NBA Champions, the Warriors regain their throne!

The Warriors used their experience to cool down a boiling TD Garden. Draymond Green was masterful on defense, Stephen Curry, MVP of the Finals, was again very fair on offense, and the supporting cast played their role to perfection to bring the Larry O’Brien trophy back to San Francisco with a 4-2 victory in these Finals !

As expected, it is the Celtics who take the best start. With their backs against the wall, they announced the color with a 14-2 in the wake of the trio Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, all three aggressive, while the Warriors lost two balls and missed two of their first three shots. The entries of Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II stabilize the Golden State defense. They let the storm pass and ended the quarter on a 25-8, including a diabolical sequence of three defensive stops that turned into three shots from Draymond Green, Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole (27-22).

Golden State’s demonstration

The Warriors put the nail in the coffin at the beginning of the second quarter, with a new 3-pointer from Poole on an offensive rebound, followed by a layup on the counter-attack from Wiggins. The two actions are repeated and the Warriors take a 15 points lead in front of a standing TD Garden (37-22) ! As often in this series, it is Jaylen Brown who revives his team. He scores five points to allow Boston to answer with a 7-0.

Golden State’s steamroller doesn’t care. Behind a Draymond Green at his best, their defense muzzles the Celtics. They cause 9 turnovers that lead to 9 points. The Warriors score as many points on their six offensive rebounds. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins bring the lead to 21, before Ime Udoka’s men limit the damage before the break (54-39).

Boston has not said its last word

Three first shots from Al Horford in the first six minutes of the third quarter give hope to the Celtics but the Warriors do not release the pressure. They punish the green traps with their passing game and hit from afar: two primary shots from Otto Porter Jr, and two from Stephen Curry including a last one at ten meters to put the Warriors at 22 (72-50) ! The two-time MVP even shows his ring finger to his teammates as a symbol of the future championship ring that will be added to his collection.

While the game seems played, the Celtics throw all their forces in the battle and take advantage of a drop in concentration of Golden State to come back. Al Horford and Jaylen Brown allow Boston to finish the period on a 16-4 run to come back to -10 (74-64).

Defense wins championship

With the momentum on Boston’s side, Golden State’s defense takes control of the game. They caused two turnovers and limited Boston to 3/11 shooting in the first five minutes of the final quarter to hold a 12-point lead (84-72).

Each time Jaylen Brown and Al Horford bring their team back under the ten points mark, Stephen Curry takes his responsibilities. As against Denver, Memphis, and Dallas, he punishes Al Horford’s switches by finishing with a layup or by shifting Andrew Wiggins to 3-points (93-81). With three minutes to play, Curry scores his sixth shot of the game and says good night to the TD Garden !

The Warriors win 103-90 and they are back on top of the NBA. This is their first title since 2018, and their 4th in 7 years. A real dynasty !

WHAT TO REMEMBER

– The 35-8 in ten minutes of the Warriors. Down 14-2, Stephen Curry’s teammates never panicked. They found themselves in this kind of situation several times over the years and know the recipe. Take the first shot, don’t break down, and stay in ambush with their defense to kill the hopes of 20,000 fans and their opponents. The Warriors not only came back to score, but they also gave us a collective demonstration. They limited Boston to 8 points for 10 minutes. Those defensive stops allowed them to find some rhythm on offense, and the skill followed. With Green at the helm, Curry, Thompson, Poole and Wiggins had fun, and the Warriors made history again. They outscored their opponents 35-8, including a 21-0 run in four minutes, the first time this has happened in the NBA Finals in over 50 years!

– Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown break their teeth on the Warriors wall. In games 4 and 5, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had lost 9 and 8 balls. Tonight, they had lost 7 balls at the break, unable to get the ball out cleanly against Golden State’s helpers. The two Boston stars never knew how to adapt. Possession after possession, they impaled themselves in the defense and in the forest of arms of the Warriors to give ammunition to their opponents and allow them to set up their defense. The Celtics finished the game with 21 loose balls, far too many to expect anything.

– Jordan Poole – Gary Payton II make the difference again. As in the last game, Boston’s substitutes were non-existent. The trio Derrick White – Grant Williams – Payton Pritchard finished the game with 5 points at 2/10 on shots. On the other side, Jordan Poole scored 15 points off the bench while Gary Payton II added 6 points but above all 3 steals and a decisive defensive presence to slow down the Celtics.

TOPS/FLOPS

✅Stephen Curry. After his 0/9 3-pointer in Game 5, the Finals MVP responded in the best way possible. He played fair in scoring and distribution to finish with 34 points at 6/10 from long distance, 7 assists and 7 rebounds to lead his team to victory and pick up one of the only trophies missing from his trophy case.

✅ Draymond Green. After a solid Game 5, he confirmed his rise to power by finishing this series at his best. He was omnipresent and unstoppable on defense while finishing on the doorstep of a triple-double (12 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 counters).

✅ Jaylen Brown. With Jayson Tatum down, Jaylen Brown tried everything to get his team back in the game. He finished with 34 points and 7 rebounds but could have used more support against Golden State’s unstoppable defense.

✅ Al Horford. Like Jaylen Brown, he answered with 15 of his 19 points after the break to go with his 14 rebounds. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything on defense against Stephen Curry’s repeated one-on-one attacks.

⛔ Jayson Tatum. The Celtics star was transparent in this game, completely obliterated by Andrew Wiggins’ defense. He finished the game with 13 points at 6/18 on shots and 5 lost balls.

[box boxscore_160622_bos-gsw]