Do not underestimate the heart of a champion. Ever.
The NBA two-time Defending Champions Golden State Warriors proved that they are not yet done chasing their three-peat aspirations as they overcome a fight back from the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of the ongoing Finals and stay alive after a very close 106-105 win on the road.
Kevin Durant returned for the Warriors who missed the entire Western Conference Finals and first four games of the finale due to a calf injury and was showing positive signs of a series turnaround for his team, even scoring 11 points on three for three shooting from beyond the arc until the 9:42 mark of the second quarter where he re-injured his calf and has seen a visible popping from his lower leg. From then on he never saw action for the game and is likely out of the whole series.
But based on their playoff and championship experience, they didn’t fold in the crunch with leader Stephen Curry and half of the Splash Brother Klay Thompson showing the way for them.
Curry (who scored 31 points) and Thompson (produced 26 points) combined for 57 markers to fight for another day and bring back the series to their beloved fans inside the Oracle Arena for Game 6. They were complimented by Demarcus Cousins’ 14 points and 5 rebounds. Draymond Green also imparted imprints throughout the game with 5 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors was led by Kawhi Leonard with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists who had a very good support from his teammates as Kyle Lowry added 18 points, Marc Gasol with 17 points, Serge Ibaka with 15, Pascal Siakam with 12 and Fred VanVleet with 11 markers but wasn’t enough to propel their team into the win. However they still got two chances to close it out on Games 6 and 7.