LeBron James had a game-high 41 points but defensive breakdowns by Cleveland led to easy baskets late in the game for the Warriors, igniting a deafening crowd.
Whether it's extending a season with a pair of 40-point performances or hitting the series-deciding 3-pointer in a Game 7 win a year ago, Irving's already stellar game has risen to another level whenever the Cavs have faced elimination.
"I have no reason to put my head down", James said. "We did it, I told you when I was 8 years old, we did it", Durant said.
The Warriors came back home for Game 5 and secured their second NBA Championship in three years over the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers' 24 three-pointers set a Finals record, their 49 first-quarter points set a Finals record and so did their 86 first-half points. The big three at the end of the game pushed the series lead the team had to a point the Cavaliers could just not recover.
Iguodala chipped in with 20 points off the bench and Draymond Green had a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Warriors, who topped 100 points for the 17th straight time in the playoffs.
James had 41 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists and Kyrie Irving added 26 points but the Cavs never could dig out of a hole created by a second-quarter barrage and ended their season with a 129-120 loss to the Warriors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. Then it was Golden State's time again, with Durant as the prized addition.
The NBA Finals aired on ABC.
Ivan Perisic and Alvaro Morata agree personal terms?
However, Inter need to bring in £26m to balance the books and satisfy their Financial Fair Play targets by June 30. A disagreement over the fee is holding up the deal.
"They're going to be around for a while".
He wanted nerves before Game 5, and the kind of focus that would help the Warriors avoid last year's catastrophe. "You've got to call Kevin Durant a champ now".
Durant, finishing his 10th pro season, made himself the favorite for the award when he scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3 when the Warriors closed the game on an 11-0 run.
The Warriors became the first Bay Area team to capture a championship at home since the A's finished the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1974 World Series.
"We love how aggressive Kyrie's been, and it's been great for our team, obviously, with his individual ability to make shots and to take big shots and to knock them down", James said.
While the Warriors didn't surpass their National Basketball Association record of 73 regular-season from 2016 (they settled for 67 this year), they still had the NBA's best regular-season record.
Comments