Finale
The Warriors are a dynasty, proper. Six title appearances in eight seasons and four trophies. Their fans flood the Chase Center in San Francisco as they celebrate one of the greatest runs in NBA history. And now we begin to wonder if they can do it all again in 2022-2023. The core is still hanging in there - perhaps not as overpowering, but the sum of their parts is still plenty strong. Something tells me we’r not getting rid of these folks too easily.
And that’s it, that’s all we have, at least for now. Stick with us for ensuing NBA Finals coverage. As for this live, wherever you are, thanks for reading! You can read Hunter Felt’s report from the TD Garden here:
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Thompson - Green
He’s suffered some serious foot issues but he returned, had a solid season, and is back on the podium.
I knew it was a possibility, but to see it in real time. Holy cannoli!
Now Green is speaking to ESPN.
This fan base gave me a hard time, a really hard time, and to come here and get a win, it’s awesome...welcome back to the Warriors invitational everybody!
Nobody gave me this, I had to work very hard every moment of my life to get this.
Presentation
Stephen Curry has the Larry O’Brien Trophy while Warriors head coach Steve Kerr talks to ESPN.
Wow, Steve Kerr has nine titles as a coach and a player. That’s a lot.
When you hang around superstars good things happen.
He gives credit to Bob Myers the GM, who he says doesn’t get enough credit.
Curry has his first NBA Finals MVP as his teammates chant “MVP” to celebrate his honor, in front of silent Boston hangers on.
Curry speaks to ESPN again:
We always had a doubt, you know how long the road is...but we found a way to just get it done. Everyone on the stage has a part in this.
Trophy time
The team heads to the podium to collect their metal trophy. But first, a word from our sponsors say ESPN TV in the US.
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Read all about it
For those looking for exactly how Golden State upended Boston on their own floor to win it all, again, here’s the game report.
Curry
All eyes on Stephen Curry, as he hugs his way around the Garden floor. He’s likely the MVP for the very first time, after following up his un-Currry-like Game 5 performance with a gem tonight - 34 points, seven assists and seven boards on 6-11 three-point shooting.
Curry speaks to ESPN TV in the US.
In the beginning of the season nobody thought we’d be here except everybody on this court...to get back here and get it done means the world.
Warriors 103-90 Celtics, FINAL
The Golden State Warriors are back on top of the NBA after winning their fourth title in eight years. Dynasty affirmed!
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Warriors 103-90 Celtics, :18 fourth quarter
What’s left of Boston’s fans solute Tatum and Horford as they’re removed from the game. Curry is all smiles and hugs Wiggins as he puts the finishing touches on a fourth ring.
Veteran Andre Iguodala is inserted in the game by Steve Kerr for the final moments.
Warriors 101-88 Celtics, 1:03 fourth quarter
Curry hits a pair of foul shots. Robert Williams hits a layup. We’re approaching a minute to go in the 2021-2022 season.
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Warriors 99-86 Celtics, 1:30 fourth quarter
Brown hits a three, Wiggins misses a three - GS gets the offensive rebound, and Wiggins drains a three!
Boston fans are filing out...fickle!
Warriors 96-81 Celtics, 2:22 fourth quarter
Curry hits from three - that is the dagger right there. This is all but over.
Let’s call it what it is: championship gar-bage time
Warriors 93-81 Celtics, 3:32 fourth quarter
The Celtics have turned it over 21 times, while Horford hits his third three of the game and the lead is down to nine again. Can Boston get over the hump?
No way - Curry answers with another layup.
The Warriors have all the answers, don’t they?
And it doesn’t help when Tatum travels on the other end - that’s 22 TO’s for Boston. Yuck! that’s not championship basketball, at all.
Last call for the Celts.
Warriors 89-78 Celtics, 4:48 fourth quarter
Brown is holding his left ankle after hitting the deck on a drive. He’s up, but a bit shaken up.
Brown stays in, and then hits a three ball! How about that! It’s an eight point game!
Or it was...Wiggins, a three from the corner. Such a killer right there!
Warriors 86-75 Celtics, 5:54 fourth quarter
Celtics in transition following a turnover - Horford feeds Grant Williams, who hits, and the foul! He hits thr free throw and the Warriors lead is back down to nine...momentarily.
Curry slices through the Celts defense and hits a layup, right down the paint. Too easy!
Warriors 84-72 Celtics, 6:47 fourth quarter
The clock ticks away as Curry penetrates and hits with his left high off the glass. Then Brown comes right back with a left handed layup of his own for Boston. It looks good, but the Celtics need stops.
