“We had a good offensive first half, made some shots, had 61 points, and then kind of got bogged down in the second”, said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
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(AP Photo/Marcio J. Sanchez, Pool).
After the sting of failing to eliminate the Cleveland Cavaliers wore off, the Warriors could reflect and see they still are in good position in the NBA Finals.
James played down Green absence, citing the Cavaliers’ must-win situation.
Kyrie Irving’s now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t, ankle-breaking crossover dribble happened at nearly the exact spot where his first NBA Finals ended brutally a year ago with his left leg buckling and kneecap shattering. Game 6 will be played Thursday at Cleveland.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James is held back as he argues with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Cleveland, Friday. “Coach Lue said he wanted the ball in my hands a little bit more”.
As per National Basketball Association rules, Draymond Green was not allowed inside Oracle Arena starting from 2 hours prior to tipoff till the end of the game. What James and Irving did in Game rank as the second- and 22nd-best, respectively, among that group.
For all their statistical successes on offense this season, the Warriors were terrible defensively in Game 5. And it’s the Cavaliers who are in must-win mode to prevent the Warriors from popping champagne bottles and kissing the championship trophy in Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland is the 33rd team to fall behind 3-1 in the NBA Finals, and no team has come back from that deficit to win the title.
“We still have life”, Love said. “We’re not satisfied. We understand the magnitude of what game six means for us at home and we know it’ll be an incredible level that they play at, but we have to play at an even better level”. Curry is the NBA MVP, but he is the third most important player on the Warriors’ roster, at least during the playoffs. That’s the unstoppable Irving, the gifted one. During the regular season, teams can’t take the time out to scout him in great detail, because there is always another game, against another team coming up. Of course, it helps when shots are going down.
Bogut was scheduled for an MRI late Monday night, and his status for the rest of the series will be determined in the three days leading up to Game 6. Thompson said James “got his feelings hurt”, Marreese Speights tweeted a baby bottle emoji and even Curry’s wife, Ayesha, got in on the act. James has put up eye-popping numbers for the entire series, but he took control Monday in a way that he hadn’t done in the first four games, taking a series-high 30 shots and eight free throws, refusing to let the Cavs go down without a fight.
It’s a major blow to Golden State’s defensive scheme.
Fortunately, the Irving-James duo clicked like never before. They had quieted their critics, silenced a booing Warriors crowd and delayed summer vacation.
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It’s a role that Chris Bosh struggled with at times in Miami when James was there with Dwyane Wade and the Heat went to four consecutive NBA Finals.
