NBA Finals: Warriors beat Cavaliers in Game 5, 104-91
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Version 0 of 1. OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors had been waiting for Stephen Curry to take full control of a game in these NBA Finals and strangle the life out of the Cleveland Cavaliers with his boundless shooting range and ridiculous ballhandling skills. Through the first four games, Curry picked his spots, offering friendly reminders of why he earned his first MVP award. But on Sunday night, Curry brought his talents together for an entire game, refusing to be upstaged on his home court by LeBron James and refusing to let the Warriors squander an opportunity to move another step closer to winning their first NBA title since 1975. Curry was back taking circus shot layups, pull-up three-pointers from wherever he liked and leaving defenders stumbling with tricky dribbles. He scored 37 points, his most in the Finals, to lead the Warriors to a 104-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers that gave them a 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven series. James had another dynamic performance stored up, producing 40 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. But one man — no matter how great — wasn’t enough to defeat a Warriors team that had five players score in double figures and was buoyed by a classic Curry takeover. “It was a fun moment,” Curry said. “I can sit here and talk about what a great play it was and what a turning moment it might have been, but we have to be able to back it up and finish the job. It helped us win this game, and hopefully after our next win we can talk about all the great moments in the series.” During a 17-point fourth-quarter barrage, Curry crushed the Cavaliers’ spirits with a flurry of four three-pointers that sent the yellow-clad fans at Oracle Arena into sheer bedlam. His last two raised the volume to ear-splitting levels. He left Matthew Dellavedova staggering by going behind the back, then making a crossover dribble before hitting a step-back three-pointer. Then he buried a “why-not?” attempt from 29 feet that touched only net. “I called all those plays. Those were my genius inventions,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said. “No, that was just Steph taking over the game.” The burden on James has been incalculable ever since the Cavaliers lost both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to injuries in the postseason, but he has assumed more responsibility, even if it has forced him to play outside of his usual, efficient comfort zone. After a rare poor performance in the previous game — when he struggled with his shot and wound up bloodied after landing into a camera — James scored or assisted on 26 of the Cavaliers’ 32 field goals, but his teammates were so reliant on his playmaking and scoring that few were able to find a comfortable rhythm. James needed 34 shots Sunday to record his third 40-point game of this series and is now 65 for 163 (39.9 percent) from the field through five games. “Tremendous is even an understatement for how he’s played in the series,” Cleveland Coach David Blatt said of James, who is averaging 36.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists. “He had another one of those days today. Under the current set of circumstances, that’s what we’ve got to get, and he’s bringing it. You don’t see that every day, what he’s doing.” Tristan Thompson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, using his height advantage to attack the rim and scrap for offensive rebounds. Despite scoring a game-high 28 points in the previous game, Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov played only 10 minutes as Blatt decided to counter the small-ball lineup Kerr implemented in Game 4 by quickly going small and surrounding James with more shooters. Eight of James’s first nine assists ended with Cavaliers three-pointers. Cavaliers reserve guard J.R. Smith said he had been playing like horse manure this series, but he scored 14 points — all in the first half — and connected on four three-pointers. In the second half, Smith was didn’t score as James and Thompson combined for 35 of Cleveland’s 41 points. Cleveland will now will try to avoid seeing its 51-year championship drought extended Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. “Well, we don’t want them celebrating at all, no matter if it’s on our home floor or their home floor,” James said. “We’re going home with a Game 6, and we’ve got enough to win it. We protect home, we come here. We’ll worry about Tuesday first. But if we protect home like we’re capable of doing, we force a Game 7. “I’m confident,” James said, “because I’m the best player in the world.” The Warriors returned home for Game 5 with more confidence after evening the series with a performance that was reminiscent of the high-octane offense that pushed them to the league’s best record. Andre Iguodala, whose insertion to the starting lineup has been the difference in the Warriors’ past two wins, came through with two huge plays in the fourth quarter that helped his team pull away from a determined James. Iguodala hit a corner three-pointer that put the Warriors up 89-84, then caught a rebound tip from Harrison Barnes and threw a lefty layup high off the glass that dropped. With the crowd going crazy, Iguodala strutted for a long distance with no apparent destination. Iguodala (14 points) missed the subsequent free throw — and five more from the foul line in the period — but Curry made sure those misses wouldn’t come back to haunt the Warriors. Draymond Green had 16 points and nine rebounds in his second start at center, and Leandro Barbosa matched his scoring total through the first four games with 13 points off the bench. “We fought hard all year and put ourselves in good position now to go to Cleveland and hopefully close it out,” Curry said. “So we’re confident. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We know the sense of urgency of the moment.” More NBA coverage: Box score: Warriors 104, Cavaliers 91 Curry’s barrage dooms Cavaliers in fourth quarter Watch Metallica rock the national anthem before Game 5 Warriors say Dellavedova hype ‘lit a fire under Steph’ Curry |