The city of Toronto was ready for a championship celebration on Monday night, but the Raptors didn’t do their part.
Toronto blew a late lead to the Golden State Warriors and ended up losing the game by a score of 106-105.
Toronto still leads the NBA Finals by a count of 3-2, but will now have to try and wrap up the series in game six at Oracle Arena.
The Raptors have already won the first two games in Oakland in this series, but winning an elimination game on the road is never an easy task.
The Golden State Warriors are the two-time defending champions, and they showed that late in the game on Monday night. The Warriors made just enough plays to escape with the one-point victory, and will get to play one final game in iconic Oracle Arena.
Golden State will be without Kevin Durant, who ruptured his Achilles tendon in the second quarter of game five. Toronto is trying to win their first ever NBA Championship, but they missed out on a great chance in game five. The Raptors have been on a remarkable run, but now there is pressure facing them.
The Golden State Warriors are -3.0 point favorites over the Toronto Raptors in game five.
Kevin Durant was able to play 12 minutes in game five, but that’s all the Warriors are going to get from their best player. It will be up to the “Splash Brothers” of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry to lead the way, and they are very capable of it. Thompson and Curry combined for 57 points in the game five victory, and were responsible for leading the Warriors on an impressive comeback. Curry is averaging 28.5 points per game during the playoffs, and Thompson has chipped in with 20 points per night. If these two players are making shots than the Warriors are tough to beat.
House of Highlights
Depth has been an issue for the Warriors in the last few games, but they got a huge boost from DeMarcus Cousins on Monday night. Cousins came off the bench to score 14 points, and will have to be more aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. Draymond Green has been a monster in these playoffs as well, and is averaging 13.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists for the Warriors. The “Splash Brothers” will lead them, but Golden State is going to need a team effort.
If the Toronto Raptors are going to close the series out in six games then they are going to have to shoot the ball much better. The Raptors went just 8-32 from the three-point line in the game five loss, and a lot of those shots were wide open. Kyle Lowry and Danny Green combined for 22 points on Monday night, but they went just 1-10 from deep in the loss. Toronto has shown moments of great shooting at times in these playoffs, and they will need another big game in this one.
Kawhi Leonard had another big game for the Raptors in game five, but he just simply can’t do it alone. Leonard led the Raptors with 26 points and 12 rebounds the previous game, but the Warriors are forcing him to give up the basketball. Toronto has proven that they can win on the road in the postseason, and it will be Leonard who is leading them.
It’s just hard to imagine a scenario in which the Golden State Warriors lose three straight home games during one series. Golden State will be short handed once again, but they won’t be looking over their shoulder for help from Durant anymore. The Warriors just have too much championship mettle, and they are going to even up the series with a win in game six.
Bet the Golden State Warriors -3.0 over the Toronto Raptors in game six of the NBA Finals.
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