The Golden State Warriors tamed a boisterous and rambunctious crowd at TD Garden when they defeated the Boston Celtics 107-097 in Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Finals. The Warriors evened the series at 2-2 thanks to a heroic performance from Steph Curry.
In one of the most remarkable performances of his career, Curry dropped 43 points including seven devastating 3-pointers to single-handedly push the Warriors past the Celtics in Game 4.
The NBA Finals returns to the Bay Area for Game 5, which is scheduled for Monday evening. With two out of the next three games – including Game 7 (if necessary) – at Chase Center in San Francisco, the Warriors regained home-court advantage. This year’s NBA Finals looks like it might go the full seven games.
The Warriors opened Game 5 as a -3.5 favorite over the Celtics. The finals markets at DraftKings have been swinging back and forth during this zig-zag series. However, right now the Warriors are -130 odds to win the 2022 NBA Championship, and the Celtics are now +110 odds to win the title. Both teams are just two wins away from winning a title.
The good news for the Celtics is that they’re 7-0 following a loss in the playoffs this year, but they’ll have to pull off this feat on the road.
Celtics: Another Bad 3Q, But 4Q Collapse
The Celtics squandered a chance to take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals when they let Game 4 slip away from them on their home court.
“It could have been an easier road, obviously, if you get the win tonight,” said head coach Ime Udoka. “But we’re 2-2 now. We know we can do it. We’ve done it before.”
The Celtics led by five points at halftime. They’re notorious for having awful third quarters, and have now been outgunned by 46 points in four games against the Warriors.
The Warriors outscored the Celtics 30-24 in the third frame in Game 4, which is not as bad as their previous three games, but the Celtics still coughed up the lead and trailed by one point heading into the fourth quarter. The Celtics waited until the final quarter to fully implode and the Warriors outscored them 28-19.
The Celtics were up by four points with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but they scored just three points the rest of the game. They went scoreless for almost four minutes and the Warriors went on a 10-0 run before they scored a bucket with 1:18 to go.
Jayson Tatum scored 23 points but made only one shot in the fourth quarter. He missed 15 points and committed six turnovers.
“Give (the) Warriors credit,” said Tatum. “They’re a great team. But, it’s on me. I got to be better. I got to be more efficient, shoot the ball better, finish at the rim better. I take accountability for that.”
Jaylen Brown added 21 points, while Marcus Smart added 18 points.
Warriors: Curry Cooks, Green Benched
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had a couple of tweaks heading into Game 4 against the Celtics. He started a small-ball lineup with Otto Porter instead of center Kevon Looney, and then he benched Draymond Green in the fourth quarter after he was having another ugly game. Green scored just two points on 1-for-7 from the field and he whiffed on two wide-open 3-pointers.
Green responded to the benching with two huge play in crunch time with a clutch offensive rebound and assist to Looney to help put the Celtics away.
“I’m definitely never thrilled coming out of the game with seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter in a must-win game,” said Green said. “You roll with it. I had to keep my head in the game and whenever I went back in, try to make some plays. That was just my mindset.”
“Draymond is the ultimate competitor,” said Kerr. “Came back in. Made huge plays down the stretch. He finishes a game with four steals, eight assists, nine boards.”
Curry provided the offensive spark with 43 points — which marked his second-best scoring output in the NBA Finals — but this might’ve been his most impressive performance of his career. Curry shrugged off a leg injury, which occurred late in Game 3, and he still torched the Celtics for 43 in Game 4.
“He wasn’t letting us lose,” added Green. “That’s all it boils down to.”
Andrew Wiggins added 17 points and 16 rebounds in the win, while Klay Thompson added 18 points with four 3-pointers. Jordan Poole added 14 points off the bench.
Check out OG’s extensive coverage of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.