The Golden State Warriors kept alive their hopes of a three-peat beating the Raptors in game 5 of the NBA finals by a scoreline of 106-105.
Kevin Durant started for the Warriors. He played phenomenally well for the time he was on the floor before he re-injured his Achilles. In the press conference, Bob Myers held back his tears before confirming Durant's Achilles injury.
Warriors were off to a frantic start on the offensive end. They were hitting shots from outside and took a 34-28 lead. Stephen Curry scored 14 points in the first quarter and was looking set to take over this game.
The Raptors trailed for most of this match. They rallied frantically towards the end of this match courtesy of a 10-0 run by Kawhi Leonard. But the Warriors displayed great guts and heart in the final minutes to get a close win.
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Let's have a look at the key talking points from this match:
#3 Fourth quarter rally from Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard is the favourite to win the NBA finals MVP award if the Raptors win this series. He was kept quiet until the third quarter. But he got unleashed in the fourth quarter. He had a 2 minute period in the fourth quarter when he went on a 10-0 run by himself. That gave the Raptors their first lead of the match and they led by as many as 6 points in the closing moments of this match.
Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet provided a great spark off the bench for the Raptors. They finished with 15 points and 11 points respectively.
The Raptors still lead the series 3-2 but they blew a great chance of winning their first ever championship. Game six of the finals will be played at the Oracle Arena.
#2 Stephen Curry with another phenomenal performance
Stephen Curry leads the NBA finals in points scored per game. He finished the game with 31 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. He also made 5 shots from beyond the arc which included a clutch game-tying three-pointer with just 2 minutes left.
Steph already has a 47-point outing in this year's finals. He wasn't in the same flow in this game but he pushed his team for the win. Klay Thompson also provided great support. He ended with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He made an incredible 7-13 shots from the 3PT line.
Kevin Durant played for only 11 minutes. He finished with 11 points on 3-5 shooting from the field. Draymond Green finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. The Warriors are going to be without Kevin Durant for the rest of the NBA finals and everyone must step up for the team.
#1 Disparity in the three-point shooting between the two teams
The Warriors are a great three-point shooting team. Their three-point shooting was on full display in this match. They shot an incredible 20-42 from the 3PT line. Klay Thompson was the best shooter in this match. He made 7 three-pointers which included the eventual game-winner. Stephen Curry ended with 5 three-pointers for himself.
The Raptors were cold from the 3PT line. They could not manage to get in proper flow. They ended with 8-32 shooting from the 3PT line. Kawhi Leonard only made 2 three-pointers while VanVleet led the team for three pointers with three.
Three-point shots proved to be the difference between the two sides. The Warriors are battered and bruised with all the injuries. They have to be terrific from the three-point line for the remaining two games.
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