Warriors crush Celtics to win NBA Championship

Stephen Curry led the way for the visitors with 34 points, seven assists and seven rebounds to claim his fourth title and first Finals Most Valuable Player, or MVP, award.

"I'm so proud of our group," an emotional Curry said after the win, adding, "... at the beginning of the season nobody thought we would be here except everybody on this court".

The triumph is a remarkable turnaround for the Warriors, who missed the playoffs in the past two seasons amid a torrent of injuries before defeating the Nuggets, Grizzlies, Mavericks and Celtics this year to claim the Larry O'Brien trophy.

"We were so far away from it," Curry said.

"We hit rock bottom with injuries and the long road of work ahead and trying to fill in the right pieces and the right guys. You can’t ever take this for granted because you never know when you’re going to get back here."

With their backs to the wall, Boston raced out to a 12-2 lead with a three-pointer by Jayson Tatum whipping the green-and-white clad fans at TD Garden into a frenzy.

But the more experienced Warriors squad kept chipping away and a three-pointer from Curry gave the visitors a 24-22 lead late in the first quarter.

A Boston turnover led to an Andrew Wiggins jam that capped a 21-0 run in the second quarter for the Warriors and the lead ballooned to 18 points when Draymond Green found Klay Thompson under the basket for an easy layup.

Leading 54-39 at halftime, the Warriors did not look back.

Curry knocked down a three-pointer from well beyond the arc to give the Warriors their largest lead of the night at 72-50 with six minutes to go in the third, pointing at his finger to show where his fourth championship ring should go.

The young Celtics team tried to claw their way back but their cause was not helped by 23 turnovers that led to 20 Warriors points, while they also lost the rebounding battle.

Celtics rookie head coach Ime Udoka was confident big things lay ahead for his team.

"The future is bright and we're just getting started," he said.

It is the seventh title overall for the Warriors franchise, which was founded in Philadelphia in 1946 as one of the original members of the Basketball Association of America.

The Warriors also captured the league’s first championship in the ’46-47 season.

WRRIORS' CURRY NAMED NBA FINALS MVP
Curry was named the NBA Finals MVP by a unanimous vote following his team's win.

The Finals MVP award was one of the few major awards that had eluded the eight-time All Star, who has won two league MVPs and four championships.

"It means we won, it means we took advantage of the opportunity to get back here," Curry said, when asked how significant the award was to him.

"I hear all the conversations, I hear all the chatter, we hear all the chatter but at the end of the day it’s about what we do on the floor. Ain’t got to talk about it, just got to go do it. And that’s what this is about."

Curry led all scorers with 31.2 points per game in the Finals, erupting in Game Four with 43 points and 10 rebounds in a crucial road win that leveled the series 2-2.

The 34-year-old's accuracy from beyond the arc has transformed the game and players at every position are now expected to be able to shoot - and guard against - three pointers.

Curry, who was selected by the Warriors with the seventh pick of the 2009 draft, also transformed a struggling franchise with help from fellow "Splash Brother" Klay Thompson and defensive force Draymond Green. The trio has now combined for four championships.

"We built this for 10, 11 years and that means a whole lot when you get to this stage because you know how to win," Curry said.

"Everybody who’s a part of this knows what it’s about. This one here’s different. This one here’s different for sure."