A WARRIOR MENTALITY
Wiggins comes up big as Golden State moves win away from another title
SAN FRANCISCO — Andrew Wiggins delivered the biggest game yet in his eightyear career with 26 points and 13 rebounds, Klay Thompson added 21 points and the Warriors beat the Celtics 104-94 on Monday to take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals.
Stephen Curry contributed 16 points and eight assists but was 0-for-9 from three-point range. The career three-point leader’s NBArecord streak of 132 consecutive postseason games with at least one three ended, along with his NBA-best run of 233 games in a row with a three between the regular season and playoffs combined.
Exhibiting a determined confidence and grit all evening, Wiggins drove through the lane for an emphatic one-handed dunk with 2:10 left to cap his brilliant performance.
The Warriors can win their fourth title in the last eight seasons when the series resumes Thursday with Game 6 in Boston. If the Celtics can win at home, the series will return to the Bay Area for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday. All five games so far have been decided by 10 or more points.
Jayson Tatum had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who lost consecutive games for the first time in the postseason. Marcus Smart was whistled for a technical foul, then an offensive foul in a one-second span early in the fourth quarter. He overcame a slow start to score 20 points.
Jordan Poole sank a 33-foot three from the left wing to beat the third-quarter buzzer as the Warriors took a 75-74 lead into the final 12 minutes after the Celtics had roared back.
The Celtics finally found the third-quarter magic that long has defined the Warriors’ success in the second half. The Celtics trailed 51-39 at the half before charging back with a 35-point outburst in the third.
Al Horford made a go-ahead three-pointer with 6:28 left in the third that made it 58-55 as the Celtics finally found their shooting groove from deep. Grant Williams’ threepoint play with 3:55 to play in the third gave the Celtics a 66-61 lead.
Jaylen Brown was 2-for-11 to start the game and finished with 18 points on 5-for-18 shooting, including 0-for-5 on three-pointers.
Tatum made the Celtics first three-pointer of the night — after 12 misses — with 4:34 left in the first half, and the team finished 11-for-32 from deep overall. The Warriors were 9-for-40 from beyond the arc.
NOTE: Commissioner Adam Silver didn’t attend Game 5 because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. The league didn’t say whether Silver had tested positive for COVID-19 or had been deemed a close contact of someone who had.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Silver would be able to resume attending games. Part of his role as commissioner involves handing out the championship trophy, which will be awarded Thursday in Boston or Sunday in San Francisco.
Silver has been the NBA’s commissioner since February 2014. This is the ninth championship series during his tenure, including the 2020 season that resumed inside a bubble at Walt Disney World in Florida in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.