LeBron James can do no more than he did on Sunday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
He both asserted his considerable authority in the post and nailed big three-point shots. He carried the Cleveland Cavaliers offence on his shoulders. LeBron put in a masterful 40 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. It might have even been enough for him to make a convincing case to be Finals MVP.
His team, though, lost.
Read more:
– Photo gallery: Steph Curry catches fire for Warriors in Game 5 of NBA Finals
– Warriors not quite back in NBA finals, but going small was a good step
Game 5 was a contest that perfectly illustrated what was always going to be the problem for James in this series, and became an even more glaring problem when Kyrie Irving went down in overtime in the opening contest.
He just doesn’t have enough around him on the Cavaliers.
Game 5 was a contest that illustrated many of the things the Golden State Warriors do best, as well. Contributions came from all over the floor. There were 10 points, big rebounding and committed defence from Harrison Barnes. Draymond Green was hard-charging and consistently got to the foul line in a 16-point effort. Andre Iguodala again played good defence on James, scored 14 points and rebounded well. Even Leandro Barbosa pitched in an unlikely 13 points off the bench.
And, most important of all, Stephen Curry put in his first performance truly reflective of an MVP in these finals. While LeBron was doing everything humanly possible through the first three quarters to keep the Cavaliers even with the Warriors, Curry seemed strangely uninvolved at times.
He hit a few big shots and made a few nice passes, but those are things he can do in his sleep. The truly transcendent Curry has largely been missing in this series, and for most of Game 5 it looked like he would continue to be stifled by Cleveland’s Matthew Dellavedova.
It seemed to turn out he was just conserving his energy, biding his time. A luxury LeBron is surely jealous of.
Curry was uncontainable in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of his 37 points and flashing his trademark fearlessness in draining three of his seven three-pointers for the night. In the process what was a narrow six-point contest at the end of the third quarter turned into a comfortable 13-point, 104-91 win for Golden State. And a 3-2 series lead.
The Cavaliers have now lost two straight, as the Warriors lost two straight before them. But where Golden State looked frustrated by their struggles earlier in this series, Cleveland simply look spent by this point.
The Cavs couldn’t beat the Warriors’ smaller line-up in Game 4 even though their big men generally had their way with things inside. Cleveland matched Golden State in going small on Sunday night and came up empty again.
Came up empty despite a commanding performance by James. Came up empty despite JR Smith looking as good as he has all series. Came up empty despite another quality effort from Tristan Thompson.
Cleveland fell short once again because they simply are short the depth needed to compete with Golden State. What the last two games have proven is that LeBron can take you quite a long way – they’ll get at least to Tuesday’s Game 6 of the finals – but even LeBron is just one man.
And there’s a debate to be had over the next couple of days about whether he will indeed deserve the Finals MVP award even if Cleveland do in fact lose.
It’s not unprecedented, exactly. Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers won the first Finals MVP award in 1969 despite his team’s loss to Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics in seven games.
Iguodala has had a probably outcome-turning series for the Warriors, given the defensive work he has put in on James and the much-needed extra offence he has provided. He would make a fine winner. Curry, too, may have another explosive game in the clincher and become something of a sentimental choice.
But James has undoubtedly been the best player in this series. He is nearly averaging a triple-double, with 35.8 points per game, 13.8 rebounds, 8.3 assists and a kind of mystifying force of will to keep his undermanned team fighting.
LeBron’s problem, what he has helplessly ran into each of the past two games, is that he just inescapably is not on the best team in this series.
jraymond@thenational.ae
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, second leg
Liverpool (0) v Atletico Madrid (1)
Venue: Anfield
Kick-off: Thursday, March 12, midnight
Live: On beIN Sports HD
The Disaster Artist
Director: James Franco
Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogan
Four stars
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEric%20Barbier%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYoussef%20Hajdi%2C%20Nadia%20Benzakour%2C%20Yasser%20Drief%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWest%20Asia%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Bahrain%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%201%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%202%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%20III%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDubai%20Sevens%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
