Boston Celtics failed again in the decisive last quarter of the game 5, costing them yet another win in NBA Finals. For the first time in this particular series Stephen and Co. have sealed back to back victories. On the other hand, Ime Udoka’s team went cold after a staggering 3rd quarter performance.
Boston Celtics are on verge of losing the 2022 NBA finals, as the Warriors are just 1 game away from the coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy. They will be preparing hard for the upcoming game-6 to stretch the series to the last game of the season and give themselves some chance in the Finals. But Ime Udoka and the team are quite aware of the big problem costing them some important wins in the series – it’s their 4th quarter poor shooting. The Celtics though scored a total of 20 points in the last 12 minutes of the game, they went 0-5 starting the 4th quarter, and the Warriors had a 10-0 run, demolishing any come-back route for the visiting team.
After a strong 3rd quarter, Celtics looked in a better position to turn the game around, but poor shooting from their stars and unnecessary turnovers left them behind the Warriors’ tally. Unfortunately for the Celtics’ fans, their team never caught up with Golden State Warriors till the end, finishing the game 94-104, and now trails in the series for the 1st time.
Boston Celtics poor show in the 4th quarter handed Golden State Warriors an important win
Boston Celtics have played brilliantly in their Wins; rather their brilliant plays gave them impressive wins. In game 1 when the Warriors looked to seal the game with a huge margin, the Celtics strong 4th quarter turned the tables around. Similarly in Game 3 also, the Celtics managed to hold off the Warriors to just 11 points and outscored them by 12 points.
But in Game 5 the Boston Celtics couldn’t make shots to start the 4th quarter and found themselves in a deep hole as the Warriors went on some scoring spree. The game was poised at 75-74 at the end of the 3rd quarter, and after just 3 minutes in the 4th quarter, the Warriors had a huge 85-74 lead, forcing an early timeout from Ime Udoka.
“For us, it’s really about consistency,” Coach Ime Udoka said. “That’s the thing we’re not having throughout a full game, is consistent efforts, sustained effort, more so offensively than anything. That’s the part where we got to have carryover not only game to game but quarter to quarter, where we saw it happened in the third but not the fourth.”
Jayson Tatum scored just 5 points in 10:49 minutes into the 4th quarter and was 1-5 from the field. Jaylen Brown also shot 25% in the 4th quarter scoring team-high 5 points for the decisive 12 minutes of the game. They then missed seven straight down the stretch and head back home for Game 6 on Thursday night after their first back-to-back losses this postseason.
Al Horford also looked down on their shooting as he said, “I think definitely we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be during times there. Just tough. Definitely now, our backs are against the wall, and we have to see what we’re made of.”
Interestingly in the 4th quarter, the Warriors were razor-sharp draining 50% of their shots and having 0 turnovers. Celtics on contrary had 26% shooting with 4 turnovers to hamper their chances in the game. A great game from Andrew Wiggins allowed Warriors domination in the paint, as they outscored the Celtics 18-4 in the 4th quarter only. The Canadian star scored a total of 10 points in the quarter, the same as both Tatum and Brown combined.
Ime Udoka sheds light on their poor show as he said, “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. I don’t know if it was fatigue affects the decision making a little bit there, or just physically don’t have the burst to finish it off.”
The Warriors will be looking at history in making, Stephen Curry has a chance to win his 1st NBA Finals MVP award, and the Warriors to win their 4th title in 8 seasons when they visit TD Garden on the 16th night. The Celtics though will try to end their drought to give themselves a shot at 1st title in 12 years.
