3 Key Factors Behind Golden State Warriors’ Critical Game 5 Win

The Golden State Warriors took a stranglehold on their first-round matchup against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, claiming the series’ first win on the road with a hard-fought 123-116 victory.

In another back-and-forth contest that unsurprisingly went down to the wire, the Warriors showed their experience after the Kings had cut it to a one-point game with less than four minutes remaining.

The Golden State Warriors’ experienced core displayed their championship DNA in Game 5 against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center.

All of Golden State’s key players impacted in positive fashion, once again led by Stephen Curry’s 31 points and eight assists. While the two-time MVP continues to perform at a remarkable level, it’s hardly surprising given the levels of greatness we’ve seen from him over the years. Rather it was a few of Curry’s teammates that provided out-of-the-box performances, so let’s take a look at three key factors behind Wednesday’s win.

1. Draymond Green’s offensive aggression

Following his one-game suspension, Draymond Green has seemingly been a different presence for the Warriors offensively. Coinciding with coming off the bench, the former Defensive Player of the Year has averaged 12 field-goal attempts and seven free-throw attempts over the last two games. For comparison, he averaged 6.5 and 1.5 respectively during the regular season.

Green’s shots didn’t fall in Game 4, but they certainly did in Game 5 as he went 8-for-10 from the field for a season-high 21 points. One of those misses came through a layup late in the game where he clearly got hit on the head yet went uncalled. Green also added seven assists and four steals in a simply remarkable, game-defining performance.

2. Klay Thompson’s individual shot creation

Known as one of the greatest catch-and-shoot players in NBA history, Klay Thompson took a different avenue against the Kings in Game 5. The 33-year-old was terrific with five threes on his way to 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field. Yet rather than coming off screens, catching and then rising into his picture-perfect jumpshot, Thompson did most of his work off the dribble.

Of his ten baskets, only two came without a dribble — both cutting layups at the rim. All of his jumpshots came off the dribble, displaying the sort of individual shot creation that he’s hardly been recognized for through his illustrious career. It included a crucial stretch late in the second-quarter where he almost single-handedly turned a dangerous deficit into a four-point Warrior lead at half-time.

3. Kevon Looney’s continued rebounding dominance

Prior to Game 5 on Wednesday night, Kings All-Star center Domantas Sabonis was awarded with the NBA’s rebounding award having led the league with 12.3 per game during the regular season. However, his dominance in that department has failed to translate against opposing center Kevon Looney over the course of this series.

That was again the case in Game 5 with Looney recording a monstrous 22 rebounds, the second time this series he’s record 20+ boards — only Wilt Chamberlain and Nate Thurmond have achieved that for the Warriors previously.

In a series-defining statistic, he now has 14 more rebounds (72-58) than Sabonis over the five games. Additionally, despite the Lithuanian being one of the best passing big men in the league, Looney has actually dished out three more assists thus far. If Golden State do close out this series, we’ll be looking back at the Looney-Sabonis matchup as a big reason why.