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The Golden State Warriors earned a massive Game 5 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night to stay alive in the NBA Finals. However, it came at a hefty cost as superstar forward Kevin Durant, who valiantly attempted to return from a calf strain after being shelved for nearly a month, appeared to have suffered a more devastating Achilles injury in the process.
Warriors guard Klay Thompson spoke about their gutsy performance after the game and dedicated the victory to their fallen brother, per Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN.
Klay Thompson “Just heart. I mean, we did it for Kevin. You saw what we're capable of when he's out there on the floor, and that's a true Warrior to come out and battle with his team, put his health on the line. And we're gonna try and win the next two for him, man.“
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 11, 2019
Durant fell to the floor early in the second quarter, while trying to drive past Serge Ibaka on the perimeter. He immediately grabbed the back of his right foot and called for trainers to help him out. Durant, then, hobbled back to the locker room as Andre Iguodala and Stephen Curry helped him to the back.
It was obviously devastating for Golden State, which, prior to Game 5, was elated to have their best player back on the floor. However, the Warriors sustained the lead through the midway point of the fourth quarter before Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard took over and looked poised to bring the title to Toronto.
Leonard scored 12 points in the fourth, including a personal 10-point stretch to put the Raptors up by six, 103-97, with 3:28 remaining in the quarter. The Toronto crowd was going bonkers and it really felt like the Larry O'Brien trophy was already on its way to Canada for the first time ever.
However, the Warriors showed their championship composure and staged a 9-2 run to close the game and force a Game 6 at Oracle Arena.
Thompson knocked down two threes during that run – including the go-ahead trey – while Steph Curry nailed the game-tying triple.
Thompson scored 27 points and made 7 three-pointers, while Curry had a game-high 31 points with 5 three-pointers.
The Warriors will need two more games of these superhuman efforts from The Splash Brothers and a ton of help from the rest of the supporting cast if they want to capture the three-peat. With the way their brother KD put his body on the line for them, they obviously now have something to play for the rest of the way.
