Iguodala keys Warriors' rout of Cavs in Game 4 to even NBA Finals

The NBA Finals is now a best-of-three.

Andre Iguodala made his first start of the year and turned in one of his best all-around performances of the season, helping the Golden State Warriors to a 103-82 Game 4 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers to even their series at two games apiece.

Turning Point

Iguodala replaced Andrew Bogut in the starting five to give the Warriors a super-small look that has worked for them throughout the playoffs. It worked again on Thursday, with Iguodala scoring a season-high 22 points to go with eight rebounds and a steal.

Having said that, going small didn't exactly help the Warriors push the pace to their liking – they finished with only 90 possessions – and their obvious size disadvantage showed on the boards, where the Cavs rebounded nearly 30 percent (29.6%) of their own misses. In addition, the five-man unit of Iguodala, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, and Draymond Green finished -1 in their 14-plus minutes together.

The game's true turning point came midway through the first half, when a lineup featuring Iguodala, Curry, Barnes, Shaun Livingston and David Lee helped the Warriors end the first quarter on a 7-2 run. As inconsequential as that sounds, when Livingston entered the game with 2:16 remaining in the opening frame, the Dubs led 24-22. After that Warriors spurt, the Cavs never got within two again for the rest of the night.

They did cut the deficit to three in the final minute of the third quarter before the Warriors closed the game on a 31-12 run over the final 12 minutes and change.

That may simply speak to Cleveland's fatigue, as the injury-riddled, undermanned Cavs have essentially relied on seven players throughout The Finals, with Game 4 representing the series' third game in five nights.

Given the extra day of rest between Games 4 and 5, expect a sharper looking team on Sunday.

Star Performer

Iguodala certainly earned player of the game honors for the Warriors and LeBron James came within two assists of another triple-double, finishing with 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, but Timofey Mozgov's performance in defeat should not go unmentioned.

The Cavs' center poured in a career-high 28 points, grabbed 10 rebounds – including matching the entire Warriors team with six offensive boards – added a dime and a steal, and Cleveland performed 16 points better with Mozgov on the court as opposed to off.

The Warriors finally elected to double James in Game 4, and Mozgov was often the beneficiary.

Livingston, meanwhile, was sneaky-good for the Warriors, filling the stat-sheet with seven points, eight rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block while bullying Matthew Dellavedova on the block and posting a game-high plus/minus of +25 in 25 minutes.

Highlight Reel

• LeBron reignites the debate over the proximity of baseline cameramen when he busts open his head crashing into a lens
• Air Iggy cleared for take-off
• Iguodala pays James Jones respect after getting stuffed by the Cavs veteran
• Dellavedova continues to get under the Warriors' collective skin
• Joey Crawford loves being the star of the show, tells Mozgov to shut up

Series At A Glance

Game 1: Warriors 108, Cavaliers 100 (OT) (Warriors lead series 1-0)
Game 2: Cavaliers 95, Warriors 93 (OT) (Series tied 1-1)
Game 3: Cavaliers 96, Warriors 91 (Cavaliers lead series 2-1)
Game 4: Warriors 103, Cavaliers 82 (Series tied 2-2)
Game 5: Cavaliers at Warriors, Sun. June 14, 8 p.m. ET
Game 6: Warriors at Cavaliers, Tue. June 16, 9 p.m. ET
*Game 7: Cavaliers at Warriors, Fri. June 19, 9 p.m. ET

*if necessary

Alternative Series At A Glance