And here’s the report on tonight’s action:
Updated
Final thoughts
Email from Carole Lindner:
Props to Kyrie… We’ll defeat them in Cleveland and bring down the house back in Oakland.
Well, the good news for the Warriors is that they should get Draymond Green back for Thursday’s Game 6, and they still just need one more win, in two tries, to clinch their second straight championship. The bad news is that Cleveland is a tough place for a road team to get a win and that Bogut’s status is up in the air.
It was an impressive performance here by the Cleveland Cavaliers, with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving coming up huge after being targets of criticism for much of this series. They’re probably going to have to have this same level of intensity if they want to make a Game 7 necessary. We’ll continue to covering the NBA Finals here at the Guardian, but this will be the end of our live coverage. Thanks to everybody who followed along with today’s game with us, especially everybody who contributed! Ciao!
There will be a Game 6 in Cleveland on Thursday night!
The Cavaliers have improved to 2-3 in this series, while the Warriors are now 3-2.
Cavaliers have won Game 5!
Cavaliers 112-97 Warriors, FINAL
Anderson Varejao is on the line for free throws. He makes one of two free throws. And that’s the end of th
Cavaliers 112-96 Warriors, 1:52, 4th quarter
Email from Sonny Rivera:
Hi Hunter,
Correct me if I’m wrong, but no team has come back from a 3-1 defecit to win an NBA finals right?
CAVS could make history why not. But LBJ has to embrace and allow the JORDAN GENE to take over his mind and body. If not it’s a GSW repeat.
SHOUT OUT FROM THE PHILIPPINES!
I dunno. I have a feeling if LeBron had the Jordan gene we wouldn’t be able to see the Cavaliers operate like this, with both James and Irving taking turns as the Man.
Both Kyrie and James have scored 41 points. The first time in NBA Finals history that two teammates have scored more than 40 points in a game.
And Tyronn Lue goes to his bench. This is over.
Cavaliers 112-96 Warriors, 2:15, 4th quarter
LeBron James with a jumper, and he gets fouled. Of course he makes the free throw. It’s looking like there indeed will be a Game 6 here.
Cavaliers 109-96 Warriors, 4:41, 4th quarter
Kyrie Irving is having the game of his life! He hits his next two shots, the last being a Curry-esque three pointer and the Warriors are in trouble. They take another timeout.
Cavaliers 104-96 Warriors, 6:20, 4th quarter
Thompson scores. Curry with a rebound and a basket. Warriors stay alive.
But, as he has had all game long, Irving has an answer. He calmly knocks a shot down from around 10 feet to keep the Cavs humming along.
Cavaliers 102-92 Warriors, 7:30, 4th quarter
Both teams playing tight here. Iguodala passes up a good shot and instead the ball goes out of bounds off of Shaun Livingston. On the other end, Irving gets the basket and the foul. Irving knocks down the “and one” and it’s a ten point Cavaliers lead and the clock is starting to become a factor for Golden State.
The Warriors wisely take a timeout to regroup.
Cavaliers 99-92 Warriors, 8:14, 4th quarter
Iman Shumpert with a two-handed jam! That quiets things down a bit in Oracle.
But Curry makes a layup. Warriors staying alive.
Updated
Cavaliers 97-90 Warriors, 10:07, 4th quarter
Varejao hits one out of two free throws. LeBron James makes a jumper on the other end, the Warriors can’t figure out a way to stop him. If there is one.
Iguodala with a jumper to keep the Warriors sticking around.
Updated
Cavaliers 95-87 Warriors, 10:45, 4th quarter
The news is not getting better for Golden State. Bogut has been ruled out with a sprained knee. He will be getting a MRI.
Smith hits Varejao, it wasn’t clear if he was making a play for the ball. The officials confirm to determine whether it’s flagrant or not. They determine it’s just a common foul.
Updated
Cavaliers 95-87 Warriors, 11:03, 4th quarter
This is what I’m talking about here. Steph Curry starts of the fourth by hitting one of his trademark long threes but nobody can stop Irving from scoring on the other end.
Curry attempts a three on the next possession, there’s nothing doing. J.R. Smith with the rebound. Cavaliers take a timeout
Updated
Email from Mark Lester Dizon:
If LBJ continues to attack the ring now that Green is gone. CAVS can see light in this very dark situation that there in.
