Golden State Warriors do enough to live another day
By Eric He
The Golden State Warriors survived enough in Game 5 to see another day.
Most people who watched Games 3 and 4 between the Warriors and Thunder would have stuck a fork in the Warriors in Game 5 (yours truly included).
Never mind that it was an elimination game, that it was at Oracle Arena, where a Warriors’ loss is once in a blue moon. It just seemed like no adjustments whatsoever could solve the Golden State’s Thunder problem, like no amount of switching or strategy or small ball lineup would amount to much.
After all, these were the Thunder that had the Warriors by the throat. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were leaps and bounds outplaying Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Curry looked like a shell of his two-time MVP-self, and Green looked like he had regressed back to being a rookie. The Thunder had their way with the Warriors, slowing and speeding up the pace whenever they wanted to, grabbing all of the 50-50 balls, and never letting their foot off the gas pedal.
Turns out, it is a bad idea to bet against the Warriors at home, with their backs against the wall. The Warriors won, though not handily. There were plenty enough nervous moments in Game 5 to legitimately worry about Game 6. Durant continued to be a freak of nature, draining jumper after jumper. Westbrook continued to be aggressive and create separation for his patented mid-range shots that are unguardable.
The pivotal point of the game came in the third quarter, when Durant rattled in a jumper to tie the game at 65-65, and Westbrook hit a contested three-pointer to give the Thunder their first lead of the night. But the Warriors countered to bring back the momentum when Westbrook turned it over and Andrew Bogut threw a beautiful lob pass right to Green, who layed it in and drew the foul.
That play re-established the momentum, brought back the energy and prevented the Thunder from building a lead. And in the end, it wasn’t pretty, but the Warriors survived — which is the word of the night.
The Warriors did just enough to win. They received contributions from the right people at the right times — Bogut playing with force and dropping 15 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, Speights lighting it up with 14 points in just nine minutes. They got a much-needed improvement from Green, who looked slightly more like himself, and a big-time game from Curry, who rediscovered his touch at just the right time.
Though it wasn’t one of those — to steal a phrase from Bob Fitzgerald that no one uses — “Human Torch Mode” games, Curry scored his average with 31 points to go along with seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. He certainly looked more spry and loose, getting some good looks and fearlessly driving to the rim amongst the trees. It seemed more like a sense of relief than anything for Curry and the Warriors, who finally showed a semblance of themselves and prompted their leader to yell, “We ain’t going home” after making a game-sealing layup with a minute to play.
In the grand scheme, coming back from a 3-1 deficit seems very difficult. But broken up into pieces, it seems more palpable. The Warriors have one win down, and I can’t see them losing a game at home, especially not a Game 7 and a trip to the Finals on the line. So it comes down to Game 6, which will be the biggest challenge for this team all year.
The Warriors still have a Durant and Westbrook problem. Their offense still does not have the synchronization that you would expect at this juncture of the postseason. But what makes the Warriors great is their depth. They won 73 games and survived this far in the playoffs without Curry for much of the first two rounds because they can roll eight or nine guys out there and trust them to contribute. When players like Speights or Bogut or Festus Ezeli or Leandro Barbosa chip in, it takes the load off Steph and Klay and puts the strain on the defense to cover everyone. That’s what happened in Game 5, and that’s why there will be a Game 6.
To be clear, the Warriors need Steph, Klay and Draymond to be the MVPs and All-Stars that they are if they have any hope of coming back to Oracle for Game 7. Their contributions are contagious, opening up the floor for the role players to continue the roll. The Warriors earned a “satisfactory” grade for Game 5, taking care of business and avoiding the horror of ending their season at Oracle.
But what lies ahead on Saturday will be a true test, a chance to show that a historical season will not be stopped by a little bit of thunder.