The Golden State Warriors are 2017 NBA Champions, as the team outlasted the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 on Monday evening. While the game was chalked full of memorable moments, one pivotal one proved to be favorable for the eventual champions and it involved arguably the top two players in the league.
With 10:14 remaining in the second quarter, the Cavs took a 41-33 lead on the strength of a massive dunk from LeBron James at the expense of Kevin Durant.
As noted above, it seemed to be a clear foul on Durant and, at that time, it would have been the third personal foul for Golden State’s do-everything forward. Following a timeout that was spurred by the play, the Warriors almost immediately turned on the jets and the end result was a 37-19 run to close the half. In fact, Golden State outscored Cleveland by a 28-4 margin in the immediate aftermath and it isn’t a big leap to indicate that would have been (much) tougher with Durant in foul trouble.
From an individual standpoint, Durant personally scored 13 points in less than 10 minutes of court time between the non-foul and the end of the second quarter. It should be noted that the Cavaliers did display real signs of life, especially in the third quarter, but the damage was fully done and Cavaliers fans will undoubtedly look back at the blitz inspired by Durant’s availability as a turning point in the pivotal contest.
Non-calls like this one happen over the course of an NBA game but, when they involve Kevin Durant and LeBron James, nothing can fly under the radar.
