Game 5: San Antonio Spurs 91-99 Golden State Warriors - 5 Talking Points

The Golden State Warriors held off a late surge by the San Antonio Spurs to win Game 5 at the Oracle Arena and take the first-round series 4-1.

It was quite a competitive ballgame, with both teams defending sturdily for the most part. Points were allowed at a premium, and neither team was afforded too many open looks or fast break points. The Spurs, as a matter of fact, finished the game with 0 fast break points, which was one of the mitigating factors for their loss on the night.

Their role players did not punch above their weight as they did in game 4, which allowed the Warriors' top stars to make their impression on the game.

The game got interesting after a 12-4 run by the Spurs late in the 4th quarter, which took them to 89-91 and in striking distance of victory on the night. The Warriors held their nerve, however, and opened up a 2-possession gap, which widened as the game clock winded down.

The following are 5 talking points from the game:

#5 Exemplary 2nd quarter by Golden State

KD - the Warriors' main man.

The game was pretty close for the first quarter, and the teams went into the quarter break with the scoreline at 22-20 in favor of the Warriors. They then pumped the brakes on the Spurs' offense in the second quarter, allowing just 18 points during the period, out of which only 7 were field goals.

On the offensive end, they shared the ball well and were able to put up 27 points while facing a sturdy, well-drilled Spurs defensive scheme. Many of the shots they missed from downtown were wide open looks that were generated by excellent ball movement and would've gone down on another day.

The quarter was capped off by a buzzer-beating jump shot by Klay Thompson to take their halftime lead to 9 points at 47-38, and this window was a well-deserved lead for the superior team of the half.

#4 Poor 3-point shooting from both sides

Both the Spurs and the Warriors were just off from downtown this night, resulting in a match that went low on the scoring side when it could have been much higher.

The Spurs went 7-for-30 from 3-point territory, and 4 of those makes came off just one player. Danny Green, LaMarcus Aldridge and Dejounte Murray went scoreless from deep, while Ginobili and Rudy Gay were both 1-of-4 from downtown. Bertans knocked down a crucial 3-pointer to cut the Warriors' lead to 2 late in the 4th quarter, but that was more of an aberration than a true representation of the game.

The Warriors were even worse than their opponents, shooting just 18% from 3-point territory and going 5-of-27 from that range for the game. They had just one player who shot more than 1 3-pointer, and none of their players had any sort of rhythm going from downtown.

#3 Klay Thompson recovered from a below-par Game 4

Klay Thompson

Klay Thompson did not have too good of a Game 4, in which the Warriors collectively shot 34-of-90 and he went 4-for-16 from the field himself. He made amends with his performance in Game 5, going for 24 points off 22 shots. While he was again below-par from downtown (1-of-5), his proactive mid-range and driving game opened up a lot of clean looks for him, which he capitalized upon.

Thompson also did a commendable job on the defensive side of things, guarding the likes of Danny Green and Manu Ginobili quite effectively and holding them to single-digit scores during the game. His scoring allowed the Warriors to consistently keep the scoreboard ticking during a low-scoring first half, and he finished off the 2nd quarter with a buzzer-beating shot from the right wing from 18 feet out.

All-in-all, it was one of the better performances of Thompson's playoff career, as he finished with 5 rebounds and 4 dimes in addition to his scoring.

#2 KD and Draymond got back to their dominant selves

San Antonio Spurs v Golden State Warriors - Game Five

Durant shot a bit poorly from the field on the night, particularly from 3-point range as he went 1-for-7 from downtown. All-in-all, however, he had a solid defensive night in addition to scoring 25 points on 8-of-19 shooting, including a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

Durant had 2 blocks and a +/- of +8, the highest for any player starting in the game. He added 6 rebounds and 5 assists on the night.

Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet as he usually does when in form. He was the only Warrior to score 2 3-pointers, going 2-of-7 from downtown. Green finished with a stat line of 17 points, 19 rebounds and 7 assists on 5-of-11 shooting from the field. He iced the game with 2 clutch free throws right at the end of the game, making it a 3-possession game after which the Spurs had no chance of a comeback.

#1 LaMarcus Aldridge and Patty Mills shone for the Spurs

Golden State Warriors v San Antonio Spurs-Game Four

On a night when none of the Spurs' players had any sort of rhythm going into the second half, LaMarcus Aldridge virtually willed the Spurs back into the game on his own. He had only 5 points in the first half, but his back-to-the-basket style of play and overall hustle paid dividends in the latter half as the Spurs kept pace with the Warriors for the length of the second half to go 53-52.

Aldridge had 25 points in the second half, and he finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal. He also went 14-for-14 from the free throw line, which was the primary reason why the Spurs kept themselves close late in the game.

Patty Mills was his supporting star for the most part. Mills had 18 points and 5 rebounds on 7-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range. At times when the Spurs had basically nothing going on the offensive end, it was he who bailed them out with a couple of 3-balls.

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