Warriors survive, lose Durant again
TORONTO — The Golden State Warriors aren’t letting go of the NBA title just yet.
Stephen Curry scored 31 points, Klay Thompson added 26 and they led a season-saving surge that gave the Warriors a 106-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
The Splash Brothers combined for three consecutive three-pointers in the closing minutes after Toronto had taken a six-point lead with
under 3½ minutes remaining.
“They’re amazing. They’re amazing competitors, great shooters,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said.
The Warriors lost Kevin Durant barely a quarter after getting him back but got the win, cutting Toronto’s lead to 3-2 and sending the series back to Oracle Arena for Game 6 on Thursday.
Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points for the Raptors but couldn’t get the final shot, which went to Kyle Lowry and was blocked by Draymond Green.
The two-time defending champion Warriors were minutes away from their title reign ending, having lost Durant to an Achilles injury and a 14-point lead during an emotionally exhausting game. They had controlled Leonard for three quarters, but he scored 10 consecutive Toronto points in the fourth.
But even after everything the Warriors had lost, they still had two of the best perimeter shooters in the world on the floor. Thompson hit a three, and Curry followed with one to tie it at 103-103. Golden State got it back to Thompson, and the Raptors lost sight of him just long enough for the tiebreaking shot with 57 seconds to go.
Toronto cut it to one when Kyle Lowry was credited with a basket on a goal tend, and the Raptors got a final chance when DeMarcus Cousins was called for an illegal screen. Leonard had the ball, but the Warriors forced him to pass and it ended up in the corner to Lowry, who was way off as the buzzer sounded.
Cousins had 14 points for the Warriors, and Green finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.
Golden State is the only team to lose a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, when Cleveland came back to win in 2016.
Now the Warriors have a chance to pull off the feat themselves, but it became more difficult after Durant limped off in the second quarter after he had missed the previous nine games with a strained right calf.
He was attempting to dribble past Serge Ibaka early in the second quarter when he suddenly came to a stop, lost the ball and limped sideways before grabbing at his lower leg as he fell to the court.
Durant left the arena on crutches and the Warriors said he would get an MRI today, but General Manager Bob Myers said in a postgame news conference that the injury was an Achilles.
Durant finished with 11 points in 12 minutes. He came in averaging 31.7 points per
game in the NBA Finals, trailing only Rick Barry and Michael Jordan on the career list.
They were initially OK without him because Cousins — who returned from injury himself in this series — came off the bench to score their next seven points before feeding Green for a layup that gave them a 48-37 lead. It got as high as 13 on Curry’s four-point play, and Golden State led 62-56 at halftime.
Eventually, it would come down to Curry and Thompson, who both logged more than 41 minutes.
Lowry had 18 points and Marc Gasol scored 17 for the Raptors, who were trying to give Canada its first championship in one of the traditional major sports since the Blue Jays won the World Series in 1993. GOLDEN STATE (106)
Iguodala 2-7 0-0 5, Durant 3-5 2-2 11, Dr.Green 4-9 0-0 10, Curry 10-23 6-6 31, Thompson 9-21 1-2 26, McKinnie 0-0 0-0 0, Bell 1-1 0-0 2, Looney 2-4 0-0 4, Bogut 0-0 0-0 0, Cousins 6-8 1-4 14, Livingston 0-2 0-0 0, Cook 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 38-82 10-14 106. TORONTO (105)
Leonard 9-24 6-8 26, Siakam 6-15 0-1 12, Gasol 4-6 7-8 17, Lowry 8-16 1-2 18, Da.Green 2-7 0-0 4, Powell 1-2 0-0 2, Ibaka 5-8 5-6 15, VanVleet 3-7 2-2 11, McCaw 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-85 21-27 105.
Golden State ...... 34 28 22 22 — 106 Toronto ............. 28 28 22 27 — 105 3-Point Goals—Golden State 20-42 (Thompson 7-13, Curry 5-14, Durant 3-3, Dr.Green 2-4, Cook 1-2, Iguodala 1-3, Cousins 1-3), Toronto 8-32 (VanVleet 3-6, Gasol 2-3, Leonard 2-7, Lowry 1-6, Powell 0-1, Ibaka 0-1, Siakam 0-4, Da.Green 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Golden State 37 (Dr.Green 10), Toronto 43 (Leonard 12). Assists—Golden State 27 (Dr.Green 8), Toronto 19 (Leonard, Lowry 6). Total Fouls—Golden State 22, Toronto 19. Technicals—Dr.Green. Attendance—20,144 (19,800).