Warriors Beat LeBron James, Cavs 108-85 to Claim 3rd NBA Title in 4 Seasons

The Golden State Warriors continued their reign by capturing their third championship in four years with a 108-85 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the 2018 NBA Finals. 

Stephen Curry, who was held to 11 points in Game 3, blew past that total in the first seven minutes on Friday and had 20 in the first half alone. 

After last year's historic playoff run with 15 straight wins and a 16-1 record overall, the Warriors took a different path to the title this time around. They were pushed to the limit against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals before prevailing in seven games. 

But this series was a testament to Golden State's unique and unmatched ability to make even the most difficult tasks look easy. The franchise is the first to win back-to-back titles since the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013. 

The first quarter set the tempo for what was to come, especially with Curry seemingly having his way with Cleveland's defense:

Even with the poor shooting performance in Game 3, Curry was magnificent in the series, including 37 points in Friday's clincher, and averaged 27.5 points and 6.8 assists in four games. 

It wasn't enough to get Curry his first NBA Finals MVP award because Kevin Durant posted a triple-double of 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 4. He averaged 28.8 points on 53.0 percent shooting, 10.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists against the Cavs.  

As if Golden State isn't dangerous enough on its own, it becomes even more lethal when receiving help from the opposing team:

Tristan Thompson had more points for the Warriors in the first half than Klay Thompson did:

With the Warriors operating at the height of their powers, LeBron James and the rest of Cleveland's roster had no idea what to do. The King had a solid showing with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, but he needed to be at his best to keep this game close. 

LeBron Checks Out Possibly for the Last Time as a Cavalier

It didn't help matters that Cavs players not named James combined to shoot 31.1 percent from the field (23-of-74). 

Now that the season has come to an end, Cleveland's focus turns to what will happen with James this summer. The four-time NBA MVP can become a free agent if he opts out of his contract. 

Since the Cavaliers don't have any salary-cap space, general manager Koby Altman will have to get creative if he hopes to change the roster and convince James to stay. 

Despite looking sluggish on both sides of the ball, Cleveland stayed close early. The lead changed hands six times over a two-minute span in the second quarter, but the Warriors closed on a 19-9 run to take a nine-point lead at halftime. 

One reason Golden State was able to put up 61 points in the first half was Cleveland's continued inability to get a defender in the paint:

Thompson finally got in on the action with 10 points in the third quarter, leading to Golden State blowing the game wide-open with an 86-65 edge heading into the fourth. 

On the other side, highlighted by The Ringer's Shea Serrano, Cleveland was trying to counter the onslaught in suboptimal ways:

Try as the rest of the NBA might to catch them, the Warriors remain the gold standard. They had a brief stumble getting to the Finals, but no one was able to knock them off their perch, allowing them to join an exclusive club in the process:

Sports dynasties are hard to come by in this era because player movement and salary-cap restraints can make it difficult to keep a superstar core together. The Warriors built their foundation in the draft with Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green and then added to it with the likes of Durant and Andre Iguodala. 

Three titles in four years qualifies these Warriors as a modern-day NBA dynasty.