Los Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 104-94 in the fifth game of the NBA Finals and they are only one victory away from winning the title after placing 3-2 in the series. In an atypical match for Steph Curry (16 points and 8 assists, but 0/9 on triples), Poole and, above all, a superlative Andrew Wiggins (26 points and 13 rebounds) were in charge of executing a Celtics that started from behind , recovered in the third quarter and then signed a horrendous final set, in which they missed 9 of their first 10 shots. Tatum’s 27 points and 10 rebounds, Smart’s 20 or Brown’s 18 with 9 rebounds were of no use.
The first quarter did not look good for the interests of those from Massachusetts. The Warriors had a solid defense and moved the ball very well in attack, without rushing or abusing the shot from beyond 7 meters. The fourth ended with an 11-point lead (27-16) for those at home. However, Boston recovered. The second quarter was even (the Warriors won it 1, 23-24), but it was enough for the San Francisco Bay team to arrive at halftime with a comfortable lead (52-39).
Boston was resurrected in an unappealable third quarter of the ‘Proud Greens’. The intensity in attack had no comparison with what was seen in the first half, they scored in 12 minutes almost the same as in the previous 24 and closed a 35-24 run that left them very alive for the last quarter. They would have even gone ahead if Poole hadn’t scored an unlikely basket to the buzzer (76-74).
However, the final quarter was hell for the Celtics. The Warriors got their defensive tone back, didn’t need Curry (who went 3-for-1 in a playoff game for the first time in his career), let Wiggins do damage near the rim and forced Boston to miss 9 of his first 10 shots in the room. From there, the meeting had little emotion. Golden State managed its advantage and Boston made up the result until the 104-94 final in a few minutes in which the only thing of interest was that Draymond Green was sent off again for 6 personal fouls, the last of which was when he vehemently protested an arbitration decision. Kerr heeded his player and defied the referees’ signaling, but the review proved the Warriors wrong. In any case, that little incident did not hide the bath that Golden State gave Boston in the fourth quarter, which is now seen between a rock and a hard place. He has no margin for error: if he doesn’t win the next two games, San Francisco will put a new ring on his finger.
