The NBA Finals will last at least one more game after the Warriors fell 112-97 to the Cavaliers in Game 5 on Monday night.
The NBA Finals will last at least one more game after the Warriors fell 112-97 to the Cavaliers in Game 5 on Monday night. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry scored 37 and 25 points, respectively, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a tremendous performance from Cleveland’s top duo of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. With the loss, the Warriors’ series lead is trimmed to 3-2. They’ll attempt to bounce back and win their second-straight NBA championship when they travel to Cleveland to face the Cavs in Game 6 on Thursday.
GAME LEADERS
Teams don’t wear caps in basketball, but if they did, the Warriors would have to tip theirs in the direction of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. On a night in which Cleveland’s season was on the line, the Cavs relied upon their All-Star duo, and James and Irving came through time and time again. Klay Thompson paced Golden State and scored 26 points in what was a thrilling, equally-fought first half, but as the game carried on, Golden State’s shots refused to fall, and Cleveland eventually lived to fight another day.
Playing without Draymond Green, who missed the game due to a one-game suspension, the Warriors clearly missed their do-it-all forward on both ends of the floor. Golden State accrued just one more assist than their 11 turnovers in the opening half, which came to a close with the score tied at 61. On the defensive end, Green’s absence was even more visible, as Golden State struggled to curtail the James-Irving pick-and-roll, of which Green typically plays an integral part in defending.
Still, the game – and the championship – was right there for the taking at halftime. Unfortunately for Golden State, the hot shooting upon which they had subsisted in the first half went cold in the second, and the Dubs struggled to keep up with Irving and James, who put the Cavs’ scoring burden on their backs. Both scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the third frame, and Irving’s success persisted into the fourth and final quarter, where he added another 12 points to lead the way to victory. While Golden State did a good job limiting Cleveland’s supporting cast, they had no answer for Irving and James, whose 82 combined points set an NBA record for the most by two teammates when facing elimination in the NBA Finals.
Golden State will have Draymond Green back in the fold for Game 6, which takes place in Cleveland on Thursday. With a victory, the Warriors would clinch their second consecutive NBA championship, while a defeat would mean the series returns to Oracle Arena for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday.