Now THAT was the game we’d been waiting for.
Up until now the NBA Finals had been something of a see-sawing, defensively focused event that was dominated more by dogged, determined – but scrappy and unattractive – play, and less by the will and ability of the star power that it boasts.
Game 5 changed all of that.
Steph Curry and LeBron James both finally found the rhythm and range that had been somewhat lost in the first four games – particularly for Curry. Whilst James’ had still managed to be on record point scoring pace thanks to voluminous shooting, in Game 5 he turned on a much more LeBron-like four quarter effort, dropping yet another Finals triple-double.
But despite that, the deficiencies of his injury-riddled Cleveland Cavaliers outfit continue to become more and more exposed, with some smart coaching from Steve Kerr breathing new life into a Golden State Warriors unit that, at one point, loomed on the brink of a stunning collapse.
After a tight first half, it was the speed, fitness, and versatility of a small, faster Warriors lineup that simply out-ran the Cavs, eventually pulling away to run out 104-91 winners, taking them to a 3-2 series lead, and moving one game away from clinching the franchise’s first NBA Championship in 40 years.
Curry’s shooting slump ended in spectacular fashion, with the league MVP draining 37 points off of 13 for 23 shooting, including a staggering 7 of 13 made from way downtown. LeBron himself managed yet another 40 point game at 45%, with 3 of 8 from 3 point territory. The tussle between the pair featured a spectacular late game back-and-forth battle from exceedingly long range that started with the ridiculous and only got better.
Exhibit A…
…and Exhibit B.
Behind LeBron, there was little to like about the Cavs output. ‘Strayan story-of-the-series Matthew Dellavedova battled valiantly, but was largely overwhelmed by the version of Steph Curry that was hell-bent on reminding people exactly who runs the Oracle Arena. J.R. Smith popped up off the bench with a handy 14 points, but the smaller Warriors were simply too quick, too versatile, and too much to handle for the bigger, slower, out-gunned Cavaliers.
And it’s that shift to a smaller, quicker rotation that looks like being the coaching masterstroke that the Warriors needed in the series. Coach Steve Kerr again opted for a shorter starting five, putting swingman Andre Iguodala on the floor at the tip-off and leaving their roster of centres virtually off the floor entirely – regular starting centre Andrew Bogut registered an astonishing DNP on the stat sheet, seeing no court time whatsoever.
The move, so far, is paying off in spades, with points on the board, and defensive structures covered with efficiency.
One more game of effort, and it could also pay off with the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The all-important Game 6 of the NBA Finals takes place from Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday morning Australian time.
Photo: Ezra Shaw via Getty Images.
