2017 NBA Finals: Game 5 recap and highlights

In Game 5 of the 2017 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors secured their fifth championship in franchise history behind big performances from Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.

Owning a 3-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors made sure to take care of home-court advantage this time around and secure their fifth championship in franchise history.

With a 129-120 victory in Game 5, the Warriors emerged as NBA champions for the second time in three years. Powered by Kevin Durant‘s 39 points, seven rebounds and five assists, the Dubs used big runs in the second and fourth quarters to pull away from a resilient Cavs team.

KD shot 14-for-20 for the field, 5-for-8 from three-point range and a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line in the closeout victory. He earned Finals MVP honors for his efforts, averaging 35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steals per game on .556/.474/.927 shooting splits.

Stephen Curry had a huge game as well with 34 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals, shooting 10-for-20 from the field and 12-for-15 from the foul line.

Klay Thompson only had 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting, but his superb defense helped the Warriors get stops in late in the fourth. Draymond Green added 10 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Andre Iguodala chipped in 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting off the bench.

More from Cleveland Cavaliers

• Latest intel calls Donovan Mitchell’s future with the Cavs into question
• 5 players who will challenge Victor Wembanyama for Rookie of the Year
• Cleveland Cavaliers: Analyzing the Max Strus acquisition
• Ranking the 5 best available shooting guards in 2023 NBA free agency
• NBA Rumors: Cavs have secret weapon to lure LeBron back to Cleveland

LeBron James led the way for the Cavaliers with 41 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block in a mammoth 46 minutes. He shot 19-for-30 from the field and averaged a triple-double for the series with 33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists per game.

Kyrie Irving added 26 points, while J.R. Smith supplied 25 on 7-of-8 shooting from three-point range. Kevin Love had six points and 10 rebounds on 2-of-8 shooting.

The officials immediately set the tone in the opening minutes of Game 5, calling a foul on Klay Thompson 12 seconds into the game. Thompson, Kevin Love and Kevin Durant had all picked up two fouls a few minutes into the contest.

It seemed like the Dubs were ready to jump out to an early lead when they built a quick 9-4 advantage, but thanks to a 9-0 Cavs run, the home team found itself trailing 13-9.

LeBron James led the way with a scorching hot 5-for-6 start en route to 12 points.

Even better, when he rested with 1:20 left on the clock in the first quarter, the Cavaliers were somehow able to turn their one-point lead into a 37-33 advantage heading into the second period.

Kyrie Irving also chipped in 12 first quarter points on 4-of-5 shooting, turning a couple of sloppy Warriors turnovers into quick buckets for the defending champs.

It didn’t take long for the King to rack up his best highlight of the night after a few precious minutes of rest, turning yet another Warriors turnover into a thunderous dunk over Kevin Durant on the break:

However, in spite of Steve Kerr‘s unconventional lineups that featured a bit too much Patrick McCaw in the opening frame, a pair of Dubs reserves came up big early in the second quarter to put Golden State back in front.

David West knocked in a pair of buckets, while an emphatic dunk in transition from Andre Iguodala capped off a quick 6-0 Warriors run.

Even with Draymond Green picking up two quick fouls in the second quarter, it was at that point Golden State put together a huge run to take control of the first half.

After canning their first two three-point attempts, the Warriors had missed nine straight triples. Fortunately, KD knocked down two in a row, and Steph Curry got in on the action with one of his own to help the Dubs put together a monster 28-4 run that turned a 41-33 deficit into a 61-45 lead.

At that point, a skirmish between David West, Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith took some of the wind out of Golden State’s sails. In the time it took the refs to sort out the scuffle and hand out technical fouls to West, TT and Smith, LeBron got a couple of extra moments to rest.

He immediately sank a three-pointer on the ensuing jump ball to pull Cleveland within 13, prompting the Dubs to take a quick timeout.

The lead ballooned to as many as 17 from there, but a couple of huge buckets from the Cavs in the half’s final minute somehow pulled them back within 11 at the break.

KD and Curry anchored Golden State’s 71-point first half, fueling a 38-23 second quarter for the Dubs with 21 points and 20 points, respectively. LeBron led the way with 21 points for Cleveland, while Kyrie’s 16 points and J.R. Smith’s 13 points helped make up for a goose egg from Kevin Love.

A 28-footer from the Pipe just before the halftime buzzer was an incredibly huge shot for the Cavs, who were able to knock three points off what could’ve been a 14-point deficit.

Cleveland was able to turn that late momentum into a strong second half push, with several big shots from LeBron, Kyrie, Smith and even Tristan Thompson pacing the visiting side.

Kerr stuck with Zaza Pachulia for far too long, and the Georgian center was a -10 in 10 minutes…in a game where the Warriors led by eight points by the time they finally subbed him out.

When LeBron found Thompson for an impressive one-handed alley-oop, Game 5 had officially gotten too close for comfort, even when KD canned yet another huge three on the opposite end the very next play.

Just like in the third quarter, a monumental three-pointer from J.R. Smith closed the period, pulling Cleveland within five heading into the game’s final 12 minutes.

Though the Warriors got a pair of big baskets out of the rookie McCaw, Smith’s three moved him to 5-for-5 from deep and ensured the Cavs had a fighting chance heading into the fourth.

Luckily, even with a gorgeous LeBron layup cutting Golden State’s lead down to three points on the first play of the fourth, Kevin Durant did everything in his power to prove his decision to sign with the Warriors was the correct one.

KD knocked down a baseline jumper over LeBron immediately after the King’s layup, and he then drilled a three from the top of the key a few plays later to give the Dubs some breathing room with an eight-point advantage.

With Klay Thompson playing stellar post defense on a fatigued LeBron James, the Warriors were able to secure defensive stops, finding Andre Iguodala wide open in transition to put Golden State up 10 with 7:48 to play.

LeBron did everything in his power to keep the Cavs close down the stretch and bully his way to the basket, but in the end, Cleveland’s defense just couldn’t cover Golden State’s Death Lineup. Meanwhile, Klay Thompson did just enough in isolation defending Kyrie to keep the Cavs from stringing a run together.

Kevin Durant was sensational in particular, answering the bell time and time again in the fourth quarter and seizing the moment in his Finals rematch with LeBron James.

In the end, the Golden State Warriors emerged with a 129-120 Game 5 victory, sealing the series, putting a stop to any potential 3-1 jokes and bringing the second NBA title to the Bay area in the last three years.

More hoops habit: NBA Finals History: Ranking The Last 50 Champions

With Curry and KD likely to re-sign with the Dubs in free agency this summer, next year’s defending champs aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.