NBA Finals Game 5 LIVE – Raptors vs Warriors
– Raptors lead the NBA Finals 3-1 and could win their first ever championship tonight
– Kevin Durant makes his long-awaited return from injury in Game 5, no minutes restriction
– Only one team in history has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals – the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Warriors in 2016
– Kawhi Leonard is the odds-on favourite to win Finals MVP
NBA Finals Game 5 LIVE – Raptors vs Warriors
First quarter: Warriors 34-28 Raptors
1:40: Airball from KD gets a huge cheer from the Raptors crowd. A scrappy first quarter so far with turnovers and fouls. Warriors up by three.
3:30: Dramond draining a three is bad news for the Raptors. He had made just two in the previous four NBA Finals games.
5:21: KD now out getting strapped up and the Raptors tie it up 19-19 off the back of a three-point play from Kawhi. Gasol with 10 points.
7:11: Dubs start the game five-for-five from three-point range. Anyone still wondering if the Warriors are better without KD?
8:30: KD already 2-for-2 from three-point range. Steph with seven points. Warriors looking to silence this crowd early.
11:30: Durant’s first test is to defend Pascal Siakam on the first trip up the court, and he wins that match-up first. Right calf looking good there.
The talk is over, Game 5 of the NBA Finals is now underway!
2am: Monica with a moving rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, but unsurprisingly a massive cheer for opera singer Doug Tranquada.
He opens up but then lets the fans takeover in a spine-tingling moment! The home fans are pumped for this!
1.50am: The Warriors going with the “death line-up”. KD, Steph, Klay, Draymond and Iggy.
No DeMarcus Cousins surprisingly, but this could well be the last “death line-up”.
Expect a lot of “this could be the last time…” throughout the night.
1.45am: Is there a better supported team in the NBA than the Raptors? Fans have been queuing since LAST NIGHT just to get into Jurassic Park today… and it’s been raining all day! That is serious commitment!
We’re getting ever closer to tip-off and I’ve got a strong feeling the place is going to be jumping when the Canada national anthem plays.
1.25am: Steve Kerr on Kevin Durant:
“We’ll start him and play him in short bursts and see how he responds physically,” he said.
“See if his wind is okay and as the game goes we’ll figure it out from there.”
1:15am: All eyes will be on Kevin Durant this evening and whether he can quickly get back up to speed. Any average player would more than likely struggle to pick up the pace in a Finals game – let alone an elimination game – but Durant is no ordinary player.
He was averaging 34.2 points per game, shooting an incredible 51.3 per cent from the floor, before going down with a calf strain against the Rockets.
1am: Hello and welcome to Express Sport’s live blog for what is set to be a pulsating Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
The series so far has thrown up a number of big surprises, with the Raptors winning both games in the Oracle Arena, but Golden State welcome back Kevin Durant to the line-up this evening in a desperate attempt to prolong the Finals.
It’s set to be a thrilling evening of NBA Playoff basketball with it all on the line for Golden State. Stay tuned as Express Sport brings you live updates throughout the night.