"Steph can't have a game like he had last night and lose the series in Game 7" - Max Kellerman believes the narrative can turn around against Steph Curry if he drops another poor performance
The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics to take Game 5 of the NBA Finals at home. Steph Curry's abysmal shooting night came under the microscope for many.
Max Kellerman, on ESPN's "Keyshawn, JWill & Max," talked about Steph's night. Although not much should be made of it at this point, he focused on what could happen should these circumstances repeat themselves. Kellerman said:
"Steph can't have a game like he had last night and lose the series in Game 7. You cannot wind up back in San Francisco, have a subpar game and the Celtics win the series. If that happens, then the great work he did so far, that's not what will be remembered.
"The narrative is gonna flip from 'This is Steph's greatest finals etc. etc.' That can happen in Game 5, my point is can't happen in a Game 7 loss."
Andrew Wiggins explodes for a 26-point double-double to carry Steph Curry and company to a win
The Boston Celtics broke their streak of avoiding back-to-back losses in these playoffs. The Golden State Warriors handed them their second consecutive loss in Game 5 of the NBA Finals last night.
Andrew Wiggins was the player of the night in Game 5, registering yet another monster double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Klay Thompson added 21 points, shooting 5-for-11 from 3-point range,
Jordan Poole came off the bench to score 14 points in 14 minutes, which included some crucial 3-point shots. Gary Payton II added 15 points and 3 steals to his tally.
Steph Curry averaged 34.3 points per game coming into Game 5, and is now averaging 30.6. On an abysmal shooting night from 3-point range, Curry shot 0-for-9 from 3-point land. This ended his streak of 133 consecutive playoff games with one made 3-point shot.
However, Curry was due one bad game this series, statistically referred to as regression to the mean. Not much can be made about his game last night.
Andrew Wiggins' defense, rebounding and paint-play turned out to be huge for the Warriors. Jayson Tatum has been discombobulated on the offensive end with Wiggins on him this series. Despite his defense, Tatum had a good scoring night, shooting 50.0% from the field.
Andrew Wiggins this Finals:
— More PPG than Klay
— Leads both teams in rebounds
— Leads both teams in shots contested
— 2nd in blocks
— Holding Tatum to 37.5% shooting https://t.co/zvK2eSWy7F
However, Tatum and Brown's turnovers hurt Boston once again, with the team turning the ball over a total of eighteen times. Jayson Tatum has now also recorded the most turnovers in a single post-season.