LeBron James and Kyrie Irving had to come out in Game 5 like their lives depended on it, and that’s exactly what they did.
The Cavs’ two stars had an amazing night, an NBA Finals performance that will go down as one of the best by a pair of teammates. James and Irving were the first teammates to both score 40 or more points in a Finals game in NBA history.
That’s what it was going to take for the Cavs to beat the Warriors in Oracle Arena where Golden State has been nearly untouchable all season. The only team to really challenge that was the Oklahoma City Thunder, who nearly knocked out the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Monday night was a good first step for the Cavs in keeping their championship hopes alive.
The game was competitive for the majority of its duration, and it very quickly felt like we were going to get the best game we had seen so far out of this series. And we did.
The first half of the game was one of the most fun halves of basketball we’ve seen all season, and it was something you never wanted to end. All of the stars involved — Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, and LeBron James — got off to good starts. Curry had a good first quarter, but slowed down in the second, where the show belonged to LeBron James and Klay Thompson, just as the story of the off days would have it.
Thompson simply shot lights out. He was 5-of-5 from the field, four of which came from three-point range. Every shot that he put up felt like it was going in, and they did. There’s fewer things more exciting to watch in basketball than when Thompson gets in a zone and starts going off, because you just don’t know how far he will take it. Tonight, he totaled 37 points.
Replays of the Klay Thompson 3 pointer. pic.twitter.com/IEb1AlSGQT
— ⓂarcusD (@_MarcusD_) June 14, 2016
LeBron would not go unnoticed, though. James continued his first quarter dominance with 13 points and five rebounds in the second quarter, giving him 25 points and nine rebounds for the half. We knew we were getting a vintage LeBron James game, with his dominant drives to the basket, and breathtaking chase down blocks. James also had his jumper once again, and he’s impossible to stop when he has that in his arsenal.
James had the monster first half for the Cavaliers, and Kyrie Irving would come in and close out the second half. Irving played out of his mind in the third and fourth quarters, challenging anybody that the Warriors threw at him. He was taking defenders to the basket, as well as knocking down a pair of crucial three-pointers in the fourth quarter. It was an unforgettable performance by Cleveland’s dynamic duo. James finished with 41 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists, while Irving had 41 points, and six assists.
Most 20-point games in postseason history: LeBron James 174; Michael Jordan 173https://t.co/EGkaOKQnyu — NBA History (@NBAHistory) June 14, 2016
The Warriors couldn’t get some good looks to fall in the second half, and particularly in the fourth quarter that would have kept them in the game. It was also clear that Harrison Barnes wasn’t totally comfortable taking Draymond Green’s spot on offense, especially in pick and roll situations, something he has struggled with the past couple of seasons. Although Curry was able to get some shots off, they weren’t quite as simple as they might have been with Green on the floor. But, the looks were there, and collectively they didn’t make them.
This should not be a morale-shattering loss for the Warriors. Yes, they have to go back to Cleveland for a Game 6 in front of a crowd that will be one of the rowdiest environments that they will have played in all season. But, they will have Draymond Green back. Unfortunately, things don’t look great for Andrew Bogut after injuring his knee in the third quarter. They can survive without Bogut, but not without Green. He is the glue to the Warriors, and his absence was felt tonight on both ends of the floor.
It took a historic night by the Cavs to knock off the Warriors at home, who were in the game for all but the last seven to eight minutes of the fourth quarter. The Warriors collectively had their second-worst shooting night of the season at 36.4 percent, on top of a 3-for-13 second half shooting performance from Steph Curry. If that’s what it took for them to lose, I can’t imagine they will be too beat up over the loss.
The Warriors have responded well to losses all season, but it will be interesting to see how the Cavs carry momentum into Game 6 on Thursday. It should be one heck of a game from both teams.
