OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Mistulang imortal ang Golden State Warriors nang maitala ang record 73 panalo sa regular season. Animo’y Anito na sinamba ng mga tagahanga si Stephen Curry nang makamit ang ikalawang MVP award at tanghaling kauna-unahang player na mabigyan ng parangal via ‘unanimous’.

Ngunit ang lahat ng parangal at tagumpay ay mababaon sa limot kung hindi makakamit ng Warriors ang kampeonato.

Matapos ang magkasunod na kabiguan sa Cleveland Cavaliers na nagpuwersa sa winner-take-all Game Seven sa NBA Finals, sadsad ang Warriors at isang laro lamang ang layo nila para tuldukan ang makasaysayang season o maging tampulan ng katatawanan bilang tanging koponan na nabigo sa best-of-seven championship matapos angkinin ang 3-1 bentahe.

“You just don’t see kind of that rhythm and that flow and just the energy that we play with the offensive end,” pahayag ni Curry matapos ang maghapong ensayo. “Obviously, we lost Game 5 and 6, not so much because we missed open shots, but also because of our defensive breakdowns. So it’s kind of you can look at and nitpick both sides. But at the end of the day, I don’t know why we haven’t been ourselves. ... The only thing that matters is we have one game left to figure it out,” aniya.

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Nakahulagpos sa Warriors ang pagkakataon na makopo ang titulo sa Oracle Arena nang masuspinde si forward Draymond Green sa Game 5. Hindi rin nakaalpas ang defending champion sa Game 6 dahil na rin sa pagkawala ni center Andrew Bogut na napinsala ang kaliwang tuhod at may iniindang ‘back spasm’ si Andre Iguodala.

Hindi naitago ni Curry ang pagkadismaya sa sitwasyon at napatalsik siya sa court nang kwestyunin ang tawag ng referee at aksidenteng tinamaan ang isang manonood ang inihagis niyang mouthpiece.

Dahil dito, pinagmulta siya ng US$25,000.

“When you go from up 3-1 to 3-3, it’s disappointing,” pahayag ni Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

“But you get a couple of days, you kind of take stock. You think about where we are. We like our positioning. We like our chances. And we’re at home with a chance to win the championship. You can’t ask for much more than that,” aniya.

Subalit, may makapipigil kaya sa ratsada ni Cavaliers superstar LeBron James?

Isang mandirigmang handang manalasa ang tinaguriang ‘King James’ at inaasahang mas magiging mabagsik ang four-time MVP ngayong abot-kamay na niya ang katuparan sa pangakong glorya sa Cleveland na hindi pa nagtwawagi ng kampeonato sa team sports mula nang magkampeon ang Browns sa NFL noong 1964.

Hataw si James sa naiskor na magkasunod na 41 puntos at may kabuuang 24 rebound, 18 assist at anim na block para maisalba ang Cavaliers sa kapahamakan.

“I start to learn from my mistakes and break into the film and seeing the ways that they’re defending me, the ways they’re defending our team, ways I can be a little more efficient,” sambit ni James.

“I’ve gotten better as the series has gone on,” aniya.

At kung walang maipantatapat ang Warriors sa Game Seven, masasabing magsisimula na ang dominasyon ni James at ng Cavaliers.

“He’ll continue to be aggressive. He’s a great player, so he’s going to score. We need to take away the easy ones, a lot of them in transition, easy dunks, defensive breakdowns, not let him just get to the rim easy,” sambit ni Warriors forward Harrison Barnes.