The Cavaliers exploited the Warriors’ weakened defense last quarter, let’s see if Golden State will adjust. Or if they can adjust.
Cavaliers 93-84 Warriors, end of the 3rd quarter
The Warriors decide to go hacking once again, Barbosa picks up a foul than puts Thompson on the line. This time he drains both. LeBron picks up another assist on the quarter, this time getting the ball to Jefferson. Cleveland’s lead is in the double digits now with time winding down in the third.
Barnes cuts it back down to 9 by making the last basket of the third, but the Cavaliers are still solidly in command here.
Cavaliers 89-82 Warriors, 2:39, 3rd quarter
Oh WOW! LeBron’s long-distance shooting has been a pleasant surprise recently, and it was never more impressive than this 25-footer to answer Iggy’s triple.
Klay Thompson knocks down a shot from around 5 feet away and the Warriors put Tristan Thompson on the line. The strategy works, T. Thompson misses both.
Cavaliers 86-80 Warriors, 3:28, 3rd quarter
@HunterFelt Green's a bag-snatcher. No sympathy. Key stat - LBJ 29 points, zero assists. Only way Cavs win is to get on his back.
— Andrew Sparrow (@andrewsparrow68) June 14, 2016
Well, James now has 5 assists to go along with his 33 points, and the Cavaliers are starting to put together a decent lead. So there might be something to that.
Barbosa and Tristan Thompson get into a tussle, and the call goes against Barbosa. Thompson makes one of two free throws.
Iguodala hits a three-pointer that the Warriors desperately, desperately needed.
Cavaliers 85-77 Warriors, 3:51, 3rd quarter
Curry chips away the Cavs lead on the free throw line, making both.
But LeBron finds Tristan Thompson close to the basket to get the point back. Klay Thompson gets called on a foul that puts LeBron on the line. He makes one of two. Richard Jefferson chips in a layup. The Cavaliers seem to be cooking…
But then Ezeli scores and that’s enough to get the Warriors to call a timeout here.
Cavaliers 80-73 Warriors, 5:41, 3rd quarter
Tristan Thompson to the line this time, he makes one of two free throws. LeBron James knocks down another shot.
Livingston scores, well there’s a start for Shaun.
But Kyrie Irving hits another three-point shot. If he keeps this up, the Warriors are going to have a long night here defensively.
Cavaliers 74-70 Warriors, 6:43, 3rd quarter
Klay Thompson knocks down a shot and then gets the benefit of a foul call while shooting a three pointer. He makes two out of three, the Warriors creep back in.
Cavaliers 74-68 Warriors, 7:30, 3rd quarter
Kevin Love fouls Barnes rather than letting him get an easy shot at the basket. The strategy pays off, Barnes misses both. LeBron James dunks, Curry misses a three pointer, Irving knocks down a three-pointer. The Cavaliers are starting to exploit the Warriors’ weakened defense.
Cavaliers 69-66 Warriors, 9:12, 3rd quarter
The Warriors bench obviously was already thin today because of Green’s suspension, so this could be a major blow. It also might change the series if it doesn’t end tonight.
@HunterFelt if we're talking extraordinary performances, how about Livingstone for MVP? His free agency adds extra spice...
— Roscommon, Outraged (@blueshiftbeeble) June 14, 2016
Well, he’s going to get a chance to contribute here, he’s in for Bogut.
Klay Thompson gets on the line and hits two free throws. That cuts the Cavaliers lead to a single-point but Irving, who still has a hot hand, immediately scores to push the lead back to 3.
Cavaliers 67-64 Warriors, 10:07, 3rd quarter
And Curry hits a three pointer to tie the game.
But LeBron immediately responds with a three-pointer.
Andrew Bogut blocks Smith and Smith falls on Bogut’s leg. Bogus’ down and in pain, it looks like he’s injured his knee and it doesn’t look good. They’re taking him back to the Cavaliers locker room.
Second half begins
Cavaliers 64-61 Warriors, 11:41, 3rd quarter
Steph Curry gets called for a foul immediately to start the second half. Then Bogut fouls Irving on is way to the basket, it’s the fourth foul on Bogut and a free throw for Irving. He knocks it down.
Email from Michael Aston:
I dunno, I was all over the Cavs in my heart and under dog soul for this, but, the green thingy and LBJ fussiness, switches my allegiance to GS...
Interesting, the incidents with Green have caused more people to turn against the Warriors rather than the other way around.
