A back-and-forth Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Warriors and Boston Celtics on Monday wasn’t going to end without some pettiness.
After the Celtics called a timeout with the Warriors up 12 in the fourth quarter, Jayson Tatum attempted to take a practice shot, as many NBA players try to do during a dead ball following a whistle.
But, as Tatum described it to reporters after the game, Gary Payton II and Draymond Green wouldn’t let him. Green got in Tatum’s face as the two wandered all the way over to the Boston bench, and for a brief moment, it seemed like the fracas would delve into something more until cooler heads prevailed.
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“In the NBA after timeouts, guys try to get shots up,” Tatum said. “They didn't want me to shoot the ball. I just said, (expletive) it. I just took the ball with me to the timeout and I kept the ball the whole time. They didn't say nothing. They just didn't want me to shoot the ball.”
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Sometimes, opposing players will block a player’s practice shot or keep them from getting one up so they don’t see the ball go through the basket and potentially get into a rhythm.
Golden State Warriors
But in that moment, with the Warriors on their way to a 104-94 win at Chase Center to get within a game of winning the title, perhaps it was both sides expressing a little gamesmanship before Game 6 in Boston on Thursday.