BOSTON — The Boston Celtics, as they have throughout their postseason run, blew a perfect opportunity by allowing the Warriors to split the two games at TD Garden, as Golden State claimed a 107-97 victory in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday.
The Warriors regained home-court advantage by tying up the best-of-seven series at 2-all, and thus turned it into a best-of-three with two games in Golden State.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Celtics stopped relying on their bread and butter when it mattered most, going stagnant on offense which made them go cold from the floor in the clutch. Al Horford’s 3-pointer, which made it a one-possession game with 1:32 left, was Boston’s lone field goal during the final 5:18. Boston was outscored 28-19 in the final 12 minutes.
The Celtics allowed the Warriors to outscore them by six points in the final six minutes of the third quarter and by 14 in the final 7:32 of the fourth. The Celtics held a 90-86 lead after a pair of hard-earned buckets by Jaylen Brown, but a quick 11-3 run by the Steph Curry and the Warriors erased that and gave Golden State a 97-94 lead with 3:21 left.
Boston could have been much easier on itself if not for committing 10 first-half turnovers, which led to 12 points on the other end for the Warriors. Boston held a 54-49 lead at the break. Tatum was plagued by turnovers again, recording six of the team’s 16 turnovers. Ime Udoka has stressed how 15 turnovers is the magic number for the Celtics when it comes to wins and losses, and it proved that way again Friday. Boston now is 0-6 when turning the ball over 16 or more times this postseason.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Jayson Tatum coughed up the ball often, but recorded a double-double on a team-high 23 points (8-for-23) with 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
— Steph Curry was the best player on the floor Friday with 43 points on seven 3-pointers (14-for-26 from the field.) Curry scored 19 points (7-for-15 from field) during the first half and added 14 points in the third quarter.
— Andrew Wiggins provided the Warriors their much-needed second scorer while locking up on the defensive end. Wiggins finished with a double-double of 17 points (7-for-17 from the field) and 16 rebounds (three offensive) en route to a plus-20 rating. Wiggins scored 11 first-half points to keep the Warriors in it.
WAGER WATCH
One bettor at Caesars Sportsbook placed $400 on Draymond Green not to record a triple-double in Game 4. The bettor made himself a cool $6.67 richer — yes, as in six dollars — as Green did not convert. Green, who continued to have chants aimed at him by those at TD Garden, finished with two points (1-for-7) to go along with nine rebounds, eight assists and two turnovers.
UP NEXT
The NBA Finals shifts to Golden State for Game 5 at Chase Center. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET on Monday.
