The Golden State Warriors defeated the Celtics 104-94 in game five of the NBA Final series and now stand one win away from capturing their fourth title in eight years.
The National Basketball Association Finals allows for the slimmest margins of error. Opponents are too elite and opportunities too precious to squander in a seven-game series. For the Boston Celtics, sins of commission in Game 5 were too numerous to overcome a Warriors team with a championship pedigree on its home floor.
Except for a handful of transcendent individual performances and team outbursts, the 2022 Finals have been a rugged, defensive affair. In Game five, both teams executed their defensive game plans proficiently, if not successfully. Golden State Warriors sold out and relied on its superb help defense, while the Celtics tried to turn the Golden State Warriors’ shooters into drivers, offering contested shots from long distances when the Warriors settled for them.
Having blown a fourth-quarter lead in Game 4 and a chance to claim a 3-1 series lead, the Celtics coughed up possession 18 times — the margin for error in a Game 5 in which both teams struggled to maintain consistent offense. The loss also wasted something the Celtics faithful have been pining for from their superstar — a Jayson Tatum game.
The first-team All-National Basketball Association standout led all scorers with 27 points in his most dominant output of the series. To further add to the misery, Stephen Curry turned in one of his lesser performances, presenting another opening for the Celtics to capitalize.
For the Golden State Warriors, the maturation of Andrew Wiggins was one of the few offensive bright spots on a night when Curry missed 15 of his 22 attempts from the field, including a painful 0-for-9 night from behind the 3-point line. Wiggins continues to be a revelation for Golden State Warriors. For all of the Warriors’ appealing offensive style, they feature limited individual shot creation off the dribble, especially with Kevin Durant’s departure after the 2018-19 season.
While it’s unreasonable to expect Wiggins to fill the vacuum left by Durant, it’s pleasing for the Warriors to watch him attack the paint and crash the boards. Wiggins ended with 26 points and zero turnovers on 12-for-23 shooting from the field. He also played big for the Golden State Warriors, securing a game-high 13 rebounds.
When he takes on the role of primary defender on Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies) and Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) in the postseason, Wiggins can add another stamp to his passport as one of the outstanding individual defenders in the league. Once again, he carried the bulk of the load against Tatum, forcing the Celtics’ star into a series of difficult attempts.
