Stephen Curry helps the Warriors take 3-2 lead in the 2015 NBA Finals
The Golden State Warriors took the first big step towards winning a first NBA title in 40 years, after beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-91 in Game 5 of the 2015 NBA Finals in front of close to 20000, adoring home fans at the Oracle Arena.
MVP Stephen Curry was the star performer for the hosts, scoring 37 points, that included 7 three-pointers as the Warriors withstood yet another excellent performance for the Cavaliers starman LeBron James, who outscored the 27-year-old Curry by three points and also netted in 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
Although Tristan Thompson tried to give James the support he needed, by scoring 19 points it didn’t prove to be enough as the Cavaliers gave away the advantage to the Warriors. Matthew Dellavedova, who did such a fine job, in Game 2 and Game 3 also didn't have the greatest of games, either.
Curry, though didn’t have to deal with that issue as Andre Iguodala, once again stepped up to the plate, scoring 14 points and accounting for 8 rebounds and 7 assists and Draymond Green also putting in a decent contribution scoring 16 points of his own.
Curry was fantastic: Kerr
Talking after the game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said at the start he had a slight inkling that this was going to be Curry’s night and praised the Point guard, calling him “fantastic”.
“I thought from the very beginning when they went small, had their shooters out there, I thought this is Steph's night. This is going to be a big one for him because he has all that room. He took over the game down the stretch and was fantastic,” he said.
His counterpart, David Blatt admitted that not a lot could be done if a player like Curry plays as well as he did on the night.
“Not a lot you can do, honestly. He made some terrific shots,” Blatt said.
But probably the best summation of the Warriors loss came from Klay Thompson, there were 2 reasons why lost,
1."We didn't turn it over, we were patient
2.And two words: Stephen Curry."
Few may criticise that the Cavaliers could have done a better job in defending Curry, but LeBron James begged to differ, saying that they tried their best, but he was just very good on the night.
“Was any of them not contested? Falling, step-backs off the dribble. I'm OK with that. We're OK with that. You tip your hat to the best shooter in the league,” he said.
This now means that Game 6 becomes equally significant for both teams. For the Warriors, it is a great opportunity to seal the series and win the first title in 4 decades while for the Cavs, they will need to bring out whatever steel they got within them, in front of their home fans, in order to take the series into the finale.