Sporting Green
Big-game Klay: Guard has history in pressure spots
Warriors’ title hopes depend on Durant’s return.
TORONTO — The Warriors are champions. Three times in four years.
Are you going to count them out in one game? Winning difficult games is embedded in the Warriors’ muscle memory, pulsing through their collective veins. In Monday’s NBA Finals Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena, the Warriors are down to their last gasp, on the brink of elimination. A dynasty is riding on the outcome.
This is not where we would have expected the defending champions to be a week ago, when they returned to Oakland with a tied
series. But the shock of losing two games at home, the thinning of the roster because of injuries, the momentum of the eye-popping Raptors — all have combined to create a sense of desperation, a feeling of impending doom.
Those are sensations the Warriors are trying to shut out as they fight to stay alive.
“After Game 4, it was a tough vibe in the locker room,” guard Stephen Curry said. “You lose two in a row at home. There’s a little self-reflection of what we need to correct for us to stay alive.
“I think we’re confident that we can do that. The best bet for us is to just block out the noise as much as possible.”
To survive, the Warriors will need suffocating defense. They might need forward Kevin Durant, who was practicing with the team Sunday for the first time since his May 8 injury. And they will need a breakout performance from somebody.
For the latter, I think we all have a candidate in mind.
Three years ago, in Oklahoma City, the Warriors were saved by No. 11. Down 3-1 in the Western Conference finals, the Warriors won an elimination game at home. Then they went on the road having to win another elimination game. In that Game 6, Klay Thompson scored 41 points in 40 minutes, hitting 11 three-pointers.
On Monday, the Warriors need Elimination Game Klay.
“Hopefully, I’ll add another part of whatever legacy you want to carve out for me tomorrow — Game 5 Klay, whatever,” Thompson said Sunday.
Thompson’s effort saved the Warriors in that 2016 game.
“What I remember from that is the same as I’m feeling now: it’s just basketball, and you’ve got to go get one to start,” Thompson said. “I’m using the motivation of bringing one back to Oakland to help. We feel like the city of Oakland deserves one more game at least. So, we got to go out and take care of business tomorrow.”
In that same playoff run, Thompson learned the reverse feeling; of being up 3-1 on Cleveland in the Finals before losing three straight. He’s also using that mind-set as motivation.
‘I’m trying to reference that standpoint of how I was feeling back then,” he said. “I don’t know if the Raptors are feeling this, but you feel very confident when all you’ve got to do is win one.”
The Raptors want to close out the series at home. They don’t want to fly across the country again. They feel very confident. But 48 minutes of basketball remains to be played.
Thompson was Philosophical Klay on Sunday. When asked how he can stay focused in the moment — to concentrate on one game at a time, one possession at a time — Thompson took a trip down memory lane.
“Well, that’s a great question,” Thompson said. “I just try to enjoy the journey. It’s been a very long one since we have been on this championship run. It started way back, 2014.
“You wish to have no end in sight, but everything that’s great always come to an end. So, whether that’s tomorrow or four years from now, you never know. That’s the beauty of life.”
Why, yes, it is. This has been a beautiful run. A gorgeous era. The Warriors are aware of that.
“You’ve just got to go out and enjoy every minute with the group of guys you’ve got,” Philosophical Klay said. “Because in professional sports, nothing is ever guaranteed. You can look back at any league and see that. There are so many examples in the history of the sport. So, that’s what keeps me in the present moment.”
For what it’s worth, the Warriors seem ready for this moment. They seem focused. Whether Durant can contribute remains a question, but whoever is available has to dig deep. Draymond Green gave a fiery speech to his teammates after Game 4 and is telling his team to embrace this challenge. Curry is the cool confident leader. Elimination Klay is staying in the present.
Will championship blood prevail, one more time?
“We know we can do it,” Curry said. “It’s just a matter of proving it.”