Email from Mark Lester Dizon:
This is what i call a finals game! ALL IN FOR CAVS!
It definitely has a Last Stand feel from LeBron and the Cavaliers here. They may not survive this game, but they’re going to make it hard as possible for the Warriors to win.
Email from Ludvic Kraku
End of first half. Is Curry living up to his MVP status or are we yet to see more of him in the next half?
Curry’s been good, 13 points & 3 assists, but so far it’s mostly been the Klay Thompson show. Klay already has 26 points in the first half.
Email from Carole Lindner:
Klay Thompson - Finals MVP!!!
Well, it would be an interesting conversation: if the Warriors were to win tonight, who would be the series MVP? Of course, the Cavaliers are hoping that this question becomes purely academic.
You have thoughts on anything about this game/series/season? Send us an email (to Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com) or tweet (to @HunterFelt).
Halftime!
So. This is a pretty promising first half. I have zero clue how this second half will turn out, but if it’s anything like the last half of the second quarter, I can’t wait to find out.
End of the first half
Cavaliers 61-61 Warriors, end of the 2nd quarter
James attempts a three-pointer… but it rolls harmlessly off the rim as time expires. What a first half!
Cavaliers 61-61 Warriors, :09, 2nd quarter
LeBron Is in Third Act Terminator mode now. He’s going to keep coming at the Warriors until he’s completely melted down. He barrels his way to the basket for a dunk, absorbing contact along the way. He makes the free throw to tie up this game.
Cavaliers have the ball at the end of the second quarter. They call a 20 second timeout.
Cavaliers 58-61 Warriors, 1:31, 2nd quarter
Oh this is fun. LeBron James with a long two. Then, Harrison Barnes finally gets on the board with a three of his own. LeBron makes a layup, man he’s just relentless here, but Curry hits a shot from a different zip code.
Cavaliers 54-55 Warriors, 2:49, 2nd quarter
This game is pretty ugly and that seems to be favoring the Cavaliers.
Of course, as soon as I type that, Iguodala makes a very non-ugly dunk and Klay Thompson hits a three and the Warriors have the lead once again.
Cavaliers 54-50 Warriors, 3:45, 2nd quarter
Irving is doing it all! He sets up Kevin Love for a jumper, then gets a steal on Curry and knocks down a shot to give the Cavaliers a 4 point lead. The Warriors take a timeout.
Cavaliers 50-50 Warriors, 4:13, 2nd quarter
James hits a shot that gives the lead back to the Cavaliers, but only briefly. Immediately after I say he’s been productive, he fouls Varejao who gets on the line. Varejao makes one of two, to tie things up yet again.
And then the Cavaliers and Warriors trade careless turnovers. Not a very pretty game, this.
Cavaliers 48-49 Warriors, 5:09, 2nd quarter
Iman Shumpert is in the game and he gets the ball to the rim, the layup cuts the Warriors’ lead back down to one. And we get a timeout.
Half-heartedly working while reading this blog. J R Smith's name keeps popping up - @HunterFelt, can you confirm he's being useful?
— Roscommon, Outraged (@blueshiftbeeble) June 14, 2016
Shot selection isn’t great, but he’s being productive.
Cavaliers 46-49 Warriors, 5:47, 2nd quarter
And Lebron ties things up with a layup. It feels like Cleveland should be trailing, but they’re actually keeping pace. Irving gets called for foul number two, which puts Klay Thompson on the line. He makes both free throws.
LeBron briefly ties the game with a short jumper but then we get some
Thompson on Thompson crime. Klay hits a three pointer right over Tristan!
Cavaliers 42-44 Warriors, 7:13, 2nd quarter
Klay Thompson with the three! Warriors retake the lead! Briefly though. Irving makes another shot, he’s clearly the Cavs’ most dangerous offensive weapon tonight.
Klay Thompson with ANOTHER three. Warriors take the lead once again.
Cavaliers 40-38 Warriors, 9:15, 2nd quarter
And Kyrie Irving un-ties it for Cleveland.
Carole Lindner:
Shaun Livingston is not Steph’s “understudy” - please give the veteran journeyman more respect. Shaun’s quiet leadership, cool demeanor, wait - is he really 7’0”? - no? How’d he make That shot?... Livingston is amazing. Go Dubs!
Switching streams often due to freezing. BT is fun, though.
