Jayson Tatum has admitted that the Boston Celtics need to 'focus' on their game and avoid refereeing distractions following defeat to Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the NBA finals.
Andrew Wiggins starred in the victory that put the Warriors 3-2 up in the best-of-seven series, but Tatum outscored him in the game, putting up 27 as the Celtics went down 104-94.
The Celtics' slow start proved to be costly, with the third quarter their best display, with decisions from the referees clearly irritating the team.
Tatum insisted those distractions must be ignored heading into Thursday's win or go home Game 6, though.
"I mean, you saw it. I wasn't in all of those conversations. I didn't hear everything that was talked about," Tatum said.
"But in those situations, especially on the road, regardless if we feel like calls are going our way or not, just in those moments we just got to be better not letting distractions, things like that, distract us.
"Down one going into the fourth quarter, just got to focus on what's important at the time. That's on all of us. We'll regroup and bounce back. I'm sure of it."
Despite the odds being against them, Tatum remains confident the Celtics can salvage the series with two games to play.
"You know, I've said it before: You better be confident, right? We ain't got to win two in one day. We just got to win one game on Thursday," he added.
"We've been in this situation before. So it's not over. Got to win on Thursday. That's all we got to worry about right now."
Draymond Green described Andrew Wiggins as a player you want in the big occasions after his star turn in Game 5 of the NBA Finals put the Golden State Warriors on the cusp of championship glory.
Wiggins contributed 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Klay Thompson had 21 points as the Warriors scored a 104-94 win against the Boston Celtics on home court to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
It was a particularly valuable contribution from Wiggins in the context of an off night for superstar Stephen Curry, who had scored 43 points in the Game 4 triumph in Boston.
Curry had 16 points and laid on eight assists but surprisingly went 0-for-9 from three-point range, ending his record run of at least one three in a postseason game at 132, and ending his streak of regular and post-season combined at 233.
Green concedes Wiggins has had to grow in stature with the Warriors but says he is now the kind of player to excel on the big occasions.
"I think he started to feel it out, but coming into this year, he was an All-Star starter for a reason," Green said.
"He defended very well. He scored the ball very well and really just plugged right in. Like it wasn't like 'oh, you need to call a set for him every time'. He's kind of been getting it. He's continued to do that.
"I think the bigger the challenge has been that we've thrown in front of him, the bigger he's responded. You want a guy like that, when the stage gets big, they respond and play their best basketball, and that's what he's been doing."
Wiggins was able to reflect on a special moment, and said the celebrations from the likes of Klay Thompson at his performance were a sign of the "love" among the roster.
"It's something I dreamt about for sure, being in the league, and this is the ultimate stage. It doesn't get bigger than this. I was out there being aggressive. It was a good game," Wiggins said.
"That's [the celebrations] love. That's what makes it all work. We all support each other, and we want to see each other do good and succeed. That's why we're here."
Asked how he earned the respect of his team, Wiggins added: "Before I even got here, they have been great.
"You know, things that worked for them. And I feel like I'm pretty easy going, so I just came in here and hoop. I'm playing basketball, and I'm playing hard, and I feel like people respect that. And I'm just trying to win.
"At the end of the day, no matter what it takes or whatever they need from me, I'm here to help them win."
The Golden State Warriors showed their championship pedigree in Monday's 104-94 home win against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
With the win, the Warriors have taken a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven. Historically, when a seven-game series is tied at 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win the series over 82 per cent of the time.
While it has been all Stephen Curry for the Warriors up this point, Game 5 was a true team performance as Curry struggled.
It started on the defensive end for the Warriors, holding the Celtics to just eight points in the first nine minutes of action on the way to a 27-16 opening frame.
Andrew Wiggins had seven points in the first quarter, and backed it up with another nine in the second, clearly the Warriors' best player in the first half as they won the second frame 24-23 to head into half-time leading 51-39.
A classic Warriors third quarter would have put the game to bed, but it was the Celtics' turn to flip the game on its head, starting the second half on a 10-0 run.
The road team would hit six-of-eight three-pointers in the period to pull ahead 74-72 in the closing stages, before a running heave from Jordan Poole banked in off the backboard to beat the buzzer. Replays showed the ball left Poole's fingertips with 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock, giving the Warriors a one-point lead.
Poole's launch ignited the crowd, and they carried that momentum in the opening stages of the fourth, starting the quarter on a 10-0 run of their own to take a stranglehold on the contest.
In the biggest moments, Wiggins did not cede the floor to Curry, scoring 10 points in the last quarter, capped off with an emphatic slam dunk.
Wiggins finished with a team-high 26 points on 12-of-23 shooting, backing up his career-high 16 rebounds in Game 4 with another 13 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
Averaging 34.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the first four games, Curry went ice cold from long range as the series returned to Golden State, going seven-of-22 from the field and a shocking zero-of-nine from deep for his 16 points and eight assists.
It was the first of Curry's 133 career playoff games that he has not made a three-pointer, and breaks a streak of 233 consecutive total games without hitting one, and a streak of 38 straight playoff games with multiple makes.
Incredibly, Curry and Wiggins combined to shoot zero-of-15 from long range, but they received some crucial shooting performances from Klay Thompson (five-of-11 from three, 21 points) and Jordan Poole (three-of-six from deep, 14 points in 14 minutes).
Gary Payton II also played a big part in the win, coming off the bench to score 15 points on six-of-eight shooting, ripping away three steals and providing a game-changing presence on the defensive end of the floor.
Ultimately, the Warriors played playoff-proven, winning basketball. They finished with six combined turnovers as a team, with just four coming from the starters, and hit 86 per cent of their free throws (13-of-15).
