Kevin Durant was at his best leading the Warriors to victory over Cavaliers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
KDas extraordinary run of scoring more than 30 points in all five games of the NBA Finals has seen him crowned MVP of the 2017 NBA Finals. Durant was again the difference between the Warriors and the Cavaliers in Game 5; adding 39 points while shooting 14 from 20 from the field.
Durant nailed a series of tough shots as Golden State ran away with the contest in Game 5. Durantas point scoring flurry saw him make history as the first player since Shaquille OaNeal; to score 30 points in the first five games of the NBA Finals. He joins an extremely exclusive club of NBA legends in the process.
Stephen Curry and Durant combined for 41 points in the first half, their most in this postseason. Golden State are the first team to score at least 100 points in every game of the playoffs. a?We learned from everything weave gone through,a? Curry said. a?Our perspective, blessed to play on this stage three years in a row; itas for these fans, for our organization, for these families. To be back here, bring [the trophy] back home, Iam just excited to do something special. Iam ready to do it again.a?
Warriors Win the Ring in Style
The Champions! #NBAFinals #DubNation pic.twitter.com/8Z04H1RiAe
a NBA (@NBA) 13 June 2017
The Cavaliers, trying to defend their title and keep their playoff hopes alive, got off to a hot start and led in the first quarter . They continued to capitalize on the Warriorsa mistakes, scoring seven points in 18 seconds after Golden State turned over the ball twice.
But head coach Steve Kerr made adjustments early to ensure Cleveland didnat get too far ahead. It all began to turn around when they brought out the Death Lineup; taking out Zaza Pachulia (who failed to score the entire game) and subbing in Andre Iguodala. Iguodala, the 2015 finals Most Valuable Player, continued to have tremendous impact from the bench. He added 20 points and ran from across the court to score a wide-open dunk, one of the best plays of the entire series.
James and Kyrie Irving didnat go down without a fight. They attacked the rim and tried to carry their team to victory, but a combined 67 points werenat enough.
The entire team only made about 65% of their free throws and allowed 14 turnovers. Kevin Love all but disappeared, losing the momentum he had built during the rest of the series. He had 0 points going into halftime and ended with only 6, and he wasnat much more help on defense.
With Drant hitting 39, Stephen Curry adding 34 points and Andre Iguodala coming off the bench to knock down 20 points, the Warriors simply had too much firepower for the Cavaliers.
LeBron James scored a massive 41 points for the away team, but it wasnat enough to stop the Warriors running away to a 129-120 win and claim the series 4-1.
