The Boston Celtics came to San Francisco hoping to be one win away from their NBA-best 18 championships, but a Game 5 loss to the Warriors on Monday deterred those plans.
Boston’s Game 5 start was historically bad, starting 0-for-12 from the 3-point line, the most missed threes to start a Finals game over the last 25 years. Surprisingly enough, overall, the Celtics shot the ball better than the Warriors from behind the arc.
But to Hall of Famer and current NBC Sports Bay Area Warriors analyst Chris Mullin, the reason behind the Celtics' loss was clear.
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“They didn’t look ready for prime time,” Mullin said on Warriors Live: Finals Edition. “The Warriors dominated the first quarter and the fourth quarter. But again, I thought the Warriors looked quicker to the ball, all the 50-50 balls. They made the Celtics look really choppy and robotic offensively. And you have to give the Warriors defense credit, I thought Draymond was very aggressive tonight on offense and defense, and Andrew Wiggins was spectacular for the second game in a row.”
Although the Warriors didn’t shoot the three-ball well, they dominated the points in the paint 50-36. They also took advantage of the Celtics’ turnovers that turned into 22 points for the Warriors. Meanwhile, Golden State only turned the ball over six times.
Oh, yeah, Boston also missed 10 free throws … in a game they lost by 10.
Golden State Warriors
The reasons for the loss are endless and the finger can be pointed in different directions, but Mullin’s reasoning is pretty simple.
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And if the Celtics don’t figure it out before Game 6 on Thursday, the Warriors could be inches away from their fourth title in eight years.