Although no game ended in a single-digit margin, the NBA Finals series between Golden State and Boston continues to produce great stories. In Game 4 Steph Kerry made a historic appearance with 43 points, putting him in one line with the greatest who played the game. Then came Game 5 which Steph finished with just 16 and no three for the first time since 2018. And yet, Golden State won 94: 104 and went up to an important 2: 3 in the final series. One game from the championship.
Boston will kick itself for a tremendous opportunity that was missed, in a game in which it managed to stop the opponent’s superstar relatively of course. Steve Kerr meanwhile, saw other players rise, and mostly got a great defense that closed the Celtics hermetically shut for three quarters. The win came a lot thanks to Clay Thompson, who continues to recover slowly, Draymond Green who opened excellently, Jordan Paul who again scored an important three buzzer, but also and mostly thanks to Andrew Wiggins and Gary Peyton II. Game Summary 5. Beginners.
The opening of Drymond
The statistics are well known. In a 2: 2 situation, the winner of Game 5 will usually go all the way. A cold coach is aware of the numbers and probably hoped for a strong start to his team. The Warriors dominated the first minutes through the defense, but almost immediately also received a contribution on offense from all of the sub-players, led by Green, Wiggins and Peyton. The Canadian scored 7 straight points and led the Warriors in the first half (14 points and 7 rebounds). Green recognized this and went for it time and time again, while Peyton maintained a rare shooting efficiency (finishing the game with 6 of 8 from the field) and continued to bother Marcus Smart.
But the opening minutes were as stated by Green, who set the tone on the way to a double-digit gap that was supposed to make it harder for Boston. Drymond, as I recall, won quite a few reviews in Game 3 and then also dropped to the bench in the decisive minutes of Game 4. In the previous game he did record an impressive stat line (9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals), which mentioned how diverse he was, but again got stuck on 2 points. In the first four games he recorded more fouls (18) than points (17).
So it’s no wonder that ahead of the fifth game, his mom admitted she did not recognize him. But on the other hand, Magic Johnson tweeted that he was going to give a triple double. Such is Drymond. polar. Love it or not… So in the opening minutes he was definitely in the area that Magic was talking about, with 4 speed points and a big contribution in all parts of the pitch. By the way, he finished the game with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists – a statistical line that was built mainly through the first two quarters. So true, in the end he also came out with 6 fouls, but also woke up his teammates from the opening and caused Boston to lose its balance. And we’ll get to that later.
The biggest big trio?
The thought as if the current Golden State is more Steph and less Clay and Drymond, shattered her at once in this game. If until now we’ve seen Kerry take the team on his back, like he did to that Cleveland’s Baron James from 2015 and 2016, this time we got an answer as to what makes the current roster no less powerful than ever. Wiggins’ signing two and a half years ago turned out to be nothing short of brilliant. The future with young players like Jordan Paul and others developing before our eyes is supposed to keep the Doubs in business for years to come.
The Golden State big trio achieved their 20th victory in a finals series and passed the San Antonio Big 3 with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Mano Ginobili. Steph and Clay as a duo, have approached the number of wins of Magic and Michael Cooper and more records are surely waiting around the corner. “We know each other. We experienced a lot and maybe that’s why we had the success we had,” he said curry At the end. “These are incredible numbers and it’s a job to be a part of history, but for us, we’ll be happy for one more victory.”
also Thompson He knew how to appreciate the moment. “Duncan, Parker and Manu? These are three Hall of Fame players. I saw them play and watched them from a young age, so it’s very special. But it does not mean too much if we do not win another game. That will be our legacy.” So how big is this trio from San Francisco? Here’s another interesting statistic to conclude. So that way, despite the handle stuck this time around, Kerry is probably leading the threes in the final series with 146, but Clay climbed to second place tonight with 104 as he passes LeBron James’ 101st.
Therefore, when wondering how Steph will get to the next game, one can count on the answer of Drymond: “He scored 0 of 9 off the arc? That’s good for us. He’s going to get nervous for the next game. That’s exactly what we need.”
Wiggins? Winner?
We all know the story of Wiggins. In Canada and especially in the area where your faithful servant lives, he is even a kind of local legend. Still, this is the biggest Canadian talent since Steve Nash. One who beat the U.S. as early as age 17. Pick No. 1 and another rising star from the Kansas creative house, who in 2014 also sent Joel Ambide – some would say the better player of the two – to the draft – selected third. Wiggs spent five and a half seasons in Minnesota, There he managed to annoy quite a few basketball mice with inconsistent ability, controversial decision making and what sometimes seems like a lack of desire – probably for a player who gets a maximum contract.