Warriors 80-68 Celtics, 9:45 fourth quarter
Poole is at the line for what is just the Warriors third and fourth foul shots of the game - he hits both.
A possession later Poole is back for more - a reverse layup. The lead is back to 14.
Warriors 78-68 Celtics, 9:45 fourth quarter
A good run ended the quarter for Boston, but it’s extremely taxing physically playing from behind like this - I don’t think they have enough.
Now, Payton: an emphatic slam on a break, off a (you guessed it) a Celtics turnover.
It’s still a 10 point game with more than two minutes gone by.
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Warriors 76-66 Celtics, end of third quarter
The Celtics turn the ball over - they’re up to 17 now. But Boston stay in it - Horford, down low, a reverse layup, he hits and the foul!!
They can cut it to nine! Horford hits the foul shot, and it’s a single-digit lead!
Horford, a huge swat on Poole! Big Celts mojo right now! It’s out of bounds!
Warriors have the ball and eight to shoot...Green has it at the top of the key, fires and HITS! Wow!
Clutch shot from Green!
Celtics: last shot of the quarter and Brown draws a shooting foul from Curry and heads to the line for a pair. That’s Curry’s third foul.
Brown misses the first, hits the second.
And that will do it for the third - they trim the lead to 10 after being down by 22 in the quarter.
It’s a start, can they finish? One quarter to go!!
Warriors 74-62 Celtics, 2:06 third quarter
Brown is able to hit a three, and the lead is down to 14.
There’s a Celtics stop and then Brown drives down the lane and gets a friendly roll.
A 22-point lead is down to 12!
Warriors 74-57 Celtics, 2:58 third quarter
Grant Williams draws an offensive foul from Looney - Williams took a shot to the face, so the refs will check out whether this is a flagrant foul. It doesn’t seem like a flagrant to me and ESPN’s US in-house ref pundit Steve Javie agrees.
The on-court refs agree.
A possession later, Wiggins grabs an offensive rebound and hits the layup to extend the lead.
Warriors 72-55 Celtics, 4:52 third quarter
I feel like I’ve been writing “another three” a lot: the Warriors are quite repetitive tonight.
Robert Williams tips in an offensive rebound to cut the lead to (cough), 20.
Now Tatum hesitates to take the three, drives and is stripped. Boston ball.
Then Brown misses from three.
Thompson misses from 15 on the other end and then Marcus Smart is able to hit from beyond thee arc for the Celts! That’s enough for Steve Kerr to call for time in trying to stop this run before it starts, in earnest.
Warriors 72-50 Celtics, 6:12 third quarter
Porter another three, then Curry - the dagger? ANOTHER THREE! And that one was from deep!
Curry wants that ring tonight. He’s gonna get it.
Warriors 66-47 Celtics, 7:08 third quarter
Golden State force a 24-second violation, but then turn it over themselves - their tenth TO.
Now Boston distributes to Horford who hits another three!
But GS come right back, with, yes, another three! Soul destroying points from Porter, his first of the game.
It gets worse: Curry hits the Warriors’ 14th three of the game and their lead is up to 19.
Warriors 60-44 Celtics, 8:47 third quarter
But then Curry sticks a three himself, and that takes some air out of the Garden. Yikes.
Warriors 57-44 Celtics, 9:27 third quarter
Boston need to fly out of thee gate here in the third quarter. Horford hits a three in the corner and that’s helpful. Crowd wants defense now...
You’re saying there’s a chance?
Celtics head coach Ime Udoka tells his team there’s plenty of time left, which is true. That said, teams leading by 15+ at the half are 53-1 since 1950 in the NBA Finals, say ESPN in the US. So...
whatever brady did here, i need the celtics to do it too pic.twitter.com/SUXIYgL3UU
— brianna pirre (@bsp_13) June 17, 2022
Yeah, the Warriors are gonna have to pull a Falcons to screw this one up.
Warriors rampage
They have Green playing well and four players in double digits, including 11 from Jordan Poole off the bench. They are out rebounding Boston 26 to 17 while Boston has turned it over 12 times. That’s really the difference here, along with the Warriors threes and the Celtics lack of them, of course.
Boston have problems. It’s hard to imagine them turning it around the way Golden State are playing.
Then again, this is the NBA, the league of improbable runs.
