Kevin Durant went down with an Achilles injury. Kevon Looney left after reaggravating his own injury. The Raptors held a six-point lead with less than three minutes to go and a title hanging in the balance.
And yet, with an entire country hoping the Warriors would fall apart on Monday night, Golden State fired back with a championship mettle that powered them to a wild 106-105 victory in Toronto. The Warriors finished Game 5 with a 9-2 run to send the NBA Finals to Oracle Arena.
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Stephen Curry (31 points) and Klay Thompson (26 points) provided the scoring punch, and Draymond Green (10 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) and DeMarcus Cousins (14 points, six rebounds) stepped up in the frontcourt with Durant out. The shooting, ball movement and "Splash Brothers" moniker are all nice, but the Warriors' dynasty is also a result of winning the ugly possessions, the ones that decide games but won't be featured on the end-of-season highlight reels.
Nothing better represents what separates Golden State from the rest of the pack than its incredible defensive possession to end Game 5.
WHAT A FINISH.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 11, 2019
The final shot is off, and it's headed back to Oracle. pic.twitter.com/PDSoD0O1N4
"Our defense was bending down the stretch, but we didn't break, and the last stop was tremendous," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Amazing defense on that last play from all five guys. Draymond's block, he covered so much ground on Kyle's shot from the corner. So our guys just stayed with it, and they stayed poised and just an amazing job finishing the game."
Think about all of the quick decisions that must take place within this 6.6-second span.
— Kawhi Leonard attacks Thompson in isolation. Rather than stick with Marc Gasol or Kyle Lowry, Warriors forward Andre Iguodala steps out of the paint to double-team Leonard before he can get downhill. Stephen Curry doesn't leave Danny Green in the strong-side corner, a mistake he made earlier in the series.
— Leonard kicks out to Fred VanVleet, and Shaun Livingston rotates over to the ball with a high hand. When VanVleet penetrates, Draymond Green stays on top of Gasol so he can't seal him for an easy bucket or screen him. Green gives himself a chance to sprint to the corner.
— Green then challenges Lowry's 3-pointer without fouling, deflecting the ball and sending it safely out of bounds.
@warriors Draymond Green deflects a last second game-winning attempt by @Raptors Kyle Lowry preserving Golden State's 106-105 win in Game 5 of #NBAFinals @Money23Green #nba #basketball @sfchronicle photo by @ScottStrazzante pic.twitter.com/zbkxtk2sTT
— Scott Strazzante (@ScottStrazzante) June 11, 2019
The resilience to even make that moment possible. The intelligence of Iguodala to force the ball out of Leonard's hands. The heart of Green to prevent that shot from reaching the rim.
After five straight years of NBA Finals appearances, no one would have faulted the Warriors for running out of steam. The Game 4 loss seemed to be pushing Golden State toward the finish line.
Against another team, the Raptors likely would have extended the lead into double-digits, and they would be preparing a championship parade for later in the week.
But Golden State is built differently. The Raptors won't be handed their rings. They will have to claw them away from this Warriors bunch.
