Kevin Durant, who joined the Warriors as a free agent previous year, won his first championship ring and led the Warriors with 39 points.
Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors are five minutes away from a title.
James scored a game-high 41 points, pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and tossed out 8 assists in 47 minutes of play. Durant buried another three on the next possession, the Warriors whipping passes around the floor before it came his way for the shot that barely flew past Kevin Love's outstretched hand. Durant has 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting and Curry has 25 points.
The two teams have contested the past three finals. It all began to turn around when they brought out the Death Lineup, taking out Zaza Pachulia (who failed to score the entire game) and subbing in Andre Iguodala.
The sequence summed up the series, a third version of Warriors-Cavaliers but the first with a Durant injection.
Monday's loss denied the Cavaliers a chance to repeat as champions and for LeBron James to get his fourth championship ring.
But for now, the Golden State Warriors are rid of their demons.
Before this season's Finals tipped off, the Westgate SuperBook installed Golden State as a minus-160 favorite to win next year's title.
The Warriors finished the National Basketball Association postseason with a 16-1 record after sweeping the previous three rounds.
Again, referee calls - or lack of them - dominated the talk around Game 5 Monday night. Thompson and Smith confronted West and all three of those players got technical fouls.
Mission accomplished - and he has been named NBA Finals MVP. That had stung ever since, and even Durant understood because he had given up the same lead to the Warriors a round earlier with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Steph Curry followed with a deep 3 of his own to get the Warriors rolling on a 21-2 run.
Game 5 was no different, as Bleacher Report breathlessly pointed out.
In Game 4, Cleveland punched the Warriors right in the face and the Warriors did not fight back. It was 37-33 Cavs after one, LeBron and Irving each scored a dozen.
Non-Standard Finance PLC's (NSF) Buy Rating Reiterated at Shore Capital
The United Kingdom-based Blackrock Gp has invested 0% in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK). (NASDAQ:BJRI). The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 956 ($12.35) per share, with a total value of £5,659.52 ($7,312.99).
Durant shot 14-for-20 and added seven rebounds and five assists. The two teams also combined for 12 turnovers.
Game 5 of the NBA Finals is off to a much more deliberate start than Game 4's track meet. The first quarter was a competitive affair featuring eight lead changes and four ties.
Irving picked the pocket of his Warriors counterpart, Curry, and raced toward the hoop for a layup. They knocked them around physically, and took their physical play in return.
A tight whistle would seemingly favor the Warriors, who rely more on ball movement and cutting. But Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant have each picked up two fouls. If you can't help off shooters on the wing and have to trap Curry on the pick-and-roll, that's an automatic two-on-one at the basket with Green as the short roll passer making the decision. Everyone is about to find out how good. They would have done it, were it not for the steely resolve of the Cavaliers, who entered the Finals 12-1, to not allow themselves to be demeaned like that.
James took an outlet pass from Deron Williams and completed the fast break at 10:14 of the second quarter and the Cavs appeared to be in a comfortable position, up eight, 41-33, as thoughts of a year ago and collapse filtered through the joint.
"I've got the best team behind me", Thompson told Doris Burke matter of factly.
They lost the fourth game in Cleveland but won the decisive match after coming back from an eight-point deficit. The Raptors' best days are behind them, and Washington is still lacking any semblance of depth (not to mention Otto Porter's impending free agency).
And mostly, this series is what we could have expected. "We needed it. We're champs now; I appreciate it".
"We did it!", Durant said to his mother.
"So I would hope we're more ready, more prepared tonight".
"Turnovers. Turnovers. Bad shot selection", Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said of that run. The Warriors won the series over the Cavaliers, 4-1.
They practiced it several times as heads turned in Oracle Arena to watch and listen.
Comments