Tatum continued his scorching series by scoring 44 points on 16-for-25 shooting and Curry responded with 47 on 15 for 27. The Celtics needed another significant comeback to secure the win. They were without starters Jaylen Brown (illness) and Robert Williams (knee).
“Our guys did an amazing job of staying together,” coach Brad Stevens said. ‘And if that happens, and then you get some momentum, then you tend to react when you’re not feeling well. And so we have a little momentum of, you know, we dropped 14 in Denver, 17 against Minnesota, in every game. So I see we do not really worry about that and see good results. ”
Boston, which just finished eighth in the Eastern Conference two weeks ago with a losing record, has now become the only fourth-place finisher to place itself in the first round of the playoffs.
The Warriors were ahead 109-105, with 3:30 left, and it looks like they are ready to extend the lead when Walker appeals to Curry on a three-pointer. He did not protest the offense against Boston’s bench, but he also did not see Curry kicking his leg out. Celtics coach Brad Stevens disputed the call and won, which was a significant swing.
Tatum draws the Celtics within 1 point with a 3-pointer. After Walker missed a three-pointer, Smart collected an offensive setback and finally got the ball back in the right arc. He was only 2 for 10 from outside the arc up to that point, but no Warrior defender even bothered to step in his direction as he calmly hit the wide open to put the Celtics ahead 111: 19 late with 1-1: over.
“I hurried most of my shots tonight so I just wanted to get my feet wet and take my time,” Smart said, “except I only had so much time that I took every last bit of it. And it bore fruit. ‘
With Boston ahead, 113-111, Draymond Green missed a layup, and Walker had a 3-point lead with 22.1 seconds to play. Curry responded with a 3 to make it 116-114 before Tatum hit a few free throws, and Golden State failed again.
Observations from the game:
▪ Jabari Parker, who signed a two-year deal with the Celtics on Friday, was asked on Saturday for important action. He made 5 of 6 shots and had 11 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes, 45 seconds. There were some bumps. Only 40 seconds after reporting, he had already committed some turnover, and he appeared disoriented several times before the defense. But he recorded some setbacks during his first six-minute stretch.
In the second half, he had a few tournaments, and he even asked for a play after a fourth-quarter exception. He rewarded Stevens by hitting a difficult turnaround on the baseline before putting together a clever hot air ball for a bounce.
“He gave us some opportunities in the first half and the second time when he played on the baseline and played on his strengths and did a lot of good things,” Stevens said. “He’s going to pick up our defense as time goes on, and we need to figure out how to play best with him on both sides, but pretty good for his first night.”
▪ Tatum’s two games with the highest scoring ladder this season took place over the past nine days as he followed up his career-high 53 points in the win over Minnesota on April 9 with this 44-point gem. After a quiet stretch after his January battle with COVID-19, it looks like he’s ready to wear Boston when the team needs him most.
“I was just trying to do everything in my power to help my team win a game,” he said.
▪ This game will be remembered for its frantic last minutes, but the Celtics might not even have been in a position to win if it had not been for the second quarter with great power. They trailed by 16:10 with 16 points left and were on the verge of being a massive backlog at halftime. Then some strong plays from Boston combined with some mental mistakes by the Warriors suddenly shifted the momentum.
Tristan Thompson passed with a tip-in and Walker converted a difficult three-point game with 49.8 seconds left. In this situation, the Warriors should have milked the clock as far as possible to ensure Boston got just one more possession. Instead, Andrew Wiggins missed a three-pointer with 37 seconds left, allowing Tatum to chase the other way for a quick lineup that locked up a two-for-one chance.
Still, the Warriors could have made things difficult for Boston by bleeding down the block. Instead, Kent attacked Bazemore and demanded an offensive foul with 10.9 seconds to play, then made a technical foul to argue about it. Tatum ended the final collapse of the Warriors by drilling a buzzing 22 feet.
‘[That run] gave us a lot, I think, juice and faith, ‘Stevens said. “Because you could see, we were not perfect. Early on we seemed to be moving a bit in mud. But then he goes to another level and [Tatum] was incredible. ”
▪ Curry probably made ridiculously harder shots than any current NBA player, and he had 1:53 left in his collection in the second quarter. When Grant Williams bit a fake on the left bow, Curry made contact and of course wanted to get a shot error out of it. But Williams’ body blocked Curry’s shooting hand, and the sharpshooter somehow switched to the left and struck a 22-footer while committed.
He drilled a conventional 3-pointer just 25 seconds later, giving Golden State an apparent 66-50 lead with 1:28 left.
“The smallest part of me enjoys it,” Stevens said. ‘I just hate competing against him. But man, do I like to watch him? He is just as fun to watch as any player because of his creativity, his mastery of shooting and you just never feel good when you are an opponent. ”
▪ Most of this season, the Celtics have struggled to close out games. They made mistakes, missed shots and just had a little luck. But it all slipped back in their favor during this series that won 1-point, 2-point and overtime, and now this last minute.
“I think the most important thing is that it’s just our togetherness,” Walker said. “Our position at the end of the matches helped us a lot.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.