The Golden State Warriors have won one victory from continuing the dynasty in another championship after defeating the Boston Celtics 104-94 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. Just two seasons ago, the Warriors set the worst record at the Western Conference at 15-50 and are now the fourth title since 2015.
While Stephen Curry was carrying the team to this point, the Warriors scored double-digit points in the Golden State as Andrew Wiggins and four players other than Curry, led by his 26 points, scored double digits in Game 5. Provided him with a lot of help. Providing Curry’s help on the attacking side was essential in Game 5 for all of the Warriors’ support casts mentioned and did just that to help lead the Golden State to a double-digit victory.
The victory will allow Curry and the Warriors to conclude the series at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday night in Game 6.
Wiggins and the company lead
We ended up getting a bad curry game at some point, and when that happened, attention was directed to which Warriors player picked up the slack. Given how much the Golden State has relied on Curry’s brilliance throughout the first four games of the series, no one can win a game where he only gained 16 points and couldn’t hit the first three points. I couldn’t predict it. 233 Game times (see below for details). But what’s here is that the Warriors are up 3-2 in the series against the Celtics. This is due to the outstanding performance of their role players, especially Wiggins.
After demonstrating his absolute strength in Game 4 to help the Warriors win, Wiggins performed even better, scoring 26 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. He was the main reason Golden State won on Monday night, getting whatever he wanted in the attack and causing confusion on the other side of the floor. He really came back to life in the fourth quarter, raising 10 out of 26 points, pushing what was a 1-point lead at the end of the third quarter to a 10-point lead by the end of the game.
Wiggins was the head of a snake in a Golden State attack in Game 5, but he wasn’t the only one to pick up slack in the middle of Curry’s featureless game. Thompson was by far the best performer in the series, with 5 out of 11 people from downtown and the only Warriors starter to connect with 3 pointers. In the last two games leading up to this, he seemed to take the baby’s step back to the sharp steps we expected. In Game 5, he played when the Warriors needed it most.
The bench was also a big advantage for the Warriors on Monday night. The second unit in the Golden State surpassed Boston 31-10, with Jordan Poole and Gary Payton occupying 29 of these points. The 35-foot ridge that buzzed the pool at the end of the third quarter was what triggered the dominant fourth-quarter performance of the Golden State. This was a team-wide effort for the Warriors in Game 5 and was very necessary for Curry to spend the offnight.
Celtics mistakes make them better
The Warriors looked like a good team in most of the game, but in the third quarter the Celtics began to look like the team that won games 1 and 3 in the series. Attacks have become easier and defense has forced the Warriors into a poorer look. As a result, Boston used a 10-0 run to open the third quarter and take the first lead of the night with 6:27 remaining. The Celtics seemed capable of taking this win as they maintained a slim two-point lead with three seconds remaining in the third quarter.
But then this happened:
Poole killed the Celtics with one hand on this shot, ending the third quarter. It gave the Warriors a one-point lead towards the final 12 minutes of the game, and the Golden State never abandoned the lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Celtics turned the ball more than four times, shooting 26.7 percent from the field and 25 percent from the deep. This is one of the annoying problems that has plagued the Celtics throughout the postseason. They had a hard time generating attacks in the fourth quarter, especially when the game was over. It happened in Game 4, the Warriors beat the Celtics 15-0 in clutch time (the last five minutes of the game), and again on Monday night Boston seemed to change varieties.
This is not to say that the game lost in the fourth quarter as Boston struggled very hard in the first half and made nine turnovers in the first two quarters. However, they made a full comeback in the game in the third quarter, completely wasting a great opportunity to take the 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals. I know this team is young, but shots from the pool can’t completely upset the game. This is especially true if the championship is fixed.
The historic curry trek is over
Entering Game 5, Curry hit three pointers in each of his 132 career playoff games. He also connected with three pointers in 233 consecutive games, including both regular seasons and playoffs. You might think Curry is a safe bet given these numbers, but the winning streak ended in Game 5. Curry broke a streak of consecutive games on Monday night, going from long distance to 0 at 9. He finished his perfect streak of making three points and making one in each post-season game. Both of those sources were NBA records.
After finishing a performance with 43 points and 10 rebounds, Curry seemed to be a little out of gas in Game 5. In Game 4, the Warriors would think they lost because a curry with a featureless performance was submitted to Game 5. But Boston couldn’t take advantage of his off-shoot night, and now the Warriors are one win from the championship.
