SAN FRANCISCO — In Game 5 of the NBA Finals, so many things went in the Boston Celtics' favor.
For the first time in a postseason game, Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry failed to hit a three-point shot. Jayson Tatum had a nice shooting night after battling with his shot throughout the series.
And, for the first time in a long time, the Celtics not only didn't lose to the Warriors in the third quarter but really outplayed them.
But, after all of that, the Celtics were left with a sense of remorse, as they scored five points in the opening eight minutes of the fourth quarter and watched Golden State pull away for a 104-94 victory, giving the Warriors a chance to wrap up the series at TD Garden on Thursday night.
"Obviously, we're a bit disheartened after having such a strong third quarter to come out in the fourth quarter and not execute as well as we wanted to," Al Horford said. "We started playing like we were earlier in the game because we felt like we had possibilities." That is unquestionably difficult.
"We're up against a brick wall. This is the moment when we have to face each other in the eyes and figure it out. We have a chance right now. It's up to you to figure it out. For us, there is no future."
Despite how badly the Celtics started the game, it looked like there may be a tomorrow for Boston after Game 5. The Celtics spent the first minutes of Game 5 of the Finals moving around the court like it was a regular-season game in February, rather than Game 5 of the Finals, as the Warriors came out of the gates like a house of fire, sending the Chase Center into one round of rapturous applause after another with their frenetic play.
Turnovers, Boston's defining metric in the postseason, raised their ugly head once more. The Celtics had 18 turnovers in Game 5, maintaining a trend that has seen them finish 14-2 in the playoffs when they have 15 or less, and 0-7 when they have 16 or more.
While many of them were a result of Golden State speeding the Celtics up and out of the rhythm that Boston is so successful at maintaining when it is at its best, they were also a result of Golden State speeding the Celtics up and out of the rhythm that Boston is so successful at maintaining when it is at its best.
"They deserve credit," Jaylen Brown remarked. "They're a fantastic defensive unit." Well-behaved and disciplined. They've pushed us to do something we clearly aren't good at. All we have to do now is keep recognizing the game, seeing the game, and making in-game changes. When it comes down to it, take care of the ball.
"Another game with an excessive number of turnovers. It came at a price."
It was also another game in which a Warrior outplayed Brown and Tatum. Brown had a bad night, scoring 18 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and dishing out four assists while shooting 5-for-18 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range. Tatum, on the other hand, finally shot well, finishing 10-for-20 from the field and 5-for-9 from 3-point range, although he had four turnovers and went 1-for-5 in the fourth quarter when it appeared he was tired in a game he played for 44 minutes.
When questioned about Boston's fourth-quarter decline after pulling back into the game, Celtics coach Ime Udoka replied, "We rode them a bit longer." "Fatigue may have played a role in it, whether it was physical or in some of the decision-making that led to the turnovers. It was the hot hands that brought us back into the game."
After a disastrous first half in which Boston trailed by only 12 points, rather than the double-digit deficit they deserved, the Celtics flipped the script for the latest time in these playoffs by scoring the first 10 points of the second half and completely outplaying Golden State in the third quarter after being outscored by 49 points in that period in the first four games.
Golden State, on the other hand, scored eight baskets in the final 80 seconds of the third quarter to recover the lead heading into the fourth, and then outscored Boston 18-5 in the opening eight minutes of the fourth quarter to put the game away — and send the Celtics to the verge of elimination.
While Golden State deserves credit for the Celtics' demise, it was also the latest example of how violently this Boston club swings back and forth, even within a game. The Celtics hit eight straight 3-pointers in a row after missing their first 12 attempts of the game, getting one clear look after another. And, when they tore the Warriors apart in the third quarter, they executed their game plan repeatedly and crisply.
Then came the fourth quarter, and everything went apart.
"They've increased the physicality," Udoka explained. "They're switching a lot more now." As you witnessed in the third quarter, if we don't become stagnant and go one against the crowd, getting the shots we want might appear very easy.
"Like I said, it's just a matter of having carryover from one game to the next." Not only that, but a quarter to quarter is also a factor. We have to carry a 35-point third quarter into the fourth quarter when we're moving the ball, going into the lane, penetrating, kicking, and getting the wide-open shots we want. From the third to the fourth quarter, having just 14 or so until the young players came in late was certainly a night and day quarter."
Despite this, Boston is optimistic that it will be able to pull itself out of this hole. Why? Well, in part because Boston has found themselves in this situation many times this playoff.
"You better be confident, right?" I've stated previously. Tatum inquired. "We can't win two games in one day." On Thursday, we just needed to win one game.
"This isn't the first time we've been in this predicament. So it isn't over yet. Thursday has to be a triumph. Right now, that's all we have to be concerned about."
The Celtics were down 3-2 in the Eastern Conference playoffs against the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks before going on the road and winning Game 6 in Milwaukee, when Tatum scored 46 points, and then returning home to win Game 7.
The Celtics then went on the road and defeated the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, after surviving a near-historic collapse in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.
Now the Celtics must dig themselves out of yet another hole in order to place Banner 18 in the rafters of TD Garden.
When asked why he is more confident than he has ever been in his team's prospects of winning an NBA title following Monday's setback, Brown answered, "I ain't got no option." "We don't have any other option." At this moment, it's either win or go home. We put forth a lot of effort during the season to get to this point. I still believe we are capable of playing much better basketball than we have in the previous two games.
"I'm hoping that we play Celtic basketball in the next two games and put our best foot forward as I know we can." I'm confident that the city will rally behind us. Game 6 is going to be a huge one. "I'm excited about it."
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