Well, it’s certainly hard to dismiss him after that dunk.
Cavaliers 38-38 Warriors, 9:23, 2nd quarter
Klay Thompson gets on the line after being fouled by Kevin Love, he hits both of his free throws.
And then Shaun Livingston ties the game with a right-handed jam over Jefferson! Oracle goes crazy!
Cavaliers 38-34 Warriors, 10:12, 2nd quarter
The Splash Brothers connect, Curry finding Klay for a jumper that cuts into the Cavaliers lead. But Smith makes a jumper. Irving swipes the ball from Livingston, but it ends up being an empty possession as Sith misfires with the long-ball.
Cavaliers 36-32 Warriors, 10:48, 2nd quarter
Jefferson takes it to the basket one more time. He’s starting to look like the player he was in Game 3. Barbosa misses three, Irving gets the rebound and he drains a triple and the Warriors immediately put a stop to this by calling a timeout.
Cavaliers 31-32 Warriors, 11:32, 2nd quarter
J.R. Smith makes a sweet pass to Jefferson, who lays down a nifty dunk to start the scoring for the Cavaliers. Just a one point game.
Updated
Cavaliers 29-32 Warriors, end of the 1st quarter
Some pretty ragged basketball by both teams. Warriors have to be happy that they’ve got the lead, the Cavaliers have to be pretty happy that they’re not down by a lot more.
Cavaliers 29-32 Warriors, end of the 1st quarter
Nifty move by Shaun Livingston to draw a foul on LeBron while knocking down a jumper. He makes the free throw to extend the Warriors lead. LeBron manages to hit a long two with a second left in the first quarter. Just a three point lead for Golden State.
Cavaliers 27-29 Warriors, :48, 1st quarter
Anderson Varejao gets to the line with a chance to extend the Warriors lead, but he can’t connect on either of them.
LeBron James, fouled by Livingston, gets to the line and only makes one of two. Not exactly a clinic going on tonight by either team.
Cavaliers 26-29 Warriors, 1:38, 1st quarter
Well, they HAD a lead. Curry gets set up by his understudy, as I prefer to call Shaun Livingston, and he knocks down a shot to give the Warriors a lead once again.
Dellavedova gets called for a foul on Curry. After the Warriors take a 20 second break, Curry hits both of his free throws. Three point Warriors lead.
Cavaliers 26-25 Warriors, 2:35 1st quarter
Out of the timeout, Harrison Barnes misses with a jumper. LeBron connects on his. Smith steals away a Barbosa pass then gets fouled on the way to the basket. He makes both free throws and the Cavaliers, despite not playing very well, have managed to come up with a lead.
Cavaliers 22-25 Warriors, 3:12, 1st quarter
And here comes Leandro Barbosa, who we haven’t seen in a few days. All that he does the second he gets off the bench is hit a long three to give the Warriors a lead. They take a timeout.
Carole Lindner on how the game’s being called so far:
Dear Refs, Fine. You won’t call it when they foul Klay? We’ll answer by keeping you very busy following us up & down the court to block their shots, then back to score - score - score. Love, The Warriors
Cavaliers 22-22 Warriors, 4:07, 1st quarter
LeBron gets to the line for the first time and he only makes one out of two free trows. Klay Thompson and J.R Smith exchange three-pointers and then LeBron hits another three-pointer. The Cavs have a solid chance if he keeps that up. Tie game.
Cavaliers 15-19 Warriors, 5:03, 1st quarter
After some talk from the officials, who eventually decide to call a common foul on Festus Ezeli, Tristan Thompson gets to the foul line where he misses both.
The Cavs’ free-throw shooting hurt them in Game 4. It looks like it might be a factor tonight as well.
They get the ball back thanks to LeBron picking off an errant Iguodala pass, which Cleveland converts into points after Irving finds J.R. Smith for a basket.
Cavaliers 13-19 Warriors, 5:33, 1st quarter
Irving, doing most of the damage here for Cleveland early on, cuts the lead to four points but only briefly. Iguodala hits a basket.
Cavaliers 11-17 Warriors, 6:18, 1st quarter
Steph Curry with a three-pointer. Festus Ezeli, who has checked into the game for the first time, blocks Smith’s shot. Irving then fouls Iguodala who makes both of his free throws.
Cavaliers 11-12 Warriors, 6:54, 1st quarter
Klay Thompson hits a three. LeBron James immediately responds with a three of his own. J.R. Smith makes a layup and gets fouled. He makes the free throw and it’s just a one point game.
