The Golden State Warriors are one win away from clinching their second consecutive finals title, and will get a chance to do so in front of their home crowd. However, the Warriors will have to do it without Draymond Green, who will miss the game while serving a one game suspension. Game 5 is on Monday night at the Oracle Arena, and is scheduled to begin at 9 PM. ET.
The Cleveland Cavaliers looked like they would tie up the series at 2-2 after playing very well in the first half of game 4. The Cavs took a five point lead into the half, and led by eight points at the beginning of the third quarter.
However, Cleveland couldn’t maintain the pace during the second half, and let the Warriors back in the game before they eventually took the lead for good.
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Kevin Love, who missed game 3 because of a concussion, came off the bench because head coach Tyronn Lue felt he was a liability guarding Draymond Green, and the coached liked the energy the team got when Richard Jefferson started game 3.
With Draymond Green suspended the Splash Bros will have to step up in a big way.
The move didn’t have the desired effect as Jefferson finished with 3 points and 6 rebounds, while Love finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds.
Kyrie Irvin, who stepped up to lead the team in game 3, had another big game for the Cavaliers. Irvin finished with 34 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. He also played good defense on Stephen Curry, but it wasn’t enough to get Cleveland over the hump.
Through the first three games of the series, League MVP Curry and Klay Thompson had been quiet, which drew a lot of criticism from NBA experts and fans. The Splash Brothers finally broke out of their slump and combined for 63 points.
Curry had his first 30 point night in the NBA Finals this year, finishing with 38 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Thompson had 25 points and 4 rebounds.
Draymond Green only had 9 points, but he chipped in 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. With three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Green and LeBron James got tangled up and James ended up stepping over Green, who took exception to the move.
Green flailed his hands and hit James in the groin, which led to a confrontation between the two men, who had to be separated by teammates and referees.
Both players were called for fouls, but the league reviewed the incident and upgraded Green’s foul to a flagrant-1. Since Green already has four flagrant fouls in the playoffs, he was automatically suspended for one game.
With Green out of the lineup, the Cavaliers have a better chance of winning the game, but we will have to wait until Monday night to see if they can take advantage of it.
Cavs vs Warriors Game 5 Odds
BetOnline.ag has the Warriors favored to win this game by 5.5 points. The over/under on total points scored is 205. Check out our BetOnline review.
The money line is -240 in favor of the Warriors and +200 for Cleveland.
My Pick
The loss of Green will be a big blow for Golden State, but Andre Iguodala is more than capable of filling in for him so I’m picking the Warriors to end the NBA season by covering the spread and winning the game for their second consecutive championship.
Play: Warriors -5.5 @ BetOnline.ag
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