Welcome in to the full recap of Game 5 of the 2017 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors reclaim the NBA throne, usurping the defending NBA champions Cavs in a 120-129 victory to take the series in five games.
It's gonna get a lot crazy here in the Bay Area. My Facebook has been blowing up with a lot of Warriors statuses from my friends and family nonstop during the trophy presentation. Before I get down to business, I have finally nailed a prediction accurately! Back in my preview, I said this series was over in five games. I nailed it! Now back on topic, this game felt like a game 7. The Warriors go on a run. The Cavaliers go on a run. Tempers flaring left and right. The Cavs weren't ready to give up their NBA throne. Credit where credit is due, we didn't expect them to carry over their Game 4 performance. But at the end of the day, they were on the Warriors' turf and powered by Durant, Curry, and Iguodala, they defended home court and rewarded their fans a championship celebration after a crushing Game 7 loss last year.
Cleveland Cavaliers
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LeBron James, 41 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists. No question, the fact that'll erase LeBron's performance tonight is that his Finals record is 3-5. But, this stat line exerts how great he is. He was a man among boys in the paint, bullying his way by defenders. Klay Thompson had no answer for him. Kevin Durant had no answer. Iguodala had no answer. This game was a beastly performance from LeBron to the very end.
J.R. Smith, 25 points, 7 three pointers. I'm going to say this again, this reminded me so much of the 2009 J.R. Smith when he was killing my Lakers as a Denver Nugget. The last three games, he's proven he still has the unlimited range. This game though, he provided a lot of big time buckets for the Cavs to stay close when the Warriors looked like they were running away with this game.
Kyrie Irving, 26 points. This was just a typical stat line for Irving. I'd say, he had a pretty up-and-down game. But, he had a couple of god defensive sequences and got most of his shots attacking the basket.
Tristan Thompson, 15 points, 8 rebounds. Thompson carried over his Game 4 performance in crashing the boards. But, he also provided some unsung points for the Cavs when they were making a run.
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Kevin Love, 6 points, 10 rebounds, 2-8 shooting. The last thing after a brilliant game from the previous game is a dud in the next. Kevin Love was a victim of that. He was deadly in Game 4, but he was really quiet tonight and went ice cold at the wrong possible time. The 10 boards is his only redeeming stat line.
Bench. When your team gets outscored 35-7 in bench points, you're in deep trouble. This is probably what the Cavs need to address in the offseason after a porous showing in an elimination game.
Golden State Warriors
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Kevin Durant, 39 points, 7 rebounds. The was no doubt that the newly acquired Kevin Durant would be the finals MVP. 30+ points in all five games backs it up. Tonight, you can see how badly he wanted it, especially in the fourth quarter. When the Cavs were making runs, Durant hit the big shots to extend the Warriors lead down the stretch. He showed up at the right moment and that's what great players do in the big stage on the verge of a championship.
Stephen Curry, 34 points, 10 assists. He was 4 rebounds shy of another triple-double in these finals. He was terribly quiet in Game 4, but everybody knows he was not gonna have the same performance on his own home floor. Curry was struggling to hit his threes until the dagger in the fourth to seal the game. But, he was attacking the basket more and drawing fouls in this game than he was the entire series. Quite a solid adjustment to counter the Cavs' defense.
Andre Iguodala, 20 points. Iguodala redeemed himself big time after becoming the focal point in LeBron's monumental chase down block from last year. The Warriors' Finals MVP from last year put up a lot of highlight dunks tonight. Shades of the old Iggy during his Philly days. He still has a lot of hops in those knees.
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The jitters, turnovers, and fouls at the start were probably the only negative in this game for the Warriors. But, they fought back to erase all those negatives. Overall, not a lot of major negatives to point out.
Conclusion
Don't let this distract you from the fact that the Warriors held on to a 3-1 lead this time. But, overall this will probably be the most bipolar championship for the Warriors. No question, they deserve this championship after a crushing end to last season. This team will go down as one of the best teams of all-time. But at the same time, this will create an endless discussion on the competitive disparity in the NBA and how the Kevin Durant ruined the NBA by joining an already historically great team. All that aside, this Warriors team is a dynasty in the making no matter how you look at it. And I see them running the West for a couple more years much to my dismay as a Laker fan. For the Cavs, there will be some major changes after this game. They were really overmatched against this Warriors squad. If they can build a strong bench to help LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, no question they'll be favorites to make the Finals from the East again. Will there be a Cavs-Dubs IV next year? Time will tell. But, it's the Warriors' time and the fever is just getting started here in the Bay Area. Thank you guys for following my coverage of the 2017 NBA Finals.
Congrats Golden State Warriors 2017 NBA Champions!
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