For the Celtics, their big three of Jayson Tatum (four turnovers), Jaylen Brown (five) and Marcus Smart (four) combined for 13 of their side's 18 total turnovers, while they shot 67 per cent from the free throw line (21-of-31).
Tatum was the visiting side's top performer, finishing with 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting, going five-of-nine from long range, adding 10 rebounds and four assists, although he did miss four of his six free throws.
The Warriors now have a chance to close out the series – and secure their fourth championship in eight seasons – when they head to Boston for Game 6. If the Celtics are able to win Game 6, Game 7 will head back to Golden State.
Fresh off one of the best seasons in franchise history, the Memphis Grizzlies and head coach Taylor Jenkins have agreed to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Monday.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In his third season as a head coach, Jenkins led the 2021-22 Grizzlies to a 56-26 record, including a franchise-record 26 road wins, leading to the Western Conference’s two-seed seed, and a playoff series win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He finished second in Coach of the Year voting.
Memphis finished their season with a second-round playoff loss to the eventual West champions, the Golden State Warriors.
The Grizzlies' head of basketball operations, Zach Kleiman, called the extension well-deserved in a statement.
"The year-over-year progress under Taylor speaks for itself, but his growth-oriented, selfless and competitive approach has been a driving force in the establishment of a sustainable culture," Kleiman said.
"We have full confidence that Taylor will steer us to Memphis’ first championship."
Jenkins, 37, is 128-99 in three seasons coaching the Grizzlies and led Memphis to playoff appearances in each of the past two seasons.
With the NBA draft just 10 days away, teams have begun the process of reshaping their rosters for the 2022-23 season.
The Denver Nuggets have agreed to trade forward JaMychal Green to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 30th overall pick in this year's draft, according to multiple reports.
The Nuggets also sent a protected 2027 first-round pick and will receive the Thunder's second-round picks in 2023 and 2024.
Denver now owns the number 21 and number 30 overall selections for the draft on June 23, while a rebuilding Oklahoma City owns numbers two, 12 and 34, along with a deep collection of future picks available as trade fodder.
Green is likely to pick up the $8.2million option on his contract for next season, and his departure allows some flexibility for Denver to build around two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.
The move is the Nuggets' first with Calvin Booth pulling the strings after Tim Connelly departed to head basketball operations with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Green shot 39.9 per cent from three-point range in 2020-21, his first season with Denver, but that mark fell to 26.6 per cent last season.
James Wiseman's long road to recovery appears to be nearing an end, as the Golden State Warriors centre could return to play in the NBA's Summer League in July.
Wiseman, who has not played in an NBA game since April 10, 2021, is reportedly sprinting pain-free and is nearing clearance for full-contact workouts, according to the Athletic.
The second overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, Wiseman has been recovering from a meniscus tear in his right knee, for which he underwent surgery last April.
The Warriors were hoping he would be able to return at some point during the 2021-22 season, but he encountered multiple setbacks and the team made the decision to shut him down with nine games to go.
Then in April, he reportedly received a plasma-rich injection in his arm to help promote healing throughout his body.
Though the 21-year-old has appeared in just 39 games in his two seasons with Golden State – averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds – he remains part of the team's long-term plans and is expected to have his fourth-year option picked up.
Wiseman has been on the bench during the Warriors' playoff run, and was on the court putting up shots during shootaround prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
The Finals between the Warriors and Boston Celtics are tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 on Monday in San Francisco.
After two-and-a-half seasons on the sidelines due to injury, Klay Thompson is savouring every moment before the Golden State Warriors face the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday.
The Warriors were on the verge of forcing a Game 7 against the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals, when Thompson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee with two minutes remaining in the third quarter of Game 6.
On 28 points at that point on eight-of-12 shooting, he ended up sinking both free throws before being forced off the court and did not return for the Warriors until January this year, missing the whole of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
Monday is the three-year anniversary since that game but ahead of Game 5 against the Boston Celtics, Thompson revealed he did not realise the extent of his knee injury and had only one thing on his mind.
"I never had such a severe injury, so I didn't think it was that serious," Thompson said. "I thought I might have sprained something in my knee, but when you're playing in front of your fans, your adrenaline is so high, you kind of disregard anything that makes sense.
"Running around on a torn ACL doesn't make very good sense. I just thought, 'I don't want to leave these points on the board, man. This is the Finals, I'm going to go get this 30-ball.'
"On top of that, I went to the back, and they did a little test, and they came out with the conclusion that I should probably put some crutches on. Wow, what a time, three years ago. It goes by fast."
The 32-year-old has been in patchy shooting form over these playoffs and hit a nadir in the opening two games of the NBA Finals, going a combined 10-of-33 from the floor.
Thompson found his feet as the Warriors evened up the series in Game 4, coming up with big shots on the way to 18 points and 40 per cent shooting from the perimeter.
Playing in his sixth-straight NBA Finals on an individual level, following that absence due to injury, Thompson is not taking the magnitude of the occasion for granted.
"Man, it seems routine, but I know how special this is," he said. "I mean, I'm trying to just be present in everything I do during this time – even this interview. Not even looking ahead to tomorrow but just enjoy this day before the big one.
"I mean, the NBA Finals is such a cool thing to be a part of. I remember being in Istanbul, Turkey in 2013, doing some stuff for the NBA and waking up real early just to watch it. To realise that these games are broadcast worldwide just reminds you how special it really is.
"I know when my dad [Mychal] played back in the day, the NBA was not as global so to be here now, it's special."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
