Curry Makes It Rain as Golden State Push Cavs to the Brink in Game 5

Published on 15-Jun-2015 by David Webb

Basketball - NBA    NBA Daily Update

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Curry Makes It Rain as Golden State Push Cavs to the Brink in Game 5

Stephen Curry has made his presence felt.

It was only a matter of time before Curry broke out and had a ridiculous game from all angles.

The dude hit three-pointers from across the Bay and with Matthew Dellavedova hanging all over him. Once the treys were falling, Curry wiggled his way into the lane for the easiest buckets he's ever shot this series.

The man himself said that he might have found a crack in the Cavs’ defense after Game 3 and would try and use that to his advantage. Well, it certainly seems like he found it, because Cleveland can’t stop him, which has caused Cleveland’s defense to scramble and look helpless.

Once Curry got into any kind of rhythm, that hop to his step returned.

Dellavedova played excellent defense on that possession, but he might as well have walked to other end of the court.

Speaking of which, Cleveland’s defense was superb.

Dellavedova looked like he had an extra bounce to his step, and LeBron looked to be slightly re-energized; it must have been those two days off. The Aussie was like glue and always seemed to be in the vicinity, while Tristan Thompson fought hard underneath the basket and seemingly willed this shot to fall:

Just. Go. In.

However, the hero moniker's gotta go to Andre Iguodala.

Dude's been Golden State’s most consistent player in these finals. Defensively, he's been the Dubs’ most effective defender against LeBron and given him the most trouble. And offensively … well, he got cooking:

Ever since returning to the starting lineup, Iguodala has come to life. Seriously, how did that ball even go in?

Iguodala is surely a strong frontrunner for Finals MVP if the Warriors pull this one out. All that rest Steve Kerr gave him during the regular season is paying off in a big way. He's playing like he knows his role and is embracing it. He's doing all the little things, and while his free-throw shooting is leaving a lot to be desired, dude's been the Warriors' best player up to this point. 

Curry, who's not had an effective or flashy game in this series, finally broke out.

In the fourth quarter alone, he looked unstoppable, crossing over his defender with a flurry of moves and hitting threes that would make a coach throw up his hands and concede. Only fitting that Curry’s last three is this far out:

Somebody call the fire department.

Despite all of Golden State’s heroics, Cleveland has found ways to muster up points and keep it interesting. But it’s feeling like the Cavs have hit the wall, unless Shawn Marion reverts back to his Phoenix days.

  • LeBron had another fantastic game with a monster triple-double, but it didn't see them to victory. He looked to pace himself more and not expend all his energy early on. Still, this game followed the script of him running out of gas in the fourth quarter because he had nothing left to give. Seriously, what else do they want from him?
  • JR Smith was on fire in the first half and looked to be well on his way to one of his patented 35-point flamethrower-type games. But, he quickly cooled off and didn't score a single bucket in the second half. Iman Shumpert hit a couple of open threes throughout the game, but is struggling with multiple nagging injuries. This is what Cleveland wanted and it still wasn’t enough.
  • The Cavs are making play after play and keeping up with the Warriors but don’t seem to have enough energy to finish out games. This is one of those scenarios where LeBron is fantastic, but his supporting cast -- no matter how ridiculous they play -- can’t seem to help him out enough, especially with Golden State starting to find its edge.

It’s a war of attrition, and the Cavs are having a hard time winning that battle. These dudes simply need rest. Going to LeBron constantly -- while extremely effective and something they should be doing -- is costing them his effectiveness late in games. He can’t rest and rely on his supporting cast. Although, he's certainly made it entertaining:

Time to head back to The Land, where the Cavaliers will try to keep this thing alive.

Ggame 6 is right around the bend. Keep it trucking.

Click on a photo to enlarge.