Draymond Green: The man Cleveland loves to hate returns
CLEVELAND — The chant went up late in the second quarter, rising from the stands in full-throated unison.
[...] it went, the chant picking up a few more times as Game 3 of the NBA Finals wore on.
Kevin Durant may be moving up that list, having buried the decisive three-pointer in the Warriors’ 118-113 victory over the Cavs.
[...] Green holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Cleveland fans.
The reason for the lusty Cleveland chant was pretty standard stuff, as far as Draymond stuff goes.
Before you knew it, Green had three fouls, the Cavs were shooting a technical, and the NBA Finals had finally started in earnest.
Quicken Loans Arena surely was Green’s house of horrors last June, when an ill-advised dustup with LeBron James led to a one-game suspension that pretty much cost the Warriors a championship.
Both teams want to win so badly, said Klay Thompson, who scored 30 in Cleveland after rediscovering his shooting touch in Game 2.
The Warriors’ big offseason acquisition paid off in crunch time, hitting that three-pointer over James, all but burying the Cavs for good in these Finals.
The crowd started egging him on and he marched down the court indignant, arms waving in the air.
The good news for Warriors fans is that he is not in danger of another suspension.
He has three technicals (and no flagrants!) during this postseason.
[...] he would need to rack up seven technical fouls to miss a game.
The Cavs tried to capitalize on the high emotions for much of the second half, playing hard defense and riding the many talents of Kyrie Irving and James to the brink of victory.
[...] it didn’t matter so much.