Exhibiting a determined confidence and grit all game, Andrew Wiggins single-handedly took the pressure off Stephen Curry and delivered the best game yet of his eight-year career.
Now, the first-time All-Star is on the cusp of becoming a first-time NBA champion — and helping Curry capture yet another title.
Wiggins had 26 points and 13 rebounds, Klay Thompson scored 21 points and the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 104-94 on Monday night for a 3-2 NBA finals lead.
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“Coming into this year, he was an All-Star starter for a reason,” Draymond Green said.
“The bigger the challenge has been that we’ve thrown in front of him, the bigger he’s responded. You want a guy like that. When the stage gets big, they respond and play their best basketball, and that’s what he’s been doing.”
One game after his 43-point performance, Curry contributed 16 points and eight assists but was none for nine from three-point range.
The career three-point leader’s NBA-record streak of 132 straight postseason games with at least one three ended, along with his NBA-best run of 233 consecutive games with a three between regular season and playoffs combined.
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“He’s going to be livid going into game six. That’s exactly what we need,” Green said.
Capping his brilliant performance on both ends, Wiggins drove through the lane for an emphatic one-handed slam with two minutes left.
“He’s just been fantastic, not just in this series but throughout the playoffs,” coach Steve Kerr said.
The Warriors can win their fourth title in eight years when the series resumes in Boston on Friday. If the Celtics can win at home, the series will return to the Bay Area for a winner-take-all game seven on Monday. 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 and then an offensive foul shortly after early in the fourth. He overcame a slow start to score 20 points.
Jordan Poole knocked down 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 roared back in the third.
The Celtics found their own third-quarter magic that has long defined Golden State’s success in the second half. Boston trailed 51-39 at the break before charging back with a 35-point outburst in the third.
Al Horford hit a go-ahead three-pointer with just over six minutes left in the period that made it 58-55 as the Celtics finally found their shooting groove from deep. Grant Williams’ three-point play soon gave Boston a 66-61 lead.
That was Boston’s eighth straight made three after missing the initial 12.
“Definitely we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be during times there. Just tough,” Horford said.
“Definitely now, our backs are against the wall, and we have to see what we’re made of.”
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Jaylen Brown was two for 11 to start the game and finished with 18 points on five-of-18 shooting and missed all five of his three-point tries.
Tatum gave Boston its first three-pointer on the night before halftime and the Celtics wound up 11 of 32 from deep overall. The Celtics were sloppy in stretches, committing 18 turnovers.
“When we’re at our best, it’s simple ball movement. I think the third quarter showed that. The drive and kick was beautiful, was working, getting guys wide-open shots,” coach Ime Udoka said.
Golden State wound up nine of 40 from beyond the arc — Wiggins none for six. Curry failed to make a three-pointer for the first time since going naught from four attempts in a 134-111 loss to the Bucks in 2018.
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“A night that he didn’t have it going we found offence elsewhere,” said Green, who had eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists before fouling out with three minutes remaining.
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