Dub Hub: Warriors take commanding 3-2 series lead after ‘best win of the year’ vs. Kings

Rounding up all the Warriors and NBA news from around the web. 

Good Morning Dub Nation,

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.

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.

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.

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.

Here are the rest of today’s stories:

In case you missed it from Golden State of Mind:

• Warn the Kings: Game 6 Klay is being activated for the Warriors
• The calming and stabilizing force that is Kevon Looney
• Player Grades: Game 5
• Draymond’s masterpiece wins biggest road game of the year
• Warriors to start same lineup in Game 5 with Draymond Green on the bench

Other Warriors News:

• Kawakami: The Warriors’ Game 5 victory is just who they are — an amazing 28 series in a row (The Athletic)
• Bob Myers on Draymond’s Unselfishness, Curry’s Minutes, and Game 5 (95.7 The Game)
• How Warriors righted Gary Payton II wrong by bringing star defender back (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Creator of iconic Draymond backpack meme isn’t even a Warriors fan (SF Gate)
• The Yoga Regimen That Keeps an N.B.A. Forward Centered (New York Times)

NBA News:

• Jimmy Butler, Heat eliminate top-seeded Bucks in OT stunner (ESPN)
• Giannis Antetokounmpo says Bucks’ early exit ‘not a failure’ (ESPN)
• Grizzlies stave off elimination against Lakers: How Memphis forced a Game 6 by limiting LeBron James (The Athletic)
• Knicks 106, Cavaliers 95: Scenes from the Knicks rebounding their way to the second round (SB Nation)
• Anthony Edwards cited for assault for allegedly hitting 2 women with folding chair after Timberwolves’ elimination(Yahoo Sports)