There were a lot of storylines out of Game 5. The Warriors had a massive win and a devastating loss all in one game. Kawhi Leonard looked limited until he suddenly didn’t and took over for a stretch of the fourth. There were injuries and huge shots and drama for a full 48 minutes. We finally had a great NBA Finals game.
However, what decided this game was far more straightforward: Three-pointers.
No advanced stats needed for this: One team knocked down their threes, the other did not.
The Warriors hit 20 on 47.6 percent shooting and could not miss on the long threes above the break. The Raptors hit eight on 25 percent shooting.
If you prefer, he are the shooting charts for the Warriors and Raptors.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to shoot 12-of-27 from three (44.4 percent) and the rest of the team shot 8-of-15.
“I think the fact that Steph and Klay were able to get off 14 and 13 threes is too many,” Kyle Lowry said. “They got off way too many threes. For guys like them, they’re going to make -- you give them that many threes, they’re going to make some. So we let them get too many threes off.”
On the flip side, Danny Green was 0-of-4, Lowry 1-of-6, and even Kawhi Leonard 2-of-7 from beyond the arc. Those core shooters simply have to better next game, or they will have another chance in Game 7. Because we know Curry and Thompson will keep shooting.
