The East: Still just the East.

Happily for the Warriors, they’re getting near the end of their long road that saw them go 73-9, then 15-5 in the playoffs including the three wins it took to escape after trailing the Thunder, 3-1.

Only the Warriors know how worn down they were and how close they came to going under, trailing by seven points in the last 5 minutes of Game 6 in Oklahoma City.

If Steph Curry has only been Steph Curry intermittently, there’s a reason.

He’s hurting … even more than he acknowledged last week while withdrawing from the U.S. Olympic team.

It’s not just the ankle and the knee that he sprained, sidelining him for six games in the first two rounds.

A source says Curry consulted a orthopedist in Southern California. Steph’s MRI showed issues with both shoulders as well as his knees, some of which may require surgery this summer.

That makes it the more remarkable that he scored 31-31-36 in the last three against the Thunder and the more understandable that he scored 11-18-19 in Games 1-3 of the Finals.

He was off to another slow start in Friday’s Game 4, taking two shots in the first eight minutes, missing both, getting teammates involved while waiting for the game to come to him.

Voila! Up pulled a golden chariot of an opportunity.

With 3:49 left in the first quarter, Richard Jefferson got caught on Curry at the arc.

Athletic as Jefferson still is, he did the one thing he wasn’t supposed to, letting Curry get to his right hand on a crossover, giving him a glimmer of daylight, or all he needed, which, with Steph’s great accuracy and unbelievable range, make him so special.

Curry drilled the 3. Next thing you know he was off on a 38-point night.

For three quarters, the Cavaliers actually out-played the Warriors, who made up for it by dropping a Finals-record 17 3s with only 16 twos.

The more confident the Warriors got, the more cohesive their game.

The Cavaliers unraveled, as they do when the going gets tough whether it’s Ty Lue coaching, or David Blatt, or Mike Brown.

The offense devolved into Kyrie Irving going one-on-one or a strangely passive LeBron James driving and kicking without looking at the hoop.

The Cavs are now reduced to hoping for seeing a key Warriors, like their groin-seeking missile, Draymond Green, suspended for Game 5.

Apparently out of more constructive ideas, Coach Ty Lue complained that James didn’t get calls without explaining why Bron took only 21 shots.

Then there was Kevin Love’s mewing at the criticism, once more focused on him after scoring 11 points with five rebounds.

The answer for someone on a five-year $110 million contract is: It comes with the territory.

Love’s answer was, instead, “It’s just never enough.”

A year ago, Love missed the Finals and Irving went out in Game 1. Now they’re healthy but James isn’t all he used to be.

Is he looking to pass rather than shoot in the belief that’s what the Cavs need?

Is he getting old at 31, after 28 percent on 3s before the All-Star break, second-worst only to Kobe Bryant?

James came back to shoot 38 percent on 3s after the break but now looks less than confident in Crunch Time.

Is he thinking of leaving again?

There’s speculation about issues between Bron and Kyrie, who get along but both need the ball, with Irving unable to turn himself inside out for James’ sake as Dwyane Wade did in Miami.

With all their issues, coming off a ho-hum 57-25 season, the Cavs blew through the lame East draw with a 12-2 record, blazing away from the 3-point line like Warriors East … until facing the real Warriors.

One more Warrior win and the West will have won 13 of 18 Finals since the end of the Bulls’ dynasty. To date, the total score is 60-39.

With Philadelphia choosing No. 1 on June 23, the East will have had 13 of 18 top overall picks.

The Cavs had four, themselves, (James, Irving, Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett) but are still seeking their first title amid managerial chaos (four GMs, seven coaches including two stints for Brown) with Bron leaving and returning, Wiggins traded for Love and Bennett thrown in the deal as a complete writeoff.

Some decades, or centuries the way it’s turning out, it goes that way.

Mark Heisler has written an NBA column since 1991 and was honored with the Naismith Hall of Fame’s Curt Gowdy Award in 2006. His column is published Sundays in Southern California News Group print editions. @markheisler on Twitter