Finals Game Five: No Curry Threes, No Problem

A 2-2 series after four games in a best-of-seven makes Game Five immensely important. It turns the series into a best-of-three, with home-court advantage returning to the team who hosted Games One and Two. The winner of Game Five moves one win away from clinching the series, and it is immensely important in a championship series, as the stakes are much higher. This is the scenario that the 2022 NBA Finals faced, as the Golden State Warriors evened the championship series at 2-2 with their Game Four win, and they returned home to play the pivotal Game Five against the Boston Celtics.

However, something strange happened. Apparently, the Celtics forgot to show up! The Warriors flattened Boston in the opening frame; leading by as many as 16 but finishing the quarter up by 11. The Warriors led 51-39 at halftime, and it looked like the game would be a done deal...but the Celtics struck in the third quarter. Boston scored the first 10 points of the 2nd half, and they managed to whittle down Golden State's halftime lead, and even took one of their own during the third quarter. They led by as many as five during the quarter, and had a one-point led in the final seconds, but Jordan Poole managed to bank a three-pointer at the buzzer to put the Warriors up by one. Poole's shot ended up sparking the Warriors, as they completely took over the fourth quarter and kept the Celtics from making anything resembling an impact.

The Golden State Warriors won, 104-94, and for the first time, they took a lead in this Finals. The leader this time was Andrew Wiggins, who put up 26 points and 13 rebounds, an amazing effort to lead Golden State to victory. Klay Thompson put up 21 points on what was a terrible anniversary for him: it was on this day three years ago that Thompson suffered his ACL tear that kept him out of the game for two seasons. The other main story was Stephen Curry; not only did he only score 16 points, he went 0-for-9 from behind the arc. Yes, you read that right. Steph Curry did not make a single three-pointer. He had made at least one three-pointer in 132 consecutive playoff games, and that streak ended in this game, yet the Warriors won in spite of that.

On the Boston side, Jayson Tatum led the way with 27 points and 10 boards, Marcus Smart was behind him with 20 points, and Jaylen Brown had 18 points, but was a non-factor in the fourth quarter. This isn't new from Brown. In Game Four, Brown was shut out in the opening quarter, and that was one of the things that led to the Celtics' loss in that game. Boston blew a golden opportunity in Game Four, and Game Five saw Boston disappear throughout the first half. As a result, the Celtics lost back-to-back games for the first time in this postseason, and they did so at the absolute worst possible time.

Game Six is Thursday in Boston, and the Celtics are in a must win situation. They have the home court, but it's not enough to have it. They really need to have a much better showing than they had in the last two games of this Finals. From what I've been seeing, this is not the same Celtics team who blasted the Miami Heat in Game Seven on the road, and went on to win two of the first three of this Finals. The Celtics have to improve and really battle in Game Six to force Game Seven back in the Bay Area, because if they don't, then Steph Curry will be popping the champagne on Thursday.

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