When the opportunity came, the Wolves did not hesitate to send him and his contract to Golden State in exchange for DiAngelo Russell. But in the Gulf everything connected. And fast. “A lot of people looked at this trade and thought it was another player we could get something for in the future,” he said. Drymond At the end, when he referred to Wiggins. “But we knew he could fit in when we were healthy. His connection was not immediate, but he’s been here two and a half years and it’s been built. At the beginning of this season we started to see the change. He connected with the team better, and improved a lot on defense. Respond when a lot is at stake. “
Wiggins suddenly found himself on a team struggling for a championship and for him, the adjustments were easy. Other players would not necessarily have been happy to hear that they would score less, and maybe the ball would not reach them that much. But Wiggins reacted differently and also mentioned how special this club is, which has been so successful in bringing in players who have connected to what the organization wanted to do. And it all starts, of course, with the very same story of Andre Iguodala – the man Lou Wiggins gives a lot of credit for helping him get into things in the Gulf.
We saw his significant leap in the playoffs in the series against Dallas. And precisely through the defense. Although Luka Doncic recorded insane numbers, Wiggins made him work hard. On offense he also scored on the Slovenian dunk especially remembered. In 1986 by the way, his father Mitchell Wiggins came off the bench and provided a tremendous 5th game in the final series, with 16 points and 7 rebounds against Boston. The son scored 26, dropped 13 rebounds in 43 minutes, and was the best player on the floor.
Jordan’s threes
Boston has lost the third quarter in each of its previous four games by a total of 49 points. This time the Greens managed to do what many teams did not do and won by 11, much thanks to 8 consecutive threes that plunged in, pressing defense and rebound control. In those minutes, Golden State found no offensive solutions on Kerry’s weak day. But then came some important Wiggins baskets that stopped the drift, with the dessert coming in the form of another three buzzer in this series from the creator of Jordan Paul.
“Boston completely dominated that quarter, but we knew how to react and that was important. That three-pointer brought us down to the final quarter with an advantage. It was just huge,” he admitted. Green. Coach Kerr took an important time-out that calmed the team and stabilized the ranks, until that moment. “What a basket. There were some difficult moments, but we responded and regained momentum. For us, it was important to continue playing strong,” said Kerr, who was heard shouting at his players that “we need to react to power, with counter-power.” And Golden State responded appropriately, with the characteristic aggressiveness.
broad bean Himself, tried to explain where these baskets come from, which are responsible for so much momentum: “Self-confidence is something that every shot must have,” he said at the conclusion. “My friends know I want these balls and I always come ready. Clay and Steph are great scenes, I learn a lot from them and the fact that they trust me is amazing.” From here, Thompson continued to be hot, Golden State opened the final quarter with a 0:10 run and Smart suffered a technical and then offense offense, which continued the local momentum. It all went to Doubs, until victory.
Can Boston come back?
Boston started with 0 of 10 from three and still kept itself in the picture thanks to the excellent ability of Taitum (27 points), on a relatively weak day for Jaylen Brown (18). Then came the third quarter. That we’re always used to seeing Golden State escape. So it is, that this time it was Boston who made her run during and after 39 points in the first two quarters, she scored 36 in one quarter. So the good news is that the Celtics won the third quarter. In the next game she will have to maintain a high intensity level for a few more minutes.
Another good news is that Ima Yuduka’s team was close again. She won the rebound (39:47) and stopped the opponent’s best player. In the next game Boston will have to find a solution not only for Kerry, but probably for Wiggins as well. And most importantly, she will have to lose fewer balls. In its losses, Boston loses 15 balls or more. This time she had 18 which led to 22 points for the opponent. Golden State had only 6 turnovers from the other side. “We’ve been in this situation before,” he argued Taitum, When he’s probably referring to a series against Milwaukee. “We have to win one game and then we’ll think about it. We believe in ourselves and have given ourselves a chance in each of the games.”
Boston is on a 0: 3 balance in the playoffs in this playoff, but will have to stop messing with the referees, Drymond’s provocations and anything unrelated to basketball – in order to get back to business in this series. “There were moments at the beginning of the last quarter that were not our big moments,” he admitted To Horford. “During the playoffs we managed to avoid fussing around, but for some reason I felt it affected us this time, and that’s one of the things we have to work on. We all. We need to move on and concentrate on the next game.”