The NBA Finals will be at Chase Center in Game 5 on Monday with a rematch of the 2018 matchup. The Warriors and Celtics have alternated wins this series, and both teams can lay claim to never having lost back-to-back games in the playoffs. And while each game has been decided by double digits, the Warriors only scored ten points more than the Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA finals. As a result, The Finals have been much closer than that. In fact, the Warriors have outscored the Celtics by a single point (422-421) through the first four games.
Friday’s Game 4 win allowed the Warriors to regain home-court advantage. The Dubs have gone 10-1 at home this postseason, and with three games left in the series, there is a chance for them to gain any edge they can with each team two wins away from an NBA title.
If Monday’s Game 5 plays out anything like the first four games, it will be decided in the second half, as the team who has won the second half has won each of the first four games in the series. The Warriors have managed to come out on top in each of the third quarter of games so far in this series, but Boston relies on dominant fourth quarters to come out on top.
The Warriors are hosting Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Chase Center, the team’s new home during the 2008-2009 season. Fans who are eligible for free tickets can take advantage of seats available now before the game is sold out.
In the Last Outing
Stephen Curry scored 43 points and the Warriors ended a tightly contested game with a 17-3 run to win Game 4, 107-97. Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in the win, which tied the series up at 2-2.
In the last four games of this series, Stephen Curry has been dominant. He’s shooting above 50 percent from the field and over 45 percent from three-point territory. He’s also shot five or more threes in a game in every game of these Finals. If he keeps up at this level, it will be his highest scoring performance in this series and his third highest scoring postseason series as well.
Curry ended up playing 41 minutes in Game 4, while also turning in a signature performance of an already distinguished career.
Curry has led the way this series, but Wiggins and Looney have been constant sources of production. And just as he did against Luka Doncic in the Western Conference Finals, Wiggins is making Tatum work for everything he gets in The Finals.
Tatum averages 22.3 points per game, 34.1% shooting from the field in this postseason. He had 27 points per game through 3 rounds of playoffs and 8 straight points in Game 1 against the Rockets. Wiggins has been a key contributor as well, with 8 straight Warriors points in the first quarter of Friday’s win and 11 rebounds throughout these playoffs.
Wiggins is averaging 8.5 rebounds during the NBA Finals; Looney has been one of the Warriors’ steadiest performers and has the best overall plus-minus rating of any player in these NBA Finals (+9.0 p).
Boston’s team is having a great time this playoffs. They are 7-0 when they come back from a loss, and have been especially tough on the road. Jaylen Brown has led the team in scoring throughout this series by averaging 22.3 points per game., while Tatum is right behind him with 22.2 points per game.
The Boston Celtics have had a mixed bag of offensive and defensive performances in the Finals. They are shooting 49 percent in wins, but 39 percent in losses so far. Robert Williams III makes his presence felt on defense.
He’s averaging 3.0 blocks per game in this series and he has the second best plus-minus rating among players who play at least 15 minutes a game in this series, earning him +5.0 points on average. This gives credence to the fact that the Celtics are the best road team during this postseason so far.
