(AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
Why the Warriors will not succumb to another Cavaliers comeback.
It was not surprising that Cleveland sent the NBA Finals back to Oakland for Game 5, but it was surprising what the Cavaliers had to do to keep the series alive. It was a record-breaking performance that cannot be duplicated on the road, and that’s what it will take.
Consider these facts: Despite scoring 49 points in the first quarter, 86 by halftime and 115 through three periods, Cleveland still allowed the Dubs to score 117 total points. The Cavs did it by hitting an NBA Finals record of 24 three-pointers in the game; if that’s the first time a team made that many triples in the championship series, it won’t happen again anytime soon. Cleveland had a 39-point advantage on three-point shots and only won by 21.
The Cavaliers bench scored 23 points in Game 5, by far their most in the NBA Finals. While the Warriors reserves tallied 32, they usually dominate the bench scoring more. Like their output through the first three quarters, the Cavs can’t be expected to post those numbers again. It is far more likely that Kyrie Irving and Lebron James combined for another 71 points than where the other 66 points came from, including half of them from the subs.
Cleveland isn’t the outside shooting team it showed in what will be its last home game of the season. In blowing the lead in Game 3, the Cavaliers missed 8 of their 10 uncontested shots; in Game 4, they made 12 of their 23 unguarded looks. That is not happening again, especially on the Warriors home court.
A big reason for that bold prediction is that the Warriors did not control transition like they had in the first three games, where they scored 99 points on fast breaks compared to just seven points on transition in Game 4. With the Oracle crowd going crazy tonight, the home team’s running game will return and that is the key in beating Cleveland’s older and slower defense.
And the Cavaliers finally held their own on the backboards, winning the rebound battle 41-40, after getting beaten soundly in the first three games, where Stephen Curry out-rebounded Cleveland’s best on the boards, Kristin Thompson, by himself.
And, finally, Curry continued to tail off in his own scoring, finishing Game 4 with only 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Simply put, that won’t continue, and the Dubs will win the series 4-1.
(AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
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