NBA Finals Game 5 Preview: How important is home court advantage?
Table of Content
Replacing him with a struggling-to-shoot JR Smith may not give them the offensive boost they so dearly need. The decision David Blatt takes may make or break Cleveland’s chances in this upcoming road game. The Warriors played a lot of isolation in Game 4 giving Curry and his shooters better looks.
Kevin Durant had 38 points to lead the Warriors, and Stephen Curry added 28 points. The Cavaliers' LeBron James also had 28 points, becoming the first player to score 6000 career points in the postseason. James also passed Reggie Miller for second all-time in postseason three-pointers made. He grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out 8 assists, but he committed 8 of the Cavaliers' 20 turnovers. Golden State as a team managed only half of James' total with 4 turnovers, equaling the NBA record for fewest turnovers in an NBA Finals game.
NBA Finals: Game 5 recap and highlights
Kyrie Irving added 38 points but struggled from beyond the arc, going 0-for-7. Despite stellar performances from both James and Irving, Cleveland finished the game a dismal 12-of-44 from three-point range, compared to the Warriors 16-of-33 performance on three point shots. Owning a 3-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors made sure to take care of home-court advantage this time around and secure their fifth championship in franchise history. The Cavaliers finished the 2016–17 regular season with a 51–31 record, securing the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeated the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers four games to one. This Finals was the first time in NBA history the same two teams had met for a third consecutive year. The Cavaliers sought to repeat as champions after winning the championship in 2016, while the Warriors won their first meeting in 2015.
#1 New York Knicks - 1999 NBA Playoffs
KD knocked down a baseline jumper over LeBron immediately after the King’s layup, and he then drilled a three from the top of the key a few plays later to give the Dubs some breathing room with an eight-point advantage. The lead ballooned to as many as 17 from there, but a couple of huge buckets from the Cavs in the half’s final minute somehow pulled them back within 11 at the break. In Game 5 of the 2017 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors secured their fifth championship in franchise history behind big performances from Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. KD knocked down a baseline jumper over LeBron immediately after the King's layup, and he then drilled a three from the top of the key a few plays later to give the Dubs some breathing room with an eight-point advantage. Kerr stuck with Zaza Pachulia for far too long, and the Georgian center was a -10 in 10 minutes…in a game where the Warriors led by eight points by the time they finally subbed him out.
Steve Kerr’s candid strategy to play small against the Cavs by replacing Andre Iguodala for their big man Andrew Bogut paid off. Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t keep up with the pace where all the five men on the offence were contributing significantly. Harrison Barnes who was struggling offensively ended his drought by scoring a respectable 14 points with 8 rebounds.
When will LeBron James break the NBA's career points record?
However, he isn’t used to playing 40+ minutes a game and fatigue has taken over him. There is no question about his skills, but his body isn’t conditioned like James to play almost full games. Iman Shumpert has to pick up his teammate and guard Curry when Delly needs a breather.
"I left everything on the floor every game," James said after averaging a triple-double in his eighth Finals. The Suns took an eight-point win in Game 7 against the Warriors on the road, with Westphal and Gar Heard scoring 21 points each, and Alvan Adams putting up 18 points and 20 rebounds. The Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round in five games (4-1), and then took down the New York Knicks in six games. In the NBA Finals, the Celtics again saw the LA Lakers, and Russell and company won in seven games. LeBron James is less than 800 points away from breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record.
We have the latest stats and projections as the Lakers star chases down the milestone. Build your custom FanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis on All NBA and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. With Curry and KD likely to re-sign with the Dubs in free agency this summer, next year’s defending champs aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Smith closed the period, pulling Cleveland within five heading into the game’s final 12 minutes. A 28-footer from the Pipe just before the halftime buzzer was an incredibly huge shot for the Cavs, who were able to knock three points off what could’ve been a 14-point deficit.
For the Warriors, Durant scored 33 points with 13 rebounds, while Curry had 32 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 11 assists. With his eighth triple-double of the Finals, James moved into a tie with Magic Johnson for the most Finals triple-doubles in the league. Game 2 was the first postseason game since 1970 where two opposing players each had a triple-double.
Both the Cavaliers and Warriors combined to score a total of 154 points in the first half, which is another Finals record for most points by any two teams in a half. The Warriors won Game 2 over the Cavaliers, 132–113, to improve their best start in NBA playoff history to 14–0. Their fourteen-game win-streak is the longest postseason win streak in NBA history.
Golden State took a 2–0 series lead heading into Cleveland for Game 3. In what was Bill Russell's final year in the NBA, the Boston Celtics were looking for an 11th title in 13 years, but the team was not at its best. With Russell as the player/coach, the defending champions managed to get the final postseason spot in the Eastern Division with a record, six games behind the third-seeded New York Knicks. Durant led the Warriors with 31 points, going 4-for-7 from behind the arc that included the winning basket. Klay Thompson added 30 points on 6-of-11 shooting from three-point range, and Stephen Curry scored 26 points on 5-of-9 shooting from downtown to go along with 13 rebounds. For the Cavaliers, James had 39 points, falling one assist shy of a triple-double with 11 rebounds and 9 assists.
It will be interesting to see if the Warriors capitalize of home court advantage or if the Cavaliers are indifferent to it. Draymond Green got the same types of shot as he did in Game 3 but made a significant improvement scoring from 7 points (20 %FG) to 14 points (55 %FG). Stephen Curry along with the experienced Iguodala put up a good 22 points each.
Comments
Post a Comment