OAKLAND, Calif. -- As the gold confetti fell and a fresh gray NBA champion cap sat a tad off-kilter on his head, Kevin Durant embraced his mother Wanda. Then he moved across the podium and hugged Stephen Curry before accepting his MVP trophy and hoisting it for everyone to see.
Durant capped his spectacular first season with the Warriors by bringing home an NBA championship, scoring 39 points in a Finals-clinching 129-120 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 on Monday night.
"It's just a great group of guys, great community, great arena, great fans," Durant said. "I'm just so happy to be a part of it."
Stephen Curry added 34 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals as Golden State closed out its second title in three years after squandering a 3-1 lead a year ago to the Cavs. That missed opportunity stung ever since, and even Durant understood, because he gave up the same lead to the Warriors a round earlier with Oklahoma City.
"We learned from everything we've been through," Curry said during the trophy celebration. "Our perspective, being blessed to play on this stage three years in a row, it's for these fans, for our organization, for these families. To be back here, bring ol' Larry back home, I'm just excited to do something special. I'm ready to do it again."
James, who in 2012 with Miami beat the Thunder in Durant's only other Finals, wound up with 41 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists.
"I left everything on the floor every game," James said after averaging a triple-double in his eighth Finals.
Kyrie Irving followed up his 40-point gem in Friday's Game 4 with 26 points, but he shot 9 for 22.
"Well I'm not happy he won his first. I'm not happy at all," James said of Durant. "... Getting that first championship for me was like having my first son."
Durant drove left, right and down the middle, knocked down three-pointers, dished and dunked. He hit a 17-foot fadeaway over James early in the fourth quarter, then assisted on a three-pointer by Andre Iguodala the next time down as the Warriors pushed a 98-95 lead to 103-95 early in the fourth quarter.
The Cavs scored the next three points, but Durant responded with a three-pointer for a 106-98 lead with 10 minutes remaining.
Cleveland pulled within 108-102 on a Kyle Korver three-pointer, but again Durant had an answer with a dunk. The Cavs never were closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Iguodala, the 2015 Finals MVP, came up big again with 20 points off the bench.
Durant shot 14 for 20 and Curry -- the two-time reigning MVP who took a backseat as the new big star got acclimated -- finished off a brilliant postseason. Not to mention a healthy one after his 2016 injuries.
Draymond Green stayed on the court in a game that featured three technicals on one play with 3:08 left before halftime. David West fought for the ball with Irving, then they got tangled up and Tristan Thompson entered the fray. He and West went at each other face to face. West, Thompson and J.R. Smith received technicals after a replay review.
Green had sat out Game 5 a year ago, suspended because of flagrant foul point accumulation after he swiped at James' groin in Game 4. He had 10 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists in the clincher.
"I had a letdown last year," Green said. "If KD was the consolation prize to lose, thanks for that loss, and we're champs this year."
During the trophy ceremony, Golden State Coach Steve Kerr said, "I want to say a special thank you to Mike Brown and my whole coaching staff."
The reigning NBA coach of the year returned for Game 2 of the Finals after a six-week absence from the bench.
On Monday, Golden State used a 27-4 second-quarter run to take charge and got to celebrate right at home in Oakland surrounded by a deafening home crowd waving yellow rally towels and holding up phones to shoot video and photos as the final minute of the clock ticked away.
The Warriors became the first Bay Area team to capture a championship at home since the A's finished the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1974 World Series.
Sports on 06/13/2017
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