Game 4 of the NBA Finals was just about everything the first two games hadn't been — physical, gritty, and even choppy at times — a tempo the Golden State Warriors didn't find too comforting, falling behind by 16 points after a record-setting 49-point first quarter by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
That quarter saw 22 trips to the free-throw line for the defending champs, while the Warriors struggled with six turnovers in the first quarter, playing catch-up.
Head coach Steve Kerr gave merit to the Cavs for throwing the first punch and landing it consistently in a lot of ways, especially in one of the Warriors' strengths — screens.
“When you fight over the screen, if the screener grabs you, the ref is going to call it. If you die into the screen and the screener grabs you, they're not going to call it,” said Kerr in his pre-game media availability, via Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News.
“We were dying into the screens. We didn't deserve a lot of calls the other night. They were the aggressor every time. In my experience in The Finals, when you have one team that's much more aggressive than the other, things tend to go their way. Cleveland earned everything the other night.”
Golden State will need to land that first punch early and often if they hope to celebrate at home at the conclusion of Game 5, especially when it comes to an area in which they've excelled all season long.
The Warriors will also need to hone-in defensively, or they'd be into another shooting exhibition from capable shooters in the Cavaliers' starting lineup — if they don't, there's a good chance the series could continue.
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