The Golden State Warriors showed heart on Monday night. With their season on the line, on the road in a hostile environment and after losing Kevin Durant to what was later diagnosed as an Achilles injury, they were able to pull out a thrilling 106-105 win over the Toronto Raptors to keep the three-peat dreams alive.
Splash Brothers Stephen Curry (31 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) and Klay Thompson (26 points, six rebounds) led the way and made plenty of big shots down the stretch. However, it was DeMarcus Cousins who made some big plays over the course of the game.
Filling in for Durant, Cousins had 14 points and six rebounds and really had his first big game since Game 2. Afterwards, coach Steve Kerr had high praise for his big man.
He was fantastic tonight. He stayed ready …With the injury [to Durant], we knew we needed his scoring and he stayed ready and played a brilliant game. I’m very happy for him. … He’s been through an awful lot himself over the last year plus with his own injury so this was a great night for him individually and I’m very happy for him.
The Warriors will now need much more of the same from him in Game 6 on Thursday to keep their season alive.
Golden State is a championship team and they have proven that over the course of the last five seasons. Monday they showed a lot of that heart. Now, it will be interesting to see if they can call on that heart again in Thursday’s Game 6.
