Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson reacts after shooting a 3-point basket against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half of Game 5 of the 2022 Western Conference Finals at Chase Center. Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Warriors headed back to NBA Finals after eliminating Mavericks in five games

By Adam Stites | Last updated 5/26/22

The Golden State Warriors are the 2021-22 Western Conference champions and are headed back to the NBA Finals after eliminating the Dallas Mavericks in five games. The series was capped Thursday with a 120-110 win in Game 5.

The Warriors jumped out in front early in the game with a 69-point first half and led by as many as 25 in the third quarter. Dallas closed the gap late in the quarter with a 15-0 run and cut the deficit to just eight points, but couldn't carry that momentum into the fourth quarter.

Golden State's Klay Thompson led all scorers with 32 points, 24 of which came on his eight made 3-pointers.

SHOWTIME pic.twitter.com/imiiwmm5jl
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 27, 2022

Thompson also made eight 3s when the Warriors eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Mavericks star Luka Doncic finished with 28 points, but struggled to shoot for much of the game, missing 10 of his 13 3-point tries. As a team, Dallas shot 44.4% from the field while Golden State shot 51.1%.

The Warriors played in five consecutive NBA Finals between 2015 and 2019, and won three. That streak ended when Golden State failed to reach the playoffs in 2020 and 2021.

Golden State will face either the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat in the 2022 NBA Finals, which are scheduled to begin June 2. The Celtics currently lead the Eastern Conference Finals, 3-2.

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