Klay Thompson matched his season playoff-high with 32 points as the Golden State Warriors captured the Western Conference crown and earned their sixth trip to the NBA Finals in the last eight years with a 120-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 on Friday (NZ time).
The 2015, 2017 and 2018 NBA champs thus earned the right to go for another title in the best-of-seven NBA Finals, which will open in San Francisco on June 3.
Kevon Looney dominated the boards with a game-high 18 rebounds to help the Warriors, in their second opportunity, close out the Mavericks with a 4-1 triumph in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.
Golden State's Andrew Wiggins chipped in with 18 points, Draymond Green 17, Jordan Poole 16 and series Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry 15 in a balanced effort.
Luka Doncic had 28 points and Spencer Dinwiddie 26 for the Mavericks, who used a 15-0 run late in the third quarter to give themselves a chance after falling behind by as many as 25 points.
Poole ended the flurry and closed the third period with a layup that gave Golden State a 94-84 lead. When Wiggins and Green opened the final quarter with consecutive hoops, the Warriors began printing tickets to their first NBA Finals appearance since a loss to the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
Thompson, who blew out his knee in that Raptors series and missed the entire 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, bombed in eight of his 16 3-point attempts and shot 12-for-25 overall in nearly doubling his previous high in the series, which had been 19 in Game 3.
Looney's rebound total included seven at the offensive end, helping Golden State to a commanding 51-34 edge overall and a 14-6 advantage in offensive boards.
Looney also found time for 10 points, his second double-double of the series.
Wiggins also recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds to complement his 18 points, while Curry collected nine assists to go with his 15 points. Green had nine assists and six rebounds to complement his 2022 postseason-high point total.
With Green hitting six of his seven shots, Poole six of his eight and Looney five of his eight, the Warriors outshot the Mavericks 51.1 percent to 45.1 percent.
Dallas had the edge in 3-point scoring, thanks in large part to Dinwiddie's 5-for-7 success from beyond the arc. The Mavericks shot 17-for-42 on 3-point tries, outscoring Golden State 51-42 from deep.
Doncic was harassed into just 10-for-28 shooting overall and 3-for-13 on 3-point attempts en route to his team-high point total. He added a team-high nine rebounds and six assists.
Dorian Finney-Smith had 13 points and Jalen Brunson 10 for Dallas, which lost all three games at Golden State in the series.
Reuters.
