ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Golden State Warriors, Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
The game was tied, 61-61, heading into halftime.
3rd Quarter – Cavs Pull Away
Kyrie Irving started off the second half with an “and-one” against Andrew Bogut, but Stephen Curry came back with this catch-and-shoot triple:
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Like he had been doing all first half, LeBron James came back with a three from the top after Irving tight-roped the baseline with Bogut chasing, late in the shotclock on a catch.
Shortly thereafter, J.R. Smith drove to the hole, only to be swatted away by Bogut, but crashed into Bogut’s knee with a possible hyper-extension…
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…Bogut writhed in pain as play went on.
Kevin Love missed a triple and Curry got the rebound, with Steve Kerr finally stopping play with a timeout. Bogut was carried off by teammates to the locker room.
Later, James got free on the left baseline on a feed from Love and dunked easily against the extra-small lineup of the Warriors, which featured Harrison Barnes at center with Shaun Livingston in the game as well, absent Bogut.
After a missed three by Curry, Irving hit a catch-and-shoot triple, but Kerr opted for no timeout as the Cavs’ lead stretched to 74-66. Kerr’s gambled paid off as Klay Thompson slipped past Love for this layup:
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Klay halved the lead further as he drew three free throws fouled by Smith outside the arc, but Tristan Thompson started to feast inside, catching two lobs from LeBron for inside buckets. Klay’s next shot got nothing but air, as he claimed he was fouled, and James raced downcourt for another lefty layup.
Steph went cold and could only muster two free throws on a reviewed common hack by Love, then made a bad sling pass inside as two Cavs trapped him outside yet again, without Draymond Green to foil such a defensive strategy.
Richard Jefferson went strong to the hole and scored another improbable layup, and things seemed dire as Klay missed a short fade, but Festus Ezeli was there for the putback dunk and Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue called a timeout to stop any momentum swing.
4th Quarter – Uncle Drew Show
Steph started the quarter with a step-back over a switched Love from the left wing…
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…but Irving answered with a banker from the right side. Smith dove on a loose ball and the Cavs called timeout to retain possession.
Irving missed a three over Anderson Varejao, then in transition, Varejao got fouled on a swipe by Smith, the play was reviewed, and Smith was not given a flagrant.
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Varejao split the pair of free throws, and the Cavs had a 95-88 lead with 10:42 remaining.
James hit a jumper, Iguodala hit a jump shot then Barnes missed multiple threes. Irving found a cutting Shumpert for a dunk then Curry got a layup after initially being blocked by LeBron.
After multiple misses and turnovers, like this one from Iguodala…
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….Kyrie Irving got an and-one banker to go to extend the Cavaliers’ lead to 10. Kerr called timeout with 7:30 to go.
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After the timeout, Klay got a banker shot to drop, LeBron missed a three, Curry hit a mid range but then Irving hit another shot off of glass.
Kyrie Irving then hit another jumper and then a three pointer to give him 41 points on the night. Their lead stayed at 13 with 4:41 to go and a timeout called by Lue.
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Rush checked in, got the steal but Curry couldn’t hit the corner three.
James then got an and-one on Rush to give him 41 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists on the night. The Warriors called timeout with 2:15 to go and Kerr subbed out his starters with his team down by 16.
The Cavaliers forced a Game 6. Irving and James scored 41 points each.
FINAL: Warriors (3-2) lose 112-97
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