By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Golden State Warriors advanced to their sixth NBA Finals in the past eight seasons by beating the Dallas Mavericks 120-110 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.
Klay Thompson scored 32 points, 19 of them in the first half, as the Warriors built a 17-point halftime lead and cruised the rest of the way.
Andrew Wiggins added 18 points and 10 rebounds, Draymond Green scored 17 points and Steph Curry had 15 points and nine assists for Golden State. Still, Curry was named MVP of the final and got the first-ever MVP award named after Magic Johnson.
Serb forward Nemanja Bjelica had five points, six rebounds, and three assists in 22 minutes of action.
Slovenian star Luka Doncic scored 28 points for the Mavericks. Spencer Dinwiddie added 26, German big man Maxi Kleber had seven points and eight rebounds, Latvian forward Davis Bertans scored three points and French guard Frank Ntilikina had six points and three rebounds. Boban Marjanovic wasn’t used by coach Jason Kidd.
After missing the playoffs in 2020 and ’21 in back-to-back injury-plagued seasons, the Warriors are returning to a familiar stage. They are the first team to make six finals appearances in an eight-year span since the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls had a pair of three-peats from 1991-93 and 1996-98.
Golden State will host the winner of the Eastern Conference finals between Boston and Miami on June 2 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Celtics hold a 3-2 lead heading into Game 6 at home.