The Golden State Warriors won their first road playoff game of the postseason on Wednesday night after beating the Sacramento Kings, 123-116. The pivotal Game 5 victory gives Golden State a commanding 3-2 lead as they head back to the Bay for a chance to close out the series.
Klay calls Game 5 "the best win of the year." pic.twitter.com/bPuBrwu6OJ
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
Steph talks about the Warriors overcoming their road woes in Game 5 pic.twitter.com/uQzZ8NOUdv
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
While the Warriors received excellent grades for Wednesday’s performance, two players stood out the most: big men Kevon Looney and Draymond Green. Head coach Steve Kerr elected to stagger the bigs once again by having Green come off the bench. The results were amazing as both players took turns picking apart the Sacramento defense.
Looney finished the game tying a career-high with 22 rebounds, joining Warriors legends Wilt Chamberlain and Nate Thurmond as the only players in franchise history to record multiple 20-rebound games in the same playoff series. While his activity on the boards was dominant, his playmaking off the Stephen Curry double team and short-roll was just as devastating against Sacramento. The Warriors center consistently made the correct reads, either attacking the basket or finding the open cutter to the tune of 7 assists.
Loon deserves all the appreciation 👏 pic.twitter.com/o908k1J9LD
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
Draymond shares what Loon means to the Dubs 💯 pic.twitter.com/fUJVU4YKDq
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
Steph talks about the "luxury" of having Loon grab every board pic.twitter.com/kiqgDg36ZT
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
Meanwhile, Green had himself a game where he not only got it done on the defensive end, but made his presence felt scoring the ball as well. In Game 4, Green missed an overabundance of open shots at the rim leading to a 3-of-14 night from the field. Green vowed to make his layups in the next one and delivered on that promise — finishing Game 5 with 21 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. His teammates knew he had it going offensively, hyping him up as “Dray Nowitzki” during their postgame pressers for his critical one-legged fadeaway which helped seal the game down the stretch.
Need a "Dray Nowitzki" statue 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZkEY4N45FR
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 27, 2023
"Draymond Nowitzki" 🗣️
The Warriors sound off on Draymond's clutch fadeaway late in Game 5.#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/CtQ11tScXU
— NBA (@NBA) April 27, 2023
The Warriors are now in full control of the series, needing just one more win to advance to the next round. Tip-off for Game 6 is scheduled for Friday at 5:00 PM PT in San Francisco as Golden State hopes to close out the series and get one step closer to another championship-winning season.
Source: https:/www.goldenstateofmind.com