Curry cleared of 3 pts, but the Warriors win the title

The Golden State Warriors took a serious option on another NBA championship on Monday by defeating the Boston Celtics 104-94 in Game 5 of the final series.

The California outfit took a three-to-two lead despite a painful night from superstar Stephen Curry, who had a miserable 0-for-9 night from the three-point line.

Never before in his NBA career had Curry gone through a playoff game without a successful long-range throw.

If they win Game 6 Thursday in Boston, they will be champions for the seventh time in their history, the fourth time in eight years.

If Boston manages to win on its floor to tie at 3-3, a decisive seventh game, again in San Francisco on Sunday, will decide which team will be crowned.

It’s the first time in this playoff that the Celtics have lost back-to-back games.

Golden State was buoyed by brilliant 26 and 21-point performances from Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson, who took over as Curry struggled.

“My state of mind was to be aggressive. I just try to do what it takes to win, whether it’s scoring, rebounding, defending, or whatever I’m asked to do, ”commented soberly Wiggins, who also distinguished himself with a few games. -keys in defensive cover.

The 18 turnovers committed by Boston in this fifth game led to 22 points for the Warriors on the counterattack.

Jayson Tatum had 27 points for the Celtics, while Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown had 20 and 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.

Jordan Poole’s spectacular shot to close out the third quarter rattled the lineup, however, leading to the kinds of plays that put the Warriors up 12-4 and 22-8 earlier in the game.

The visitors hurt their cause with a 21-for-31 free-throw performance.