NBA Finals 2015: Warriors vs. Cavs Game 6 Result, Quotes and Highlights

The Golden State Warriors are bringing the franchise's first title in 40 years back to the Bay Area, secured by their 105-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Tuesday's Game 6 of the 2015 NBA Finals.

They had a Game 7 back at Oracle Arena in their back pocket, but the Warriors had no interest in going back home without the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Golden State got 25 points apiece from Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala, along with a triple-double from Draymond Green to make certain that would happen.

As the Cavs fans still left watched in disappointment, the Warriors lifted the trophy, as Bleacher Report showed:

The Warriors steamed out in front early by jumping to a 28-15 lead in the first quarter, flexing their muscle by moving the ball and setting up wide-open jump shots just as they have all season. Cleveland wouldn't just roll over and die, however, trimming it to within two just before halftime.

The Cavs led very briefly in the third quarter before everything unraveled. Golden State went on a furious 23-8 run just after Cleveland took its lead, keeping things at a double-digit advantage until J.R. Smith combusted for three three-pointers in the final minute to make things interesting.

That only delayed the inevitable. Moments later, the champagne started flowing:

The jubilation of winning a championship was on full display for a team that had no players with Finals experience entering the series. Not lost among it is head coach Steve Kerr, who became the first coach since Pat Riley in 1982 to win a NBA title in his rookie season.

His impact on a team that was a few steps away from championship contention when he took over is unmistakable, but Kerr admitted he's been dealt a solid hand, per NBA on TNT::

Perhaps this has been the Warriors' fate all along since this 67-win dream season began. It certainly felt that way from how Golden State carried itself, and it wasn't surprising to hear them take pride in it while throwing some shade at a certain opponent, via Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman:

The struggle has been a long time coming for many Warriors players, but none more so than Shaun Livingston. The longtime journeyman who finished with 10 big points in Game 6 has seen much of his career derailed with horrible knee injuries, but everything came full circle Tuesday night.

A moment decades in the making for Livingston finally came, as Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated noted:

The Finals MVP conundrum began being discussed prior to Game 6 as folks wondered whether LeBron James would be given the award in defeat. Instead, the man who guarded him—and, yes, even outplayed him during stretches—took it home.

Of course, that was Andre Iguodala, who shot 9-of-20 and didn't back down from the challenge of taking on a bigger scoring load along with defending James. The first player to win the Finals MVP after not starting a single regular-season game was rightly enthused, per ESPN:

As for the players on the other bench, the feeling couldn't have been more different.

After willing his team to two unlikely victories early in the series and falling short for the fourth time in the Finals, James didn't have much to say. But he did give the Warriors props while acknowledging that Cleveland simply didn't have enough talent to stay with Golden State, per SportsCenter and the Cavaliers' Twitter account:

Minutes earlier, the state James was found in by the media in the locker room could better describe his true feelings, per Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel:

"

Dejected LeBron in locker room. Towel over head, knees wrapped in ice, feet in ice buckets.

— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) June 17, 2015"

For all of his ridiculous averages—35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, 8.8 assists per game—throughout the Finals that may never be seen again, it wasn't enough to force a Game 7. And the Cavs have everybody to blame—the basketball gods, the injury bug, the Warriors for being good—but themselves, considering how things shook out.

With that said, one can bet that a James coming off another Finals disappointment and fit with a healthy Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love just might be able to hang better with these Warriors. And while Golden State itself has some offseason questions (like Green's impending contract and Andrew Bogut's future) to answer, this does seem like the start of a long reign from Curry and Co.

I'm not saying book a rematch 11 months and change from now, but don't be surprised if it happens. For now, the Warriors will be happy to celebrate this year's title.