(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez).
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With a chance to clinch the title on their home court, where they had lost just three times all season, the Warriors were unable to find a way back into the game as the Cavs stymied any bit of momentum Golden State tried to generate. It was the first time in Finals history that two teammates had scored 40 in the same game. Golden State also missed 8 of their 10 three-pointers during the period.
Thompson, who was chasing Irving in vain much of the night, noted, “It’s a big void to fill without Draymond out there”.
Irving wouldn’t let it happen, delivering an effort that drew rave reviews from his teammates.
With Green barred from Oracle Arena and forced to watch the game in a suite next door at Oakland Coliseum, the Warriors lacked their most essential defensive player.
A little splashy, Irving and James were Cleveland’s Crash Brothers, wrecking Golden State’s plans to pop champagne and kiss the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Considering the stakes and the statistical output, James’s Game 5 deserves a spot alongside his best playoff moments: 2013 Finals Game 7, 2012 East finals Game 6, 2008 East semis Game 7, 2007 East finals Game 5 and his one-man army games from last year’s Finals. He missed 13 of his 21 shots, including nine from 3-point range.
Irving’s 41 points came on 17-for-24 shooting as the Cavaliers remained unbeaten in the postseason (14-0) when scoring 100 or more points. From Michael Jordan’s first retirement to Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals to frozen draft-day envelopes, National Basketball Association fans see webs of deceit spun by the commissioner, Las Vegas casinos, and the television broadcasters everywhere they look.
“From a mental standpoint it wasn’t about anybody that was on the floor”, James said.
Cleveland has stolen the momentum at this NBA Finals, Andrew Bogut might not be coming back, Draymond Green could be rusty and walking on eggshells trying to avoid more punishment and the Warriors only need to think back a few weeks to know a rally from 3-1 down is possible.
Irving reached a level in Game 5 that he’s only touched in brief, brilliant flashes.
Cleveland handed Golden State just its fourth defeat all season at sold-out Oracle Arena, denying MVP Stephen Curry and the Warriors a chance to celebrate another championship with their golden-clad “Strength In Numbers” supporters. That’s the unstoppable Irving, the gifted one. In this scenario, his suspension would likely carry over to the first game of next season, which wouldn’t be almost as harmful. Of course, it helps when shots are going down. Irving only picked up steam as the game went deeper and deeper, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter.
“You just suck it up and move on”, Thompson said. “Hit some tough shots, but there’s nothing you can do about it. Sometimes you put your hand up and it just goes in”.
“You have two great teams, and I kind of like our position”, head coach Steve Kerr said not long after Cleveland’s 112-97 victory.
Love is again the uncomfortable third wheel in Cleveland’s Big 3. Saying more, especially about James, probably isn’t a shot the Warriors want to take again.
Their relationship has been a curiosity since James returned to Cleveland, effectively swiping the role of team leader, alpha male and headlining star from Irving, who had the city to his own for three years.
On the other hand, Cleveland will also welcome back Kevin Love, who sat out Game 5…wait, he actually played. They had quieted their critics, silenced a booing Warriors crowd and delayed summer vacation.
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I’m no basketball expert but even I know how the odds are stacked against James and the Cavaliers, that’s why I’m going for the underdog in the finals.
