.

No one could really blame Kerr for his choice though because Golden State had already been getting league-wide attention for their play, particularly for the young Curry. Former Charlotte Hornet star Dell Curry’s first-born has seen his value grow by leaps and bounds since Jackson entrusted him with the point guard duties, and Steph’s long-range shooting has already become a can’t miss highlight waiting to happen.

Gone streaking

And so, despite their love for the departed Jackson, these Warriors acclimated themselves with a five-time NBA Champion who had played with the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and even a young Shaquille O’Neal in Orlando. The results so far have been pretty tantalizing, though a bit misleading.

During this streak, Golden State has only played four teams with winning records at the time: the Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, Chicago Bulls, and Houston Rockets. The Heat lost without Dwyane Wade while the Rockets didn’t have Dwight Howard when they clashed. Still, it’s not the team’s fault that the schedule ended up this way or that the injuries befell those players.

The Warriors are currently the only NBA team in the top six in both offense and defense, third in field goal percentage, third in rebounding, and first in field goal percentage allowed. Even though power forward David Lee has only played in one game this season due to a hamstring injury, Kerr has gotten improved play from third year players Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes.

Good deputies, critical Worm

Former overall number one pick Andrew Bogut, Mareese Speights, and the athletic Andre Iguodala have been backstopping the defense thanks to the coaching of assistant coach Ron Adams, who previously served under Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens. Meanwhile, Kerr also got veteran former NBA coach Alvin Gentry to take care of the offense as he didn’t copy the Jackson/Fisher model of running the Triangle Offense.

This hiring of good assistant coaches should be seen as great moves by Kerr and Lacob, but they’ve also drawn the ire of the strangest of people: Kerr’s former teammate, Dennis Rodman. Never shy to express his opinion, “The Worm” didn’t sound impressed with Kerr’s current streak, saying, “He’s just having a good time sitting there. Got into a system where you can win. Just have a bunch of good assistants.” Though denying he has any beef with his fellow former Bull, Rodman sounds like he’s more impressed with Gentry and Adams than the head coach.

To say that 14 straight wins is impressive might be an understatement, but the Warriors must know that they haven’t done anything yet. This franchise won its only NBA Championship in 1975 when Rick Barry was the superstar, and it’s largely been a laughing stock for the past four decades. Still, it’s a good start for Steve Kerr’s coaching career. Time will tell if, at the end of this season, it will translate into homecourt advantage throughout the Playoffs or if he’ll end up just like his predecessor in the broadcast booth.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com