(San Francisco) Jordan Poole fired a thunderbolt to close out the third quarter, Golden State built a lead from there and the club beat the Boston Celtics 104-94 on Monday as the Warriors came close just one win away from a fourth championship in eight years.
Posted at 12:12 a.m.
Poole hit the backboard from 38 feet in the last second of the third quarter.
That gave the Warriors a 75-74 lead, who then collected the first 10 points of the final quarter.
Boston then offered hesitant and disjointed play – like at the start of the game. The outcome of the match was no longer in doubt after a basket from Stephen Curry for a cushion of 91-79, with 4: 40 on the clock. A floating shot, after Jayson Tatum missed two free throws.
Canadian Andrew Wiggins was brilliant with 26 points and 13 rebounds, helping make up for a game where Curry was 0-for-9 on three-point shooting (he still provided 16 points).
Klay Thompson had 21 points, including five shots from long range.
Only he (104), Curry (146) and LeBron James (101) have at least 100 career Finals three-pointers in the NBA.
Poole had 14 points – one shy of Gary Payton, who is also a reserve.
Game 6 is Thursday in Boston, where the Celtics lost by 10 points last Friday.
Tatum had 27 points, Marcus Smart 20 and Jaylen Brown 18.
Golden State prevailed despite going 9-for-40 in perimeter shots. The club missed its first 12 such shots.
The Celtics excelled in the third quarter with 35 points, almost as many as their first half tally (39).
Boston had eight straight three-pointers to take a 58-55 lead midway through the period.
Poole’s spectacular shot rattled the lineup, however, leading to the kinds of plays that saw the Warriors lead 12-4 and 22-8.
The visitors hurt their own cause with a 21-for-31 free throw return.