Crash Brothers: Irving, LeBron wreck Warriors in Game 5

When you look at all the jaw-dropping efforts James has had in his career, few hold a candle to what he just did against a 73-win, historic Golden State squad in a hostile environment.

Bogut traveled to Cleveland for Game 6 on Thursday, when the Warriors will try again to close out the Cavaliers and win their second National Basketball Association title in a row.

It was an emphatic response to three days’ worth of controversy.

“I think we all know what’s crossing the line no matter if you’re playing basketball or if you’re playing video games or we’re playing catch or you’re double-dutching it”, James said.

Of course, Ayesha Curry isn’t impartial. Entering Monday, the Warriors were 50-3 at home.

James insisted he heard none of it. I’m throwing up just thinking about it.

Shaun Livingston stepped in and delivered when Curry went down in the first round against Houston, then scored 20 points and was part of an impressive performance by Golden State’s reserves in a Game 1 rout of Cleveland.

It’s a role that Chris Bosh struggled with at times in Miami when James was there with Dwyane Wade and the Heat went to four consecutive NBA Finals.

Dropping shots all over the floor, Irving matched teammate LeBron James by scoring 41 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers kept their season alive with a 112-97 win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals over the Warriors, who missed suspended forward Draymond Green and their first chance to close out their history-making season with a second straight title.

“It’s probably one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen live”, James said of Irving, who had struggled with his efficiency through the first four games of the series. I have a strong belief that if I played Game 5, we win. Green has played there regularly during the playoffs.

After being assessed an after-the-fact Flagrant 2 foul for his kick to the groin of Steven Adams in the last series, Green played a tentative Game 4 and was not almost as effective.

Without Green in the middle, James bulled his way to the basket time and again. Though up 3-2, they will have to travel to Cleveland for Game 6.

“There were a couple of switches that we were very lazy on”.

“Not really even thinking about that game (Monday night) right now”, Irving said.

But they faced little resistance defensively in Game 5, which helped them stay fresh all the way through.

“It’s too simple to say that”, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of losing two key players.

That may be LeBron’s finest hour, individually speaking, and like Game 5 against the Warriors, it came when James was facing elimination. Now Cleveland is equally desperate and hoping for a similar effect heading into Game 6 in Cleveland on Thursday.

“I think they’re pretty confident in what their game plan is”, Richard Jefferson said.

“We relish going small, and Draymond is kind of the pivotal player in our small ball”, Ezeli said.

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy knows a thing or two about how the league works, and his involvement in an illegal betting scheme makes him an expert in shady practices.

Now it’s back to Cleveland. Also, save for a almost seven-minute stretch in the fourth quarter of Game 4 in which the Cavs went without a field goal, Cleveland has outscored the Warriors by 47 points over the past three games.