With a season and title on the line, the Cleveland Cavaliers made their way to Oakland for a pivotal Game 5 Finals matchup against the Golden State Warriors.

The Cavs, trailing in the series by a tally of three games to one, came out of the gate in attack mode, winning the tip and scoring the first two points of the game by way of a Tristan Thompson layup. The Warriors, with the home crowd behind them, quickly answered with two quick three’s.

Cavs forward Kevin Love picked up his second foul just three minutes into the game. As a result, head coach Tyronn Lue was forced to call on Richard Jefferson.

The Cavs kept battling. LeBron James tied the game at nine points apiece with a pair of free-throws. Just moments later, Kyrie Irving scored his first two points of the game. On the ensuing inbound, James intercepted the pass and laid in yet another easy basket, resulting in a full timeout from Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.

With a four point advantage, James gave a quick jab-step, then proceeded to drill a three. All of a sudden, the crowd grew silent. The King didn’t stop there, however. As he dribbled down the floor on the next possession, surveying the scene, James ran straight to his spot and knocked down a fading jumper.

Both teams racked up quite a few infractions in the early stages. Near the five minute mark of the first, Kevin Durant picked up his second foul. Coach Kerr was forced to take the former Texas Longhorn out.

Like fouls, turnovers began to be an issue for both teams in the first frame. In fact, they both had five through the first nine minutes of action.

After a hard-fought 12 minutes, the champs were leading, 37-33.

James opened the second quarter with a runaway slam, giving the Cavs a six point lead. Feeling the momentum shifting, James then threw down another dunk, this one of the one-handed variety.

The Warriors weren’t going to just lie down. Andre Iguodala burst onto the scene with a dunk that can only be described as a “Skywalker,” trimming the gap to just two points. Not to be outdone, Durant buried a pair of three-pointers to give Golden State the lead.

The crowd roared to life, chanting “Warriors, Warriors, Warriors.”

Golden State’s momentum continued to build, resulting in a massive 27-4 run. With the minutes ticking away in the half, it looked like the Cavs were in trouble.

At the halftime horn, Cleveland had managed to cut into Golden State’s big lead by a decent margin, but trailed by 11 points, 71-60.

Stephen Curry opened the third quarter with an open three — Golden State’s eighth bucket from deep of the night.

The Cavs, fighting for their championship lives, simply tightened their laces, dug in, and continued to fight.

J.R. Smith, who really seemed to be feeling his stroke, cut the lead back to 11 with a three. James followed that feat with a driving layup. All of a sudden, it was a nine point game.

With just under three and a half minutes remaining in the third, James and Tristan Thompson connected on an alley-oop to reduce the gap to four.

After three quarters of play, the Cavs had fought their way back into the game, but trailed by five points, 98-93.

The Warriors opened the fourth quarter with an 8-3 run to extend their lead back to ten. The crowd was stood in full attention, watching every play with nervous anticipation.

You may also likeArticle continues below
Max Strus sends return message to Cavs fans after win over Bucks
Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson sheds light on minutes logjam amid Max Strus return
Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell reacts to unfortunate Isaac Okoro injury
How Cavs star Donovan Mitchell just ‘shut up group chat, teammates’

Each time the Cavs managed to creep within striking distance, the Warriors seemed to have answer.

With five minutes showing on the game clock, Durant, who had 37 points on 14-of-18 shooting at the time, pushed Golden State’s lead to 12 with a floating layup. Chants of “Warriors” once again rang out from the crowd.

When the dust settled inside Oracle Arena, the Warriors had taken Game 5, 129-120, and the Larry O’Brien trophy.