Crash Brothers: Irving, LeBron wreck Warriors in Game 5

Golden State must go forward as it has done so many times this season when undermanned. He made 17 of 24 shots, including 5 of 7 3-pointers and several twisting layups on which he somehow coaxed the ball through the rim.

In the biggest game of his life, Irving astounded. The paint was wide open, an open gate, and Irving and James were more able to create those shots. “That was our main concern, and we were able to do that”.

The Warriors lead Cleveland 3-2 in the best-of-seven series but lost a chance to clinch Monday in game five and will lack their biggest inside man for game six Thursday at Cleveland and a potential game seven Sunday back in California.

“It’s probably one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen live”, James said of Irving, who had struggled with his efficiency through the first four games of the series. So count him as someone who is suspicious of the events surrounding Green’s suspension after his Game 4 incident with LeBron James.

Their two stars, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, played historically well, each totaling at least 40 points.

The Warriors will try to win on the road, just the way they did a year ago and in their only other championship season out west in 1975. In polishing off the Cavaliers in the 2015 Finals, they benched Bogut and started a smaller lineup that featured Green – listed at 6-7 – as the big man in the middle.

“So we go back to Cleveland and tee it up again”, said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. He needs to be aggressive to help us try to send this game back to Golden State.

Under league rules, any player who accumulates four flagrant foul points over the course of the playoffs will be automatically suspended for one game, and every additional flagrant foul will result in either a one-game suspension for a flagrant foul 1 or a two-game suspension (for a flagrant foul 2).

James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in elimination games according to ESPN, averaging 32.4 points. “Understanding the emotions of what it is to try to win a closeout game on the road”. The Warriors often failed to get a hand in the face of Cleveland’s shooters. As of right now, we do not know how severe it is, but it did not look good. We knew we were without Draymond, so there’s no point in harping on that. We’ve watched LeBron give away multiple title chances with seemingly passive play and a lack of that oh-so-important killer instinct that guys like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan so famously had in abundance. James also had three steals and three blocked shots.

Andre Iguodala had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists starting in place of Green, but Oakland must hold off in planning another victory parade for now. “To put on the show that he did, you just go out and follow the keys and play winning basketball, and we did that”.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry sits on the bench during the second half of Game 5 of basketball’s NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Oakland, Calif., Monday, June 13, 2016.

“I mean, Kevin was great”, Lue said. “It stings real bad, but we’ll come back stronger”.

But he dearly would like to bring Cleveland its first sports champion since 1964 and avoid becoming the first NBA Most Valuable Player to lose in the finals five times.