The NBA Finals are now a best-of-three series after the Golden State Warriors got what amounted to a must win 107-97 win in Game 4. Powered by Stephen Curry’s 43 points the Golden State got the split, reclaimed the home court and tied theories at 2 games apiece.
The Warriors needed everyone of those 43 points because though Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins chipped in 18 and 17 points respectively, they did so at a less than optimal rate, shooting a combined 14-34 from the floor, including 6-16 from downtown; Hoever both were net positives on the evening, with Wiggins being a +20- and Thompson son , +2. Draymond Green was once again abysmal on the offensive end, connecting on only one of his seven field goal attempts , he did at least contribute 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. After a Game 1 where he scored 9 points on just 2/7 from the floor and looked like the lights of the NBA Finals stage may shine a little too bright for him , Jordan Poole has settled in , averaging 13.6 points over the subsequent there games on .457/.400./.500 splits.
As a team, the Celtics only shot 40% , with neither Jayson Tatum (8-23), Marcus Smart, ( 7-18) nor Jaylen Brown (9-19), shot at or above 50% , which is problematic when your three main shot takers are operating on sub-optimal efficiency. Tatum has looked good in spurts, particularly the first quarter of Game 4, but has yet to put together a complete display of his on court excellence, as he has throughout these playoffs. Though he is averaging 22.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists he’s only shooting a gelid 34% from the floor. Al Horford who introduced himself to the NBA Finals stage with a sentilazing 26-point performance on 9/12 FG in which he knocked down 6 from downtown, has seen his production and impact decline dramatically, not having scored 26 points or canned nine field goals in the subsequent three games, combined.
Once again the third quarter the third quarter was the beginning of the Celtics undoing. Boston was outscored 30-24 in game 4 continuing a trend of getting it handed to them in the third quarter, as the Warriors have outscored the Celtics in the third period 141-87 over the course of the first four games.
The continuance or the reversal of these trends undoubtedly will play a major role in determining whether this Warriors core will claim their fourth NBA crown or if these still quite young Boston Celtics team will finally break through and hang the franchise their 18th world championship banner.
