Come Game 5 early this morning and the hot coffee in the kettle was not as hot as Kevin Durant’s performance in what was to become the last game of the 2016/17 season. Durant scored 39 points, 11 of which came in the 4th quarter as he helped his Warriors team stave off a dogged Cavalier performance with a 129-120 victory to clinch the NBA title.

He was not alone in that scoring effort, as has been the case for the Oakland team, as Stephen Curry chimed in with 34 points to exorcise last season’s demons. The Warriors were expected to come out guns blazing since they were back home and they did that up to a point in the first quarter as Cleveland were determined to keep their season alive, winning the first quarter and turning the Oracle Arena into a silent collection of golden t-shirts. The all-familiar sinking feeling the Warriors experienced last season after letting the Cavs eviscerate their 3-1 lead, came back in full force. But the home team was determined not to let history repeat itself, not settling for their usual array of 3-pointers but taking the ball to the cup early on.

Their approach was methodical as they outscored Cleveland 38-23 in the second quarter with Durant and Curry doing their best MJ and Pippen imitation. Though those two were the focal point of their offense, one cannot exclude the immense contributions of Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green with the latter scoring 10 points while grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists.

Iguodala, who was the 2015 finals MVP, had another award worthy game as he scored 20 points on the night, 12 crucial ones in the first quarter which included a series of thunderous dunks that LeBron didn’t want any part of. On the Cavs part it was not all-smooth sailing as they gave it a mighty go. Kyrie Irving, scored a quiet 26 points as he was held to 9 from 22 shooting by the impressive Warriors defense. James on the other hand was his usual efficient self, scoring 41 points while grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 8 dimes.

There was only so much James could do to prevent the confetti from raining down the Oracle arena. After trading blows like two heavyweight fighters, the Cavs, you could say, lost on a points decision. The punches early and late on came in fast and heavy. A combination of head and body blows possibly dismantling this team from the current form we know. At the end of it all a new champion was crowned and the likes of Matt Barnes, David West, Patrick McCaw, Zaza Pachulia, James Michael McAdoo and JaVale McGee will collect championship rings at the beginning of next season.

By Fidel Maithya