The Golden State Warriors (1-2) had a date with the Boston Celtics in TD Garden in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday. Golden State needed a victory to avoid going down 3-1 in the series. Boston was looking to take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a victory. Stephen Curry’s heroic second half propelled the Warriors to a series-tying victory, 107-97.
Curry led the Warriors with 43 points (14-for-26 shooting, 7-for-14 on threes) and 10 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins scored 17 points on 17 field goal attempts and secured 16 rebounds.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 23 points on 8-for-23 shooting. Jaylen Brown scored 21 points on 9-for-19 shooting.
Here are 3 observations from Game 4.
Before you blink
The Warriors appeared keenly aware of the type of game it couldn’t play, taking time to get into sets or make decisions against the bigger, more physical Celtics.
They did not waste a modicum of time getting to their first looks, finding the open 3-point shot or getting to the rim. Much of that came out of Double Drag actions and high pick-and-rolls when either of Curry and Jordan Poole had the ball against Boston’s drop coverage.
The Warriors also leveraged Boston’s sloppiness with the basketball, deriving extra possessions from activity in the passing lanes and recovering loose balls to create run-outs. If there wasn’t an open triple to be had against a scrambled Boston defense, the Warriors aggressively hunted the rim, fighting through physicality for tough finishes. The Warriors quickly and wisely capitalized on 15 Celtic turnovers to keep themselves afloat even when the matchup favored the green jerseys.
Green imprecision
The Celtics had ample opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, creating momentum by cashing in on back-breaking threes, rejecting feeble Warrior layups, and out-muscling their smaller opponents on both ends of the floor.
But when it came to closing time, the Celtics lacked the precision necessary to bring themselves within 1 victory of a championship.
There were missed defensive assignments, rushed three-point shots, and sloppy turnovers. Golden State didn’t exactly take advantage of every Celtic mistake. But, the Celtics simply didn’t execute on enough possessions to keep pace down the stretch. Every error made their margin for error smaller, and the Celtics didn’t express the sense of urgency necessary to clamp down on their prey.
Right between the eyes
With many of the signature moments of the Warriors’ championships belonging to his teammates, Curry only had the rings to show on his resume — ho hum! But, that was no longer the case after Game 4.
With the fate of the series hanging in the balance in the second half, Curry delivered. He knocked down difficult three after difficult three throughout the third and fourth quarters, executing with the ball in his hands and catching off movement. Contact? Didn’t matter, he was too focused on the shot to miss. Suffocating defense? Didn’t matter, he had a countering pivot to create just enough space to get the shots off.
There’s obviously a world of difference between being tied 2-2 and being down 3-1 in the NBA playoffs. If the Warriors win this title, they’ll have Curry’s heroics in Game 4 to thank.
The Warriors (2-2) will head back home for Game 5. Tip-off is at 9 PM, Eastern time, on Monday. You can catch the action on ABC.
1
1
