The Golden State Warriors lose Game 6 because back-breaking Klay Thompson injury

The Golden State Warriors lost Game 6. They lost the NBA Finals, but they only failed to force a Game 7 because of Klay Thompson’s third-quarter injury.

The Toronto Raptors have won the 2019 NBA Finals. That’s cool. Good for them, but they got some help along the way. That help was two key players from the Golden State Warriors going down at key times, allowing them the ring.

That said, the Warriors were streaking.

There was no guarantee that they would’ve won this game, but with just over two minutes left in the third, Klay Thompson, who had 30 points, went up for a dunk, was challenged by Danny Green, and took a hard, awkward fall.

Here’s the video.

Thompson would’ve been forced to sit out the remainder of the game if he hadn’t come back to take the free throws off the foul, so he eventually came back onto the court for those two free throws.

This was the Warriors second All-Star that exited the game at a pivotal time in the series and didn’t return. Obviously, the first of the two was Kevin Durant in Game 5. Durant ruptured his Achilles and will likely be out most or all of next year.

For Thompson, many thought that the Dubs held him out because of Durant’s injury. All we know is that they held him out. After 30 points with numerous threes, Thompson’s exodus changed this game. It forced Curry to do more. It allowed the Raptors to play a box-and-1.

The Warriors were up by five with 2:22 left in the third, the time Klay shot his free throws. The Dubs lost by four. That nine-point shift along with just 25 points after Klay’s injury was the storyline that will be covered by the celebrations north of the border.

For Toronto, it was Kyle Lowry. Scoring the first eight points of the game, he ended with 26 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. The Warriors-slayer, Kawhi Leonard, had just 22 points on 7-for-16 from the field.

This is their championship. Congrats. But, remember why they won it. Had it not been for big injuries to Durant and Thompson, not to mention the countless minor injuries that occurred throughout the series, the Dubs would be celebrating a 3-peat.