NBA Finals 2019: 3 talking points from Golden State Warriors vs Toronto Raptors - Game 5
The Golden State Warriors kept alive their hopes of a three-peat beating the Raptors in game 5 of the NBA finals by a scoreline of 106-105.
Kevin Durant started for the Warriors. He played phenomenally well for the time he was on the floor before he re-injured his Achilles. In the press conference, Bob Myers held back his tears before confirming Durant's Achilles injury.
Warriors were off to a frantic start on the offensive end. They were hitting shots from outside and took a 34-28 lead. Stephen Curry scored 14 points in the first quarter and was looking set to take over this game.
The Raptors trailed for most of this match. They rallied frantically towards the end of this match courtesy of a 10-0 run by Kawhi Leonard. But the Warriors displayed great guts and heart in the final minutes to get a close win.
Let's have a look at the key talking points from this match:
#3 Fourth quarter rally from Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard is the favourite to win the NBA finals MVP award if the Raptors win this series. He was kept quiet until the third quarter. But he got unleashed in the fourth quarter. He had a 2 minute period in the fourth quarter when he went on a 10-0 run by himself. That gave the Raptors their first lead of the match and they led by as many as 6 points in the closing moments of this match.
Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet provided a great spark off the bench for the Raptors. They finished with 15 points and 11 points respectively.
The Raptors still lead the series 3-2 but they blew a great chance of winning their first ever championship. Game six of the finals will be played at the Oracle Arena.