Celtics look to best Warriors in pivotal Game 5

BOSTON (WLNE) — The NBA Finals are set to resume on Monday when the Boston Celtics visit the Golden State Warriors for Game 5.

The Celtics dropped a close Game 4 on Friday night 107-97. The green scored just three points in the final 5:18. On the other end, Warriors star Stephen Curry poured in a game high 43 points.

Boston is back in the Bay Area for a pivotal Game 5. Throughout NBA history, the team that wins Game 5 when a series is tied, goes on to win the series over 80% of the time.

If the C’s want to get history on their side they’re going to have to iron out some kinks. They struggled to grab rebounds at crucial points throughout Friday’s game, the offense went stale down the stretch, and Jayson Tatum hasn’t looked much like himself.

The first hat to fall in Boston’s fourth quarter collapse on Friday was the offensive rebounds that they gave up. The C’s were up 91-86 before they allowed Andrew Wiggins to pull down offensive rebounds twice within a minute.

Those second chance points kept the game close and eventually allowed Golden State to take the lead.

“We just gotta find a way to get the rebound. Ball goes up, somebody’s gotta be there. Simple as that,” said Celtics’ guard Derrick White.

The Warriors outrebounded the C’s 55-42 in Game 4 and put in 19 second chance points compared to Boston’s 12.

The Celtics will be looking to control the glass on Monday like they did in Game 3 last Wednesday.

A glaring issue that has plagued Boston throughout the Finals has been the inconsistency that they’ve seen on the offensive end. There have been times like the fourth quarter of Game 1 where they can’t stop scoring, and then other’s like the fourth quarter of Game 4 where they can’t buy a basket.

“If we were playing offense the right way, we would be up 3-1, at least, right now,” said Head Coach Ime Udoka.

The offense came to a standstill at the most important stretch of Friday’s game. The ball stopped moving and the Celtics started settling for threes, taking seven straight from the 4:12 mark on.

Udoka continued, saying that the team should look to get Jaylen Brown involved more late in games. He wants his team to move without the ball more and for Brown to demand the ball.

“In our wins and losses, they are scoring the same amount of points. So, a lot of it is reliant on our offense,” Udoka noted.

Jayson Tatum has been a big part of the team’s offense throughout this year’s playoff run. He’s averaging 26 points this postseason, leading the Celtics in scoring.

However, throughout the Finals, he just hasn’t been himself. His shooting percentage has dropped eight percent in the series from 42% for the playoffs, to 34% from the series.

“I’m confident, like I have been all playoffs. Confident in the fact that we’ll respond and play better,” said Tatum when asked about his struggles.

Tatum started Game 4 making four of his first five shots. From that point on he made just four of his next 15.

Udoka detailed his star’s recent struggles, “At times he’s looking for fouls… but sometimes hunting fouls instead of going to finish.”

Monday’s game will tip off at 9 p.m. on ABC 6.