Cavaliers 5-9 Warriors, 7:56, 1st quarter
Andrew Bogut already has three rebounds and a block today. It doesn’t like losing Green has affected Golden State’s defense or will. That’s not the best news for the Cavaliers.
And Cleveland turns the ball over once more. Irving throws a pass to nowhere. Iguodala then throws a… not very intelligent three-point attempt. Kevin Love gets the rebound and he gets it to Kyrie Irving, who knocks down Cleveland’s second field goal of the game.
Cavaliers 3-9 Warriors, 8:36, 1st quarter
And Iguodala is making the most of his starting gig today, nailing a layup to put the Warriors up 6 points early here in the 1st. Cavaliers call their first timeout.
Cavaliers 3-7 Warriors, 9:04, 1st quarter
After a few unproductive runs by each team, Iguodala finds Klay Thompson who knocks down a jumper to increase the Warriors lead. Some strong defense on both sides so far.
Cavaliers 3-5 Warriors, 10:25, 1st quarter
And Kyrie Irving hits a three-pointer to put the Cavaliers on the board. Curry hits a three-pointer on the Warriors end to retake the lead.
Opening tip
Cavaliers 0-2 Warriors, 11:23, 1st quarter
And we’re off. Steph Curry gets possession of the ball. Warriors ball, but Andrew Bogut throws the ball out bounds. However, Andre Iguodala gambles for a steal on LeBron James, which he pulls of. Iguodala hits a basket to start the scoring.
And the Warriors are introduced. Iguodala is indeed starting in place of Draymond Green.
Cavaliers get introduced, complete with cliched “Imperial March” musical background.
Email from Carole Lindner:
I’ll email periodically - not yet on Twitter.
Just a clarification regarding what you said earlier in your blog:
“...injuring an opponent’s groin...” Draymond did not injure nor even touch LBJ’s groin. Le Bron threw him to the court, kept him there, then, with extreme disrespect and derision, ‘tea-bagged’ him. Draymond is no angel, but the Flagrant was completely incorrect.
My predictions:
1) This ends tonight - at home! Golden State ‘for the win’. Glorious victory in “Roar-acle”.
2) LeBron will be ‘boo’ed’ the entire game long - Dubs fans? LBJ will wish he were playing wearing noise-cancelling headphones. lol
3) We’ll see plenty of James Michael McAdoo tonight and not only Golden State Warriors fans will be pleased - but NBA D-League 2015 Champion Santa Cruz Warriors fans, we’ll be “over the moon”. James Michael is very beloved in this town and, was one of two players last season to ‘earn’ championship rings on both the Santa Cruz and Golden State Warriors teams [the other being Ognen Kuzmic, who returned to European basketball, initially to Panathinaikos in Greece].
How am I watching the game? :-) Streaming on “BT Sport” - funny, eh? I’m in Santa Cruz County; the game is in Oakland, and I’m watching via England. Hey, it fits my budget.
Write back again between Quarters or at Halftime.
Andy Grammer sings the National Anthem. He’s okay, but I would have preferred Kelsey. We’re almost to tip off.
Orlando Magic legend Grant Hill leads the crowd in a moment of silence.
From Fab4Clinic:
Lebron might have dissed the whole warriors system…I think steph will go ballistic for lebron being disrespectful to his wife. Lebron just gave fuel to the flame..but then again, this might also be a way to ruffle the warriors way of play and a turnover here and there because of playing emotional…a double edged sword. I hope GSW is stronger than this and whip lebron and the cavs to kingdom come.
The Warriors have let their emotions get the better of them during their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it’s been Green who was the biggest part of that.
@HunterFelt The "post region" foul is this post season's de rigueur. But with Green out, Delly is going to have to lift his game.
— Roscommon, Outraged (@blueshiftbeeble) June 14, 2016
The Cavaliers definitely need to get SOMETHING out of Matthew Dellavedova if they don’t want their season to end tonight. He’s been mostly a non-factor through much of this series.
Expect the Oracle crowd to get on LeBron James, whom they believe instigated the incident that led to Draymond Green’s suspension by stepping over him. Probably not 100% fair, but they might be a tad partisan.
