SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Showing resolute confidence and determination throughout the match, Andrew Wiggins relieved the tension from Stephen Curry and presented the best game so far in his eight-year career.
Now the first All Star is on the verge of becoming an NBA champion for the first time – and helping Curry win another title.
“It’s something I’ve dreamed of definitely being in the league, and this is the last stage,” Wiggins said. “It doesn’t get bigger than that.”
Wiggins had 26 points and 13 rebounds, Clay Thompson had 21 points, and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics 104-94 on Monday night and led the NBA 3-2 final.
“Entering this year, he was the All-Star with a reason,” said Draymond Green. “… The greater the challenge we have posed to him, the greater his response. You want such a person. When the stage gets big, they react and play their best basketball, and that’s what he does. “
One game after his 43-point lead, Curry contributed 16 points and eight assists, but was 0 to 9 in a 3-point range. The NBA leader’s record-breaking 3-point streak of 132 consecutive games since the season with at least 3 ended, along with his best of 233 consecutive 3-game games between the regular season and the playoffs combined.
“Uh, keep shooting, very simple,” Curry said, grinning. “I’m not afraid to do 0-fer or anything because I’m going to keep shooting.”
Green knows how Curry will respond, “He’s going to get mad at Game 6. That’s exactly what we need.”
Finishing his brilliant performance at both ends, Wiggins crossed the canvas for a decisive one-handed strike with 2:10 to go.
“After all, he’s just having fun playing basketball,” Curry said.
The Warriors could win their fourth title in eight years when the series resumed in Boston on Thursday night. If the Celtics manage to win at home, the series will return to the Bay Area for the 7th game, in which the winner takes everything on Sunday. All five games so far have been decided by 10 or more points.
Jason Tatum scored 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who lost consecutive games for the first time in the postseason. Marcus Smart was booed for a technical foul, then for a foul in attack within a second at the beginning of the fourth. He overcame a slow start and scored 20 points.
Jordan Poole knocked down a 33-foot 3 from the left wing to beat the buzzer in the third quarter as the Warriors took a 75-74 lead in the final 12 minutes after the Celtics returned in the third.
The Celtics discovered their own magic in the third quarter, which has long determined the success of Golden State in the second half. Boston trailed 51-39 at the break before coming back with a 35-point burst in the third.
Al Horford gave the green three-pointer with 6:28 to the end of the period, making the score 58-55, when the Celtics finally found their shot from deep. Boston made eight in a row, made 3 after missing the first 12.
“We were definitely not as sharp as we should have been there. It’s just hard, “Horford said.” Definitely our backs are against the wall now and we need to see what we’re made of.
Jaylan Brown had 2 for 11 to start the game and finished with 18 points in a 5 out of 18 shot and missed all five attempts for 3 points.
Tatum gave Boston their first three the night before 4:34 a.m. and the Celtics finished 11 of 32 out of the deep. The Celtics were careless in the sections, making 18 rolls.
“When we are the best, it’s just a movement of the ball. I think the third quarter showed that. The drive and the punch were beautiful, they worked, they gave the boys wide open punches, “said coach Ime Udoka.
Golden State finished 9 out of 40 beyond the rainbow – Wiggins 0 out of 6. Curry did not make a 3-pointer for the first time after scoring 0 to 4 in a 134-111 loss to Bucks on November 18, 2018.
“On the night he failed, we found a foul elsewhere,” said Green, who had eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists before dropping out with the remaining three.
DAY ON GLUE
Thompson shot 7 for 14 with five 3 points in another brilliant moment in the playoffs.
Monday marked exactly three years since Thompson tore an ACL in his left knee and underwent surgery before later tearing his right Achilles tendon until he recovered from his first injury, forcing him to miss more than 2 1/2 years. .
Thompson was injured in the decisive game of 6 of the NBA Finals in 2019, when Toronto won the first championship of the franchise, playing on the previous home floor of the Warriors in the Oracle Arena.
Entering Game 5, Thompson’s shot of 35.8% was the lowest in all NBA finals he played, and he made only 34.2% of the deep – from 58.5% in 3s in the 2019 finals. .
BRAND FOURTH CENTURY
In a trip down the memory lane, Steve Kerr coached the Warriors on the 25th anniversary of his winning streak in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, while the Bulls defeated the Jazz and won the fifth Chicago championship.
He remembered that special moment before the match.
“Obviously an incredible memory. Something every young basketball player dreams of. So being able to live was pretty amazing, “Kerr said, smiling. “And then the fact that it’s 25 years ago just makes me feel old, of course.”
TYPE-INS
Celtics: Robert Williams III had 10 points and eight rebounds, starting and playing without restrictions for the Celtics after aggravating his surgically repaired left knee in Game 4..
Warriors: Gary Peyton II had 15 points from the bench and Poole 14. The Warriors missed their first four attempts with 3 points before Thompson came in at 5:14 of the first. … Otto Porter Jr. started for the second consecutive match with Kevan Looney, who came off the bench.
SILVER PAGE
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver missed the game, entering the league’s health and safety records.
The NBA did not offer further details, such as whether Silver had tested positive for COVID-19 or had been in close contact with someone who had.
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