San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Desperation leaves Warriors fit to be tied
If your life flashes before your eyes the moment before you die, the Golden State Warriors must have seen a hell of a show when they fell behind the Celtics by five points late in the fourth quarter in Boston’s home madhouse.
The Warriors still had time, but the Celtics have owned the fourth quarter in these NBA Finals, plus-40 in the first three games.
A Celtics win wouldn’t finish the series, but it would give them a 3-1 lead and put the Warriors in a Grand Canyon of a hole with no foreseeable escape.
Hey, at least the Golden State dynasty had a life worth reliving in that dying nanosecond.
Therefore, submitted for debate: Friday night’s 107-97 Warriors win in Boston’s Pottymouth Pavilion, with the dynasty hanging by a thread, might be the Warriors’ most epic playoff win ever.
It’s a strong field, for sure, some incredible verge-of-elimination victories, but Friday’s will always hold a special place in the hearts of the Warriors and their fans.
“We were kind of desperate,” coach Steve Kerr said, “and our players showed that sense of desperation.”
The boys were truly up against it. The Warriors were outplayed and embarrassed in Games 1 and 3 by the younger, grittier, more athletic, hungrier Celtics. The famed Core Three Warriors had become Stephen Curry and two ghosts.
But the Warriors reached back and tapped into their deepest well of clutch. And although they’re now prepping for Game 5, Klay Thompson said, “You’ve just got to embrace these moments. It’s special to be one of the last two teams playing, and I know we’re all going to bring it Monday. We’re so excited. This was a special night for Dub Nation.”
It was epic.
One of Curry’s 14 field goals from this game might be the one chosen for his statue. Maybe the mid-range jumper he buried for a 97-94 lead after hammering the parquet floor with 17 dribbles.
Curry, playing on an injured foot, was out of his mind, but this was a Warriors win. They might be Steph Curry & The Screensetters, but the Screensetters made the Celtics feel them Friday.
Kevon Looney, who played only briefly in Game 3, was on the bench to open this game because the Warriors were desperate for offense to help Curry. But he came off that bench smoking, giving the Warriors 11 rebounds and six points, and was a teamhigh plus-21.
“I didn’t play him enough in Game 3,” Kerr said afterward.
Andrew Wiggins, kind of a background guy who has played super-solid ball in these playoffs, gave the Warriors 17 points and 16 rebounds, and was plus-20.
Looney and Wiggins, who between them can’t muster up one animated facial expression, gave the Warriors an incredible boost.
And if all the criticism directed at Kerr coming into this game was merited, and at least some of it was, he coached himself back into the critics’ good graces.
Kerr, aware that a businesslike approach wouldn’t cut it, brought the fire. He flashed anger and emotion on the bench, even picking up a technical foul. He seemed determined not to let
his guys go down meekly. He helped set an emotional tone.
“Well, everybody was emotional tonight,” Kerr said.
“Down 2-1, we had to come out with some desperation and more physicality than we showed in Game 3. So it was a
team-wide sense of aggression and emotion. That started right from the opening tip.”
And from Kerr, who along with bringing the fire, had to push buttons. His moves didn’t all pay off. He started Otto Porter Jr. for Looney, but Porter gave the Warriors little in his 15 minutes. But Kerr made a gutsy call down the stretch, pulling Draymond Green out of the game with 7:32 left and the Warriors down five, for Wiggins, who hit two shots.
Kerr is intensely loyal to his core guys, but Green, once again, wasn’t getting it done. Green was mad. He was hurt. He lives for crunch-time action, but this was no time for sentiment.
Kerr sent Green back into the game at 3:41, for Jordan Poole, and at 1:14 Green gave the Warriors a 102-97 lead by snagging an offensive rebound and feeding Looney for a layup, the basket that Kerr said sealed the win.
Until this game, the so-called experts seemed to agree that Kerr was being outcoached by Ime Udoka, whose chess moves were springing his guys for way-open shots.
But Kerr has been around the block. His adjustments included more pick-and-rolls for Curry, a fairly radical change in offensive philosophy. How did it work?
Kerr had a lot of options in this game, and most of them seemed risky. There was a clamor for him to play rookie Jonathan Kuminga, to counter the Celtics’ athleticism. Kerr elected to ignore that advice. He did get Gary Payton II back into the mix for 10 solid minutes, a steadying influence while he played.
Kerr also abandoned the zone defense that the Celtics had picked apart with 3-bombs, and played simpler D, with Wiggins dogging Jayson Tatum. Tatum scored 23, but needed 23 shots. By comparison, Curry took 26 shots to get his 43 points.
The Warriors played it cool after the game. They’ve been around this high-stakes atmosphere too long to treat a seriestying win as if it was a championship victory.
But this win was big. Warriors’ pride was on the line. An inelegant and ignominious end to the dynasty was looming. Big win. Epic.