Final: Warriors 104, Celtics 94 - Celtics drop Game 5, let momentum slip through their grasp

The Celtics have been pushed to the brink.

With the momentum of a best-of-seven series in the balance, the Celtics simply failed to play winning basketball in Game 5 of the NBA Finals — committing 18 turnovers and missing 10 free throws en route to a disappointing 104-94 loss on Monday night.

To further twist the knife on an evening in which the Celtics managed to overcome a 16-point deficit before sputtering in the fourth quarter, the Warriors managed to take a 3-2 series lead with their top offensive conduit in Steph Curry out of wack — with the star guard going 0-for-9 from 3-point range and recording a pedestrian 16 points.

But even with Curry’s struggles, the Warriors were lifted by Andrew Wiggins (26 points) and Klay Thompson (21 points). The C’s were ultimately outscored by nine points in the fourth quarter in another disappointing ending for a Boston team that also ran out of gas in the fourth quarter of Game 4 on Friday night. 

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NBA FINALS, GAME 5
Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics
Series tied 2-2

Chase Center
9:00 PM - ABC 

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams

Golden State: Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Otto Porter, Jr. 

OFFICIALS

#8 Marc Davis

#25 Tony Brothers

#58 Josh Tiven

Alternate: #60 James Williams

Replay Center: James Capers

 INJURIES

Celtics: 

Robert Williams – AVAILABLE (left knee soreness)

Warriors:

Andre Iguodala – AVAILABLE (right knee inflammation)

Otto Porter Jr. – AVAILABLE (left foot soreness)

James Wiseman – OUT (right knee injury management)

ODDS 

Golden State is favored by -4

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Jayson Tatum’s attacking: I highlighted it. He acknowledged it. Now let’s see what he does about it. Tatum’s one-foot gliding habit is killing his percentages at the rim.

"A lot of times he's getting kind of floating, going off one leg when he can plant and go off two, finish a little bit stronger," Udoka said. "I think that will draw some contact. When I mentioned hunting fouls, I'm thinking it's taking him off his shots a little bit. We're just telling him to be decisive. He's done it all year, seen every coverage. For the most part has kind of picked those apart. Want more of the same in the Finals obviously."

If the Celtics can get more of a bully-ball offensive game from Tatum, that can reshape the offense. It’s just a matter of attacking the front of the rim and playing off two feet.

2. Consistency: The Warriors will certainly have something to say about this, and teams in this situation rarely can string 48 minutes together because of the level of competition, but Boston has a very well-defined formula for looking good: take care of, and share, the ball. No turnovers, no iso. Do that as much as possible, especially down the stretch. Build the lead, don’t sit on it. 

3. More fourth quarter Jaylen: Brown has had good starts and then the ball tends to get away from him. The C’s need to keep him involved. Teams want anyone besides Brown or Tatum to take shots down the stretch. Those guy need to be more involved.

“At times we have been a little stagnant and they are standing around when they could be more aggressive to get the ball,” Ime Udoka said. “But as well we could put them in some play calls and get to scoring areas as well.

A LITTLE MORE

Old friend Brian Robb joins the podcast to discuss Boston’s focus on the offense as the key to winning the series. 

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.