2017 NBA Finals - Game 5: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Golden State Warriors 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Game 5 tells a very familiar story from last year. Will the Warriors clinch on their floor or will the Cavs slowly repeat history? This is the first half of the game. Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

CLE 60 GSW 71

11 points is not a bad deficit for the Cavs. But, the Warriors took the cake in this quarter. Durant, Curry, and Iguodala sparked this Golden State avalanche. They were leading by as many as 16-17 points before the Cavs cut the deficit. Iguodala is showing his 2015 Finals MVP form and shows that he still has a couple of hops left in those knees with some spectacular dunks to ignite the Oracle crowd. Durant and Curry are leading the team as expected of a power scoring combining for 41 points. They're giving the Cavs' a taste of their own medicine, pressuring on defense and being aggressive and more physical in the basket. But, the Cavs are not going down that easily despite the Warrior avalanche. LeBron and Kyrie are leading this team and J.R. Smith has come alive during the last stretch of this quarter. Kevin Love and the Cavs bench were a big time negative this first half. As mentioned in the halftime report, Love is shut out. The Cavs bench only scored two points compared to the Warriors bench who are becoming X-factors with 15 points combined. This is a big 2nd half. The Warriors are gonna have to carry the momentum from the 1st half to close this out. J.R. Smith has stepped in to help LeBron and Kyrie. Tristan Thompson is getting more involved offensively, but the Cavs are gonna need more help. The 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

CLE 37 GSW 33

If there's a question if the Cavs can repeat their performance from last game, this quarter was the answer. This quarter overall was back and forth filled with a lot of ticky-tacky fouls. When the Warriors poured in a couple of threes, early indication is the Warriors were gonna pull away. But, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James had something to say, carrying the Cavs back coupled with Tristan Thompson carrying over his performance from last game in crashing the boards. The Warriors are finding themselves in a hole heading into the 2nd quarter with some of their key players in foul trouble, particularly Durant and Klay Thompson.