NBA Playoffs [VF] The Warriors are almost there, the C’s back to the wall!

The Warriors see a ring sparkle in the distance: worn by the Wiggins / Thompson duo to relay Curry in difficulty, they won at the expense of the Celtics (104-94) the crucial 5th game of the NBA Finals, to lead 3-2, Monday in San Francisco. Here is Golden State one victory away from a 7th league title, which would be the 4th for its sixth final in eight years, after 2015, 2017 and 2018. Enough to revive a golden dynasty that we thought was buried in 2019, after the failure against Toronto, during a final marked in particular by the serious injuries of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. It was three years ago to the day that Thompson ruptured his cruciate ligaments in his left knee.and the one who was away from the parquet floors for two and a half years, after also breaking his right Achilles tendon, did everything not to be overwhelmed by emotion.

His 21 points attest to this, with five baskets behind the arc (out of 11), two of which stopped a big Californian hemorrhage in the third quarter, when the Celtics reversed the situation after lamenting 16 lengths behind in the first quarter. time. And his last banner, less than two minutes from time, to bring the score to 102-86, was lethal.

First “fanny” for Curry

Thompson was therefore in cold blood, when his “Splash Brother” Stephen Curry could not warm up a difficult evening, 72 hours after his “masterclass” of match N.4, finished with 43 points. This Monday evening, he was the victim of the special treatment of the entire opposing defense. So that for the first time in his career, the 2015 and 2016 double MVP, who had scored seven on Friday, did not make a single three-point basket in a play-off game. He remained on 132 meetings with at least one registered … The best shooter in history, however, was able to report 16 points (8 assists) from his forays into the racket.

“Its 0/9?, it’s good for us. He’s going to be livid until the next game and that’s exactly what we need“, noted Draymond Green (8 pts, 8 rbds, 6 assists). It was therefore necessary for a third man to rise to guide the Warriors to victory. And it was Andrew Wiggins, formidable efficiency at mid-distance and in the attack of the opposing circle (12/17), author of 26 points and 13 rbds. “My state of mind was to be aggressive. I just try to do what it takes to win, whether it’s scoring, rebounding, defending or whatever I’m asked to do.”, soberly commented the winger from the shadows in full light. In this match where their outside address was at half mast (9/40), the Warriors generally owed their salvation to an effort made by everyone, recalling that their slogan at the time of their glory was “Strentgh in Numbers” (the strength in numbers).

Celtics back to the wall

Gary Payton Jr, who suffered a fractured left elbow in May, contributed 15 points, and Jordan Poole added 14, including a 3rd quarter buzzer shot, which put his team back in the lead (75-74), under the eyes of rapper Jay-Z but not of League boss Adam Silver, who entered under Covid protocol. The Warriors had just suffered the awakening (35-24) of Boston, in their favorite period yet. In the wake of Jayson Tatum (27 pts, 10 rebounds), irresistible for a long time before dropping off after 45 minutes played, the C’s who had started with a 0/12 at long distance, caught fire (9/10) between the end of the first period and the start of the second.

But they could not confirm this burst, despite the efforts of Marcus Smart (20 pts) and Jaylen Brown (18 pts), weighed down by 18 loss of balls, their not very cute sin in this final, who offered 22 points to their opponents. And here are the Celtics, who had not yet lost two consecutive games in these play-offs, with their backs to the wall. In search of a record 18th title, they will have to react Thursday in their TD Garden, to snatch a seventh decisive match, scheduled in this case for Sunday, again in San Francisco.