The Golden State Warriors are back home for Game 5 of the 2017 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena, where they can eliminate the Cleveland Cavaliers and win their second championship in three seasons.
But the defending champs won’t go down without a fight, and that was evident in Cleveland’s Game 4 win led by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. The Warriors haven’t lost on their homecourt in the playoffs, though. They are 8-0 in front of their home fans, including two blowout victories over the Cavs to begin this series.
So, will the Warriors be crowned champions and become one of the best team’s in league history, or will the Cavs push them to a Game 6 back in Cleveland?
Keep it right here for score updates, highlights and analysis of Game 5 with our live blog.
FINAL, 129-120 Warriors
The Warriors are NBA champions for the fifth time in team history. They finish the playoffs with a remarkable 16-1 record. It’s also their second title in three seasons.
Kevin Durant is the NBA Finals MVP. He’s a champion for the first time.
Let’s not forget about Cavs superstar LeBron James, who averaged a triple-double in a losing effort.
Fourth quarter, 1:31 126-115 Warriors: J.R. Smith hits a long-range shot and converts the 4-point play. He’s now 6-for-7 from 3-point range.
Fourth quarter, 3:29 122-110 Warriors: Oh look, another Warriors player wide open for an easy layup under the basket. This probably has happened five or six times in this game.
Fourth quarter, 5:01 118-106 Warriors: Kevin Durant just drove past Kyle Korver for an easy layup. The Warriors now lead by 12, and it would be shocking, at this point, if the Cavs came back and won.
Fourth quarter, 7:03 112-104 Warriors: Cleveland’s defensive awareness has been suspect at times.
Fourth quarter, 8:05 108-102 Warriors: Kyle Korver, who’s shot poorly in the series, hits from beyond the arc and the Golden State lead is back to six.
Fourth quarter, 9:17 106-98 Warriors: Kevin Love converted a much-needed 3-point play to stop a short Warriors run. But Kevin Durant hit another 3-pointer on the ensuing Golden State possession.
Fourth quarter, 11:00 100-95 Warriors: Kevin Durant and LeBron James open the fourth quarter with baskets. Durant now has 30 points.
End of third quarter, 98-93 Warriors
Third quarter, 0:8, 98-93 Warriors: J.R. Smith now is 5-for-5 on 3-point shots, all of which have been contested. His fifth of the game helped the Cavs trim the deficit to five entering the final quarter.
Third quarter, 1:24, 94-88 Warriors: Impressive stats for Kevin Durant.
Third quarter, 3:18, 93-86 Warriors: Kevin Durant came down and hit a clutch 3-point shot to increase Golden State’s advantage. He now has 28 points on 9-for-13 shooting.
Third quarter, 3:56, 90-84 Warriors: LeBron James made this tough shot and got fouled, but he missed the free throw attempt. He’s missed six foul shots in this game.
Third quarter, 5:45, 84-77 Warriors: The Cavs aren’t going away easily.
Third quarter, 7:54, 79-71 Warriors: Cleveland goes on a 7-0 run to trim the Golden State lead to single digits.
Third quarter, 9:50, 79-64 Warriors: Klay Thompson is 2-for-2 on 3-point shots to begin the second half.
Halftime, 71-60 Warriors
Second quarter, 0:03, 70-61 Warriors: J.R. Smith hit a 28-foot 3-point shot in the final seconds of the half to trim the lead to 11.
Second quarter, 0:58, 68-52 Warriors: The Warriors still are feeling it offensively. Andre Iguodala has played fantastic at both ends of the floor off the bench, too.
Second quarter, 3:08, 60-45 Warriors: Another 3-point shot by Kevin Durant grows Golden State’s lead. At the other end of the floor, a little scrum between Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith and David West resulted in a few technical fouls.
Philadelphia 76ers rookie Joel Embiid wanted to see more of it.
Second quarter, 4:47, 54-43 Warriors: Stephen Curry hits a floater and is fouled, in foolish fashion, by Tristan Thompson. The Warriors are on fire right now.
Second quarter, 5:33, 50-43 Warriors: Golden State now is on a 17-2 run.
Second quarter, 6:48, 45-43 Warriors: Kevin Durant hits from way downtown to give Golden State another lead.
The Cavs also have nine turnovers.
Second quarter, 7:58, 41-39 Cavs: A monster dunk from Andre Iguodala forces a Cleveland timeout.
Second quarter, 10:14, 41-33 Cavs: LeBron James got hit in the face and still threw down a vicious dunk on Kevin Durant. It should have been Durant’s third foul but no call was made. James already has 16 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
End of first quarter, 37-33 Cavs
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving lead the Cavs with 12 points each. Stephen Curry leads the Warriors with 12.
First quarter, 0:05, 37-33 Cavs: Kyrie Irving hits a tough long-range 2-point shot and now has 12 points. J.R. Smith hit a 3-point shot on Cleveland’s next possession.
The Cavs have shot 62 percent from the floor in the quarter.
First quarter, 1:00, 31-30 Warriors: The Cavs shot 22 free throws in the first quarter of Game 4. The Warriors just shot their 14th of Game 5, but they only have a small lead.
First quarter, 2:50, 28-25 Cavs: Kyrie Irving with an Allen Iverson-like crossover and finish at the rim to extend Cleveland’s lead.
First quarter, 4:47, 22-20 Cavs: Kevin Durant is the latest Warrior with two fouls, joining Klay Thompson. Kevin Love also has two for the Cavs.
First quarter, 5:30, 22-16 Cavs: Klay Thompson now has two quick fouls, which is bad news for the Warriors because he’s the main defender on Kyrie Irving. Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston have checked in off the Golden State bench.
First quarter, 6:48, 18-11 Cavs: LeBron James hits a deep 3-pointer to give Cleveland an early 7-point edge.
First quarter, 8:44, 13-9 Cavs: A 9-0 run for the Cavs, led by a 3-point play by LeBron James and a sweet layup by Kyrie Irving, has forced a timeout by Golden State coach Steve Kerr. James is 3-for-3 from the field with seven points in three minutes.
First quarter, 9:40, 9-4 Warriors: Klay Thompson and Draymond Green each have hit a 3-point shot as the Warriors are hot from the field early.
9 p.m.: Here are the starting lineups.
Warriors
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Klay Thompson
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Draymond Green
C: Zaza Pachulia
Cavs
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: J.R. Smith
SF: LeBron James
PF: Kevin Love
C: Tristan Thompson
8:55 p.m.: The stars are out.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is in attendance, too.
8:30 p.m.: It’s a “golden” scene at Oracle Arena.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
