SAN FRANCISCO – If a fortune teller told you that Stephen Curry would make history in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, you would probably guess that the Golden State Warriors would come away with a win. After all, Curry was coming off a 43-point, 10-rebound effort in the 4th game that put him in the beloved base company of legends Magic Johnson and Jerry West. The possibilities, it seemed, were endless.
Then you’ll curse the fortune teller with all your heart when you realize that Curry’s story was of an ignominious variety. The all-time leading scorer was 0 of 9 from the 3-point range Monday night, scoring his first time in 132 straight playoff games, 233 straight games including the regular season, failing to make a single 3 -. punter. Curry finished with 16 points, almost 20 below his average in the first four games of the Final.
And yet this Warriors team, which had found basically zero offenses outside of Curry in the finals, worked, rushed and forced themselves into a 104-94 victory over the Boston Celtics to take a 3-point lead. -2 and reach a single win of the fourth NBA title in the franchise in eight seasons.
Seeing the Warriors on Monday was like seeing the fresh prince of Bel-Air after replacing Aunt Viv with a different actress. You know it’s the same show, but it’s different from what you’re used to.
The whole talk that came to game 5 was about the strength that Curry had brought to the Warriors. It was the subject of headline shows, a topic on Sunday media availability, and the fodder for the hilarity of NBA social media legend King Josiah.
In Monday’s game 5, however, the rest of the Warriors did more than carry their own weight. They also wore Curry.
“I think we have a very large group, a group of smart individuals. A very high IQ of the game, and we just try to make it easy for each and every one of us, every teammate,” he said. say Warriors baseman Gary Payton II after the win. “Actually, everyone is just being themselves and being selfless and trying to make plays for themselves, but again, they make plays for their teammates by doing that.”
The cast of supporting actors begins with Andrew Wiggins, who for the second game in a row looked like the second best player on the Golden State roster, possibly the second best player in the series. He added 26 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and a block in 43 monstrous minutes, taking on the responsibility of protecting Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Wiggins was all over the field and scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shots in the fourth quarter, ending things off with an emphatic sinking that ended any hope of a late Celtics comeback.
“We only get excited when Wiggs sinks someone and mistreats them,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said after the game. “And that really elevates the whole team and the bay area.”
Wiggins wasn’t the only one working while Curry was fighting. Thompson had 21 points on 5-of-11 shots from the 3-point range, another in a series of clutch performances with the Warriors ’postseason lives on the balance sheet. Draymond Green, heavily defamed for the past two weeks, amassed eight points, nearly half of his total in the first four games of the series combined, to accompany eight rebounds and six assists, setting the tone from the starting point. with its energy and pressure at both ends of the ground.
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With Kevon Looney limited to 17 minutes due to early fouls, Warriors coach Steve Kerr went to smaller lineups, allowing Payton to thrive. He showed off his unique combination of elite perimeter defense and inside scoring on the way to 15 points, five rebounds and three steals on 6-of-8 shots.
“The boy is a workhorse. He’s amazing,” Kerr said of Payton after winning the fifth game. “An amazing athlete, a great defensive player. He has very good instincts, and obviously super competitive … He’s come a long way, and now he has a chance to shine in the Finals, so he’s great.”
In terms of momentum, perhaps no player was more important to the Warriors victory than Jordan Poole. The 22-year-old has endured his ups and downs during his first playoff run, but came to the rescue at the end of a third quarter during which the Celtics had reversed a 12-point lead at halftime to a five-point lead. With the bell ready to ring at the end of the period, Poole threw a 38-foot shot that hit the glass and fell inside. It was their second full-length timeline, and it gave the Warriors an advantage they wouldn’t make. giving up.
“That was a crucial part of the game, because we responded to that,” Kerr said. “Jordan hit a couple of greats at the end of the third and then he also had a good stretch to start the fourth. But the answer to the Boston race for me was the key to the game.”
The Warriors’ supporting cast increase in a huge moment is no accident. Kerr has continually struggled to get the last man on the bench a handful of minutes every few games, knowing from his own experience as a role-playing player that spending too much time without seeing the action of the game doesn’t just make you rusting but also leaves you feeling detached. of the team. For the past three seasons since Kevin Durant left the Warriors, critics have continually called for Curry to be made faster. Even with what was sometimes a young, inexperienced and ill-adapted squad, Kerr has argued that his fluid, ball-oriented offensive engenders more cohesion and therefore leads to better results when it matters most.
“Man, there are a lot of great people here. Great people here who challenge you. They make you responsible,” Wiggins said after the game. “The support system, everyone on this team, this organization, they support you and they want to see you well, and they put you in a position to do well.”
Kerr always plays the long game, and it paid off in Game 5 amid the struggles of his franchise player. The story goes that Curry will powerfully recover in Thursday’s game 6, but role-playing players have shown they can win even if they don’t, and that’s a worrying development for Boston.
“The fact that everyone has gone one step further: Wiggs, JP, Klay made great strides, Draymond found his life and his spirit and how it affected the game,” Curry said. “It simply came to our notice then [on 3-pointers] as a team and I 0-of-9, and they still come out with a win. Obviously, the trajectory says I will throw the ball better next game. We look forward to that recovery. “