Warriors owner Joe Lacob ‘tired’ of facing Cavs in NBA Finals

Cleveland again?

The Cavaliers and Warriors will tip off in the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year on Thursday, and Golden State owner Joe Lacob says the annual matchup is getting a bit stale.

“Sort of tired of Cleveland, to be honest,” Lacob told The Athletic after his team’s 101-92 Game 7 victory over the Rockets in Houston Monday night. “But having said that, LeBron James is an immense challenge, an incredible player. It’ll be fun.”

James willed the Cavs to their own Game 7 road win in the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday, spreading 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists over a monumental 48-minute performance against the Celtics.

The Warriors were similarly staring elimination in the face at halftime of their deciding game, trailing the top-seeded Rockets by 11 points after a first half Lacob described as “maybe as nerve-wracking as it’s ever been in my eight years of ownership.”

See the best photos from the Western Conference Finals:

Lacob has yet to see LeBron out of the Finals during his Warriors tenure, as James will appear in his eighth straight Finals while looking to get even with Golden State in Cavs-Warriors Round 4.

The Warriors have taken the last two titles, winning in both 2015 and 2017. And once again, despite his fatigue from both the Rockets series and the upcoming clash with the Cavs, Lacob has no choice but to reset his focus on Cleveland.

“Winning on the road, first time we’ve ever done that in Game 7. That’s a big one,” Lacob said. “But the big one’s still to come. Gotta go win the title.”

The Warriors will host the Cavs in Oakland for Game 1 Thursday night.