MANILA, Philippines – Kevin Durant made his 2019 Finals debut today but had to exit the floor early in the 2nd quarter as he sustained a lower leg injury but the Warriors led by the Splash Brothers still won Game 5, 106-105 on Tuesday, June 11, 2019 in Toronto Canada.
The Warriors being down 1-3, drew their final card: Kevin Durant, to prevent the Raptors from winning their first ever NBA title and keep their 3-peat dream alive.
Durant missed the 4 final games due to a calf injury but showed a good sign as he drained his first 2 triples on his re-entry together with Steph Curry for the early Golden State lead. Dubs hit 5 for 5 treys in the first 5 minutes of the game.
Outside scoring was obviously dominated by the Warriors. But the Raptors owned the shaded lane courtesy of Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol.
Durant’s flawless shooting gave his team a 34-28 advantage after the opener.
Just as Durant was having a great time on the floor, at the 9:50 mark of the 2nd quarter, he re-injured his calf and went out of the court limping and assisted.
Despite Durant’s absence in the second, the Raptors weren’t able to capitalize on it and looked disorganized as the Warriors widened their lead to double figures.
Aside from Durant, the Dubs relied on Klay Thompson and Steph Curry’s offensive onslaught. Curry was unstoppable from downtown and Fred Van Vleet had a hard time defending him from that particular area.
The Raptors made a decent run in the latter part of the 2nd quarter and somehow caught up with the Warriors as they downsized the lead to 62-56.
In just a blink of an eye after the 2nd half started, Golden State’s lead went up to double figures again as Klay Thompson continued to sizzle from the arc and after Kevin Durant had been officially declared out of game 5 by the medical staff due to a lower leg injury.
Van Vleet had troubles in going toe-to-toe against Curry but the backup point guard made a fantastic scoring run to lower the lead as the quarter clock winded down.
The Warriors slightly slowed down in scoring and the Raptors somehow got a little bit closer, 84-78 as the teams wrapped up the penultimate quarter.
It’s winning time for both squads as the final chapter of game 5 was unfolded. Toronto banked on its big man Serge Ibaka as they tried to overtake the Warriors. Ibaka made a living under the basket and slowly inched closer to the Golden State.
As Curry and Thompson ceased to score from the three point territory in the fourth, Kawhi Leonard waxed hot from all angles and finally grabbed the lead under 4 minutes of the ballgame.
Lo and behold, under a minute left, Golden State made a 9-0 run to retake the lead, 106-103 with big baskets from the splash brothers.
Down by 1 and with 14 ticks left, the Raptors had the chance to call it over but Kyle Lowry missed the game winner that extended the series to game 6 come June 14, 2019 back in Oakland California.
— Joey Boy Capos, The Summit Express
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| Steph and Klay drained 2 crucial triples to extend the series to Game 6 | Photo Credit: NBA |
The Warriors being down 1-3, drew their final card: Kevin Durant, to prevent the Raptors from winning their first ever NBA title and keep their 3-peat dream alive.
Durant missed the 4 final games due to a calf injury but showed a good sign as he drained his first 2 triples on his re-entry together with Steph Curry for the early Golden State lead. Dubs hit 5 for 5 treys in the first 5 minutes of the game.
Outside scoring was obviously dominated by the Warriors. But the Raptors owned the shaded lane courtesy of Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol.
Durant’s flawless shooting gave his team a 34-28 advantage after the opener.
Just as Durant was having a great time on the floor, at the 9:50 mark of the 2nd quarter, he re-injured his calf and went out of the court limping and assisted.
Despite Durant’s absence in the second, the Raptors weren’t able to capitalize on it and looked disorganized as the Warriors widened their lead to double figures.
Aside from Durant, the Dubs relied on Klay Thompson and Steph Curry’s offensive onslaught. Curry was unstoppable from downtown and Fred Van Vleet had a hard time defending him from that particular area.
The Raptors made a decent run in the latter part of the 2nd quarter and somehow caught up with the Warriors as they downsized the lead to 62-56.
In just a blink of an eye after the 2nd half started, Golden State’s lead went up to double figures again as Klay Thompson continued to sizzle from the arc and after Kevin Durant had been officially declared out of game 5 by the medical staff due to a lower leg injury.
Van Vleet had troubles in going toe-to-toe against Curry but the backup point guard made a fantastic scoring run to lower the lead as the quarter clock winded down.
The Warriors slightly slowed down in scoring and the Raptors somehow got a little bit closer, 84-78 as the teams wrapped up the penultimate quarter.
It’s winning time for both squads as the final chapter of game 5 was unfolded. Toronto banked on its big man Serge Ibaka as they tried to overtake the Warriors. Ibaka made a living under the basket and slowly inched closer to the Golden State.
As Curry and Thompson ceased to score from the three point territory in the fourth, Kawhi Leonard waxed hot from all angles and finally grabbed the lead under 4 minutes of the ballgame.
Lo and behold, under a minute left, Golden State made a 9-0 run to retake the lead, 106-103 with big baskets from the splash brothers.
Down by 1 and with 14 ticks left, the Raptors had the chance to call it over but Kyle Lowry missed the game winner that extended the series to game 6 come June 14, 2019 back in Oakland California.
— Joey Boy Capos, The Summit Express
