The Splash Brothers had gone dry, LeBron James marched his franchise to a quarter from stealing victory inside Oracle Arena, so out of nowhere Andre Iguodala went full throttle. He attacked an angle toward the left wing, several feet from his opposition's bench, where an old nemesis to his body delivered a cold clocking. Iguodala felt Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova's presence in his tracks, and Dellavedova's hand struck his groin.
Iguodala confronted the spirited Australian guard on Thursday night, with teammates separating them in the Golden State Warriors' 104-89 win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
"He hit me in the [expletive], man," Iguodala yelled toward Cleveland's Iman Shumpert.
The villain to the Warriors had returned, months after Dellavedova's altercation with Iguodala on Christmas Day and robust matchup with Stephen Curry in the 2015 Finals. The pain was swift on Thursday, the lowest of low blows for Iguodala. Around these Warriors, the belief permeated: This level of physicality allows Dellavedova to survive on an NBA roster. From Kyle Korver to Al Horford to Taj Gibson last season and Iguodala in December, Dellavedova has created a history, a track record in incidentals.
"Delly needs to play like this to stay in the league," former teammate Anderson Varejao told The Vertical. "If you ask me if Delly is a dirty player, I don't think he is, but he has a way that he plays. He needs to do this for that team; play hard and tough. That is his way of helping Cleveland."
Dellavedova is only in his third NBA year, a pending free agent whose value has trended upward all season. For any NBA team, he's a high-end backup point guard, able to advance a franchise's core principles in team chemistry and defense. For Cavaliers coach Ty Lue, Dellavedova has become a luxury behind Kyrie Irving.
Yet Dellavedova had struck again, infuriating the opponent and creating narrative and substance. This time, a nut shot with less than a minute left in the third quarter led to a Warriors' 13-2 run, a 25-8 wave in total for their 20-point lead, and ultimately Golden State never needed Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson to supply anything in the fourth.
"We know what Dellavedova brings and that type of hit to the body is always possible," Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa told The Vertical. "He needs to do that for his team. Dirty is a strong word for it, but we are aware of his style. We needed something to get ourselves going, to say we have to hit them back with our play.
"After Iggy got hit, we came back and told ourselves, 'Lock in.' So if that was the moment for us, then so be it."
These Warriors' response to the moment changed the complexion of Game 1, a Cleveland team raging its way into a last-second scenario inside Oracle Arena. It never happened. Only 20 points from Steph and Klay – including six when the game had been decided in the fourth quarter – and there were Shaun Livingston (20 points), Iguodala (12 points, seven rebounds, six assists) and Barbosa (11 points, 5-of-5 shooting).
"Andre is still so talented when he's feeling himself," Barbosa told The Vertical.
"Our whole bench was unbelievable, especially how Shaun and Andre gave us the scoring we lacked," Varejao said.
So potent, and yet such a low profile by design. Iguodala's Finals MVP trophy? "It's in the corner, nowhere I can see it often. Someone might try to rob me," Iguodala told The Vertical earlier this season, laughing.
Finally, Iguodala's teammates sensed his uneasiness on Thursday night as he walked into the huddle. "He smacked me in the [expletive]," teammates heard Iguodala say. "He smacked me." So Iguodala drained a 3-pointer seconds later and smacked back verbally. He glanced toward Dellavedova and yelled, and had another jumper early in the fourth. The rout had commenced. When Iguodala placed his coat and hat on late Thursday, everyone probed him on Dellavedova.
"I respect a lot of guys' hustles in this league," Iguodala said. "We have got guys who have to get a little dirty and physical to make a life to feed their family. For me, it's about keeping my composure.
"There are times for me to get fired up, and the situation that happened got me fired up."
For now, Golden State takes solace in its star backcourt missing 19-of-27 shot attempts, a reserve unit thriving and an enraged and infused Iguodala. Golden State is one win down, with three to go in this final. Delly had challenged someone with two inches and several dozen pounds on him, and the history of his body collisions gives these Warriors a common conclusion: This is a player's only way of survival in the NBA. Assuredly, Matthew Dellavedova will keep coming for them, for everyone, by any means.
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