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Celtics are on the brink heading into Game 6 of the Finals
By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor
The Boston Celtics’ quest to become the franchise with the most NBA titles, breaking a tie with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers, is in peril. Both have 17, but it is the Golden State Warriors who are in a favorable position to win their seventh championship and fourth in the last eight seasons when Game 6 of the Finals takes place tonight at TD Garden in Boston.
After losing Game 4 at home by 107-97 last Friday, the Celtics dropped Game 5 on Monday on the Warriors’ home court at the Chase Center in San Francisco by 10 points again (104-94) to fall 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. The Celtics’ carelessness with the basketball and poor foul shooting doomed them in Game 5.
They commited 18 turnovers and missed 10 free throws (3121), and lost a game in which Warriors guard Stephen Curry, widely regarded as the greatest shooter in NBA history, was an uncharacteristic 7-22 from field including misfiring on all nine of his three-point attempts (0-9) an occurrence as rare and unbelievable as a sighting of Bigfoot. Curry had gone 233 straight games and 133 consecutive playoff games making at least one three.
However, it is the Celtics’ 2022 All-NBA First Team selection Jayson Tatum’s inconsistency and haphazardness with the rock that has been problematic for his team. While Tatum’s stats in the Finals in important measures such as points (23.2) rebounds (7.6) and assists (7) are suitable, he has not elevated his game to the level of imposing his enormous talent on the Warriors.
Conversely, below the surface of the aforementioned numbers, Tatum is shooting just 23.8% (5-21) in five games in the fourth quarter heading into Game 6, and managed only three points in the last 12 minutes in Game 4 and five in Game 5.
“I had a couple of shots that were short,” the 24-year-old three-time NBA All-Star said on Monday after playing 44 of the game’s 48 minutes. “I just got to not fade as much. Use my legs. I mean, you’re not going to be a little more tired in the fourth than you are in the first quarter.”
Cherishing possessions is also an issue for Tatum. He is averaging 3.6 turnovers per game in the Finals and after having four in Game 5, reached his 95th in 23 playoff games this season, passing LeBron James for the most in a single postseason. James had 94 in 22 games in 2018.
Tatum isn’t wholly accountable for the Celtics facing elimination tonight and is capable of having seriesaltering performances in Games 6 and a possible Game 7 to lead the Celtics to a title. Credit the Warriors’ blanketing, physical defense—similarly the prominent characteristic of the Celtics—with causing Tatum, fellow All-Star Jaylen Brown and the Boston’s collective offense to shoot a modest 43.7% in five games and turn the ball over an average of 15.6 times per game.
The Celtics’ negative trends must dramatically change for the better tonight or the Warriors will be celebrating another NBA championship victory.
Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum and his teammates are facing elimination from the NBA Finals by the Golden State Warriors going into Game 6 tonight (Bill Moore photo)
The Warriors look to to close out the Celtics in Game 6
By VINCENT DAVIS
Special to the AmNews
Game 6 of the NBA Finals tonight at TD Garden in Boston could be the last game of the league’s 75th season.
With a victory, the Golden State Warriors, who lead the Boston Celtics 3-2 after a 104-94 victory in Game 5 at home on Monday night, will close out the series out and win the franchise’s fourth championship in the last eight seasons.
Game 6 comes after the first back-toback win of the series for either team. After dominating the third quarters of the series, the Warriors were outscored 35 to 24 by the Celtics in Game 5 and led by just 75-74 entering the fourth. It was an unusual circumstance in that Stephen Curry, who forced the Celtics for 43 points in Game 4, was ice cold. He would finish the game going 0-9 on three-point attempts, his first game in the last 233 dating back to 2018 without making at least one.
“Keep shooting," said Curry after missing 15 of 22 shots in a 16 point, 8 assist performance. “I’m not afraid to go 0 for whatever, because I’m going to keep shooting.”
Curry’s teammates made up for his surprisingly deficient scoring. Forward Andrew Wiggins, who has been exceptional as the best two-way player in the series, had a team-high 26 points. Curry’s longtime backcourt partner Klay Thompson added 21, and guards Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole contributed 15 and 14 respectively off the bench.
While the Warriors have been one of the NBA’s best offensive teams for the most of the past 10 seasons, they have also become a top defensive squad during the same period led by forward Draymond Green and Thompson, and it has shown versus the Celtics. Green, who had struggled earlier in the series but bounced back with solid performances in Games 4 and 5, has been a seven-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection and was the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Thompson has been named to three NBA All-Defensive teams.
But in this series, nobody has been a better defender than Wiggins, who played for the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2013 to 2020 before coming to the Warriors in a trade in February 2020. The 27-year-old former No. 1 overall pick (2013) has locked in on the Celtics’ potent All-Star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, forcing them into tough shots and limiting their impact late in
games. “He’s definitely confident, he’s definitely enjoying the playoffs,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr after Game AMNEWS 5. Along with his scoring, Wiggins had 13 rebounds in Game 5 after posting a 04/07/22 0 74470 22784 7 crucial 17 points and career-high 16 rebounds in a 107-97 Game 4 Warriors’ win. “He loves the challenge,” continued Kerr, “he loves the competition. He’s found such a crucial role on this team. I think that empowers him. He knows how much we need him. He’s been fantastic.” Wiggins, who made his first NBA AllStar team this season, expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to be playing for a championship after his noteworthy Game 5. “It’s something I dreamt about for sure,” said Wiggins. “This is the ultimate stage. It doesn’t get bigger than this.”
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Golden State Warriors forward Andrew
Wiggins’ stellar performances in Games 4 and 5 of the NBA Finals against the 01174 Boston Celtics helped lift this team to a 3-2 series lead heading into Game 6 tonight (Photo credit: Wikipedia/Erik Drost - creativecommons.org)
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