The #FreeDraymond Movement is out in full force:
Plenty of support for Draymond Green inside Oracle. pic.twitter.com/9tdGLJkXtg
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 14, 2016
Nice
Through four Finals games, Iman Shumpert has played 69 minutes and has an Offensive Rating of 69.
— Erik Malinowski (@erikmal) June 14, 2016
And Kevin Love is starting for the Cavaliers:
Game 5 Starting fives:
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 14, 2016
GSW: Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Barnes, Bogut
CLE: Irving, Smith, James, Love, Thompson
Man, it’s almost as if you can’t trust every single thing that gets posted to Twitter.
Nevermind maybe? Here’s what the official Warriors PR is saying as far as tonight’s lineup:
Tonight's Game 5 starters: GSW - Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Barnes, Bogut; CLE - Irving, Smith, James, Love, Thompson.
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) June 14, 2016
Updated
Wait, what?
Oracle Arena monitors just updated with Warriors starting James Michael McAdoo and Cavaliers starting Richard Jefferson...
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 14, 2016
Okay, so the Cavaliers are sticking with Richard Jefferson over Kevin Love, hoping they can bottle some of that Game 3 magic. That’s understandable.
But McAdoo replacing Green? This feels incredibly random, even if McAdoo showed flashes in Game 4. Of course, considering how Kerr’s decisions have played out over the course of this season, he’ll probably flirt with a triple-double tonight.
Predictions
@HunterFelt hi, i feel as confident of a gstate win as i was for carolina over denver. you?
— david silva (@david2000n) June 13, 2016
I think I’ve said this just about every game I’ve covered, but I think that the Warriors are winning this game. Yes, they’re without Draymond Green and, yes, Stephen Curry seems to be altering days where he looks like a MVP and days where he looks like a shell of his old self. I just don’t see the Cavaliers as being able to squeeze out another win, not on the road at least. I think Golden State’s going to win and, in fact, it’s not even going to be in doubt by the time we reach the 4th quarter.
But I could be wrong. Lord knows I’ve been in the past. Send your predictions here via email (to Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com) or via Twitter (@HunterFelt).
Obviously, considering the tragic events in Orlando this weekend, this might be a little bit more subdued atmosphere here today. It’s expected that there will be a moment of silence to honor the victims.
Preamble
Have we come to the end of the road?
Sorry for putting Boyz II Men in everybody’s head, but I’m being serious here. After winning Game 4 thanks to Steph Curry’s bounce-back game, the Golden State Warriors need just one more win to repeat as champions.
It might, however, be a bit rougher going today as the Warriors will be without defensive anchor/designated heel Draymond Green who has been suspended after injuring an opponent’s groin one time too many times. He’s not even allowed to be on the sidelines, although he can rejoin his teammates should they clinch their second straight championship tonight, so he’ll be watching the Oakland A’s. (I’m just going to work under the assumption that he’ll be keeping track of this game by following this Guardian blog.)
Playing without Green, who is arguably the Warriors’ second most important player, has actually given the embattled Cavaliers a tiny sliver of hope. It’s certainly not easy to win on the road against the Warriors, but they have a fighting chance now thanks to Green’s one game suspension . Should the Cavaliers pull of a win today, Game 6 will be back in Cleveland and, if they should win that, there’s a Game 7 and, the saying goes, “anything can happen in a Game 7.”
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here, first they just have to win this one.
In this does end up being the last NBA liveblog of the season, it would be your last chance to contribute. Send your comments throughout the game to Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com or tweet them at @HunterFelt. It’s the Cleveland Cavaliers vs the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena in Game 5 of the NBA Finals! Opening tip is set for just a bit past 9:00 EST, but I’ll be popping back up here much, much sooner.
Hunter will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s why we won’t be seeing Draymond Green on court tonight:
The Golden State Warriors’ hopes of wrapping up a second successive title in front of their own fans on Monday night has suffered a blow after the NBA banned Draymond Green for Game 5.
The Warriors lead the NBA finals series 3-1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and require just one more win to clinch the championship. But the league has suspended the forward after he was assessed for a flagrant 1 foul. It was his fourth flagrant foul point of the playoffs, which leads to an automatic ban.
“The cumulative points system is designed to deter flagrant fouls in our game,” said the NBA executive vice president of basketball operations, Kiki VanDeWeghe. “While Draymond Green’s actions in Game 4 do not merit a suspension as a standalone act, the number of flagrant points he has earned triggers a suspension for Game 5.”
