TORONTO — Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for three 3-pointers in the final three minutes, and the Golden State Warriors held on to defeat the Toronto Raptors 106-105 Monday night in Game 5 to stay alive in the NBA Finals.

The Raptors attempted a title-winning shot, but Kyle Lowry’s 3-point try from the corner hit the side of the backboard at the buzzer.

The best-of-seven series resumes (Friday) in Oakland, California, with Toronto leading 3-2.

Curry finished with 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, though he hit just 10 of 23 shots from the floor and 5 of 14 from 3-point range.

“Missed shots can’t kill your confidence. I’m going to get my legs ready for Game 6 and take those same shots,” Curry said. “I have whole lot (to give). We know how hard it is. We gave ourselves a chance. It’s doing to be a dogfight for 48 minutes. We’ll be ready.”

Thompson scored 26 points, and DeMarcus Cousins added 14 points for Golden State. Draymond Green had 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Kevin Durant had 11 points and two rebounds for the Warriors before being helped from the court with 9:46 remaining in the first half with a lower right leg injury. He did not return. Durant had missed the previous nine games due to a calf strain.

Curry said on the ABC broadcast regarding what Durant’s effort meant, “He sacrificed his body for us. I’ve got a lot of emotions right now.”

Kawhi Leonard had 26 points — 12 in the fourth quarter — and 12 rebounds for the Raptors. Lowry added 18 points, Marc Gasol had 17, Serge Ibaka 15, Pascal Siakam 12 and Fred VanVleet 11.

The Warriors trailed by six with 2:30 to go before going on a 9-0 run that consisted of a pair of Thompson 3-pointers and another from Curry.

Golden State overcame two goaltending calls on Cousins in the final 1:59, plus an over-and-back violation on Draymond Green and an offensive foul for a moving screen on Cousins with 14.9 seconds left, setting up the final possession.

The Warriors took a six-point lead into the fourth quarter after leading by as many as 14 in the third.

The Raptors cut the deficit to three points on Ibaka’s dunk with eight minutes to play, and Leonard’s put-back trimmed the margin to one.

Draymond Green’s 3-pointer had Golden State ahead by four, but Norman Powell’s running dunk cut the deficit to two with 5:36 to go.

Toronto took a three-point lead on Leonard’s 3-pointer and followed by a jump shot with 4:46 to play. Leonard hit another 3-pointer and added a pullup jumper to give Toronto a six-point lead with 3:28 to play.

Thompson’s 3-pointer trimmed the gap to three with 2:32 left.

Toronto was called for a shot-clock violation, and Curry tied the game at 103 with a 3-pointer. After Leonard’s miss, Thompson came back with a 3-pointer with 57.6 seconds remaining, and the Warriors led by three.

Lowry’s layup cut the lead to one point with 29.9 seconds to play.

Cousins was called for an offensive foul with 15.7 seconds to play, giving Toronto a chance, but Lowry missed his shot as time expired. — Reuters

TORONTO — Kevin Durant’s long-awaited return from injury on Monday with the Golden State Warriors season on the line in the NBA Finals was short-lived as he suffered an Achilles injury in his first game in over a month.

Durant made a stellar start against the Toronto Raptors but went down suddenly in the opening minutes of the second quarter when he planted his right foot to push off on a dribble-drive but the resilient Warriors managed to hang on for the win.

The towering Durant, an elite shooter and rim protector who when healthy turns the Warriors into a near-unstoppable group, immediately hobbled to the side of the court where he dropped to the floor and clutched his lower right leg.

He was helped to the locker room by team mates Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala and along the way screamed out an expletive.

“He was cleared to play tonight; that was a collaborative decision,” Warriors General Manager Bob Myers said while fighting back tears.

“I don’t believe there’s anybody to blame, but I understand in this world and if you have to, you can blame me. I run our basketball operations department.

“To tell you something about Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant loves to play basketball, and the people that questioned whether he wanted to get back to this team were wrong … he’s a good team mate, he’s a good person, it’s not fair.”

Myers said Durant, who left the arena using crutches and wearing a walking boot, would have an MRI on Tuesday.

The Warriors, who led by five points at the time of Durant’s injury and by as many as 14 points in the second half, prevailed 106-105 to cut the Raptors’ lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2 and keep alive their bid for a third consecutive title and fourth in five years.

EERIE AND STRANGE
As soon as Durant went down Raptors fans, fully aware of his ability to take over a series, immediately started to cheer but only after several Toronto players motioned to the home crowd to stop did they start chanting “K-D! K-D!” in support.

“Some of the fans were cheering when it happened, and I think the Raptors players understood how serious it was and they sort of quieted the crowd,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.

“There was just a couple minutes there where it all seemed so eerie and strange, and it took maybe a little bit for both teams to collect themselves.”

When the four-time NBA scoring leader suffered a calf injury in the second round on the playoffs, he could only watch on helplessly as the Warriors went undefeated to reach the Finals before being pushed to the brink of elimination.

Durant was cleared by the Warriors’ medical staff after Game Four and practiced with the team on Sunday for the first time since his injury.

With Durant back in the lineup for the first time in over a month, the Warriors immediately looked like their usual sharp-shooting selves and set the early tone.

Durant, named Most Valuable Player in each of the Warriors championships the last two years, scored 11 in an impressive first quarter in which he drained a trio of three-pointers.

“Prayers up to KD. He gave us what he could and we hope he makes a speedy recovery,” said Curry, who scored a game-high 31 points.

“He sacrificed his body for us and I just feel bad for him.” — Reuters