93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
(AP) – The Golden State Warriors are sending the NBA Finals back to Oakland following a flurry of late 3-pointers. But the Warriors will have to continue their quest for a third straight championship without the services of their All-Star forward.
The good news for the Warriors was their ability to rally for a 106-105 win over the Raptors in Toronto to pull within three games to two in the series. Golden State trailed by six with about three minutes left until Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson nailed three straight from beyond the arc. Curry finished with 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Thompson added 26 points and six boards to help Golden State overcome a potentially serious injury to Kevin Durant.
The Warriors announced after the game that Durant has an injured right Achilles and will undergo an MRI on Tuesday to determine the severity. Durant scored 11 points in 12 minutes before getting hurt again with about two months gone in the second quarter.
Durant missed the Warriors’ previous nine games with a strained calf and wasn’t cleared to practice until after Game 4.
Without Durant, the Warriors allowed the Raptors to take the lead in the fourth quarter before Golden State revived its quest for a third straight championship.
The Raptors had a chance to pull out the win, but Kyle Lowry’s 3-point attempt was way off the mark to deny Toronto of its first NBA crown.
Kawhi (kah-WY’) Leonard had a team-high 26 points but was unable to take the final shot. Lowry ended up with 18 points and Marc Gasol (gah-SAHL’) finished with 17 after scoring 15 by intermission.
Game 6 is Thursday in Oakland.