Warriors 54-39 Celtics, end of half
Wiggins misses a shot with time ticking down, Green gets the rebound is blocked, appeals for goaltending but the refs don’t buy it. That’s the half, one that started a lot better for Boston than it finished.
Warriors 54-37 Celtics, 0:36 second quarter
Wiggins misses a wide open three, Tatum comes back with a fadeaway - that’s off the mark.
Curry leaves the game - a bit shaken up but looks OK. More likely he’s getting an extended breather before the break.
Warriors 54-37 Celtics, 1:26 second quarter
Thompson turns it over, and Brown draws a foul - it’s Curry’s second.
Brown hits both foul shots.
Warriors 54-35 Celtics, 1:46 second quarter
Smart and Tatum, both with three fouls are back in, and that’s because the Celts are in huge trouble - especially after Thompson hits from the top of the arc, making it a 21-point lead.
Warriors 51-33 Celtics, 2:25 second quarter
Celts are up to 10 turnover now - no good.
Now Curry penetrates the paint and hits a layup. Too easy.
Then another Celtics turnover, and it leads to a fantastic pass from Green who hits a streaking Thompson who easily converts the layup.
Boston have no answer for Green, who is playing extremely well, while their star player sits ion the bench with foul trouble.
Warriors 47-33 Celtics, 4:02 second quarter
Curry hits his second three, and then Tatum is hit with an offensive foul, his third! So that’s a huge problem for Boston and he’s gotta sit and a pretty inopportune time for the Celtics.
Warriors 44-33 Celtics, 4:54 second quarter
Curry a running teardrop down the middle.
Then both teams turn it over - Warriors now have six turnovers of their own.
Now Horford hits from about 12 feet out, getting a bit of a roll himself.
Warriors 42-31 Celtics, 5:54 second quarter
White finds a wide open Williams in the paint and he jams it through. But Wiggins comes right back and fires a three: he gets a friendly bounce landing the tre and that extends the Warriors lead.
GS are relentless.
Warriors 39-29 Celtics, 6:54 second quarter
Curry walks, but they don’t call it - he passes to Thompson, who hits a fadeaway, straight on. Run over for Boston. Now Boston turn it over, the ball rolls off the leg of Williams. It’s their sixth turnover.
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Warriors 37-29 Celtics, 8:02 second quarter
Huge block by Williams of Stephen Curry - Celtics in transition, Tatum finishes with a layup, and now it’s Golden State that want to talk it over! It’s a 7-0 run for Boston as they climb back!
Warriors 37-27 Celtics, 8:54 second quarter
OK, let’s see how the Celtics respond, take two.
Well this is promising: Brown hits a three ball, and the largest run in an NBA Finals in 50 years is over.
Now Horford backs in Green and draws a blocking foul. There’s some life in the kelly green crowd, especially after Brown hits from the stripe and cuts the lead to 10.
Except now Smart hits Payton while chasing Poole and is hit with his third foul...
Gucci Mane is in the house. @LengelDavid pic.twitter.com/bL2lLpOQqY
— Hunter Felt (@HunterFelt) June 17, 2022
So, Hunter...what’s the vibe like at the Garden right now?
Warriors 37-22 Celtics, 10:13 second quarter
How does Boston respond? Well, Poole misses a jumper, Green gets the rebound, kicks it back out to Poole who hits, again, from downtown!
Celtics turnover - Wiggins has it, fires, CONNECTS! The Golden State explosion continues! Another Celtics timeout!
That is 21 consecutive points for the Warriors if you’re keeping score at home.
Remember that dream Celtics start? Me neither.
Warriors 32-22 Celtics, 11:10 second quarter
Poole hits yet another three (he has eight points off the bench!) and then Wiggins comes off the back of a Warriors stop, takes a pass from Thompson, and hits a layup as Golden Sate continue to push the ball.
That’s a double digit lead for the Warriors and a Celtics timeout. They need to stop this bleeding before the Garden becomes a morgue.
Steve Kerr
The Warriors coach tells ESPN in the US that it’s ball pressure on the defensive end that helped turn this game around, and that they didn’t “feel us” early on. Make of that what you will.
Warriors 27-22 Celtics, end of 1st quarter
Tatum fires a three with Wiggins in his face: it’s off the rim. Then Curry is fouled by Wiggins off of a pump fake.
Now Green his a three from the corner and the Celtics lead is down to one!
Did I say lead? Curry finally hits a three ball and now it’s the visitors who are up!
And there’s more - Poole banks a three! That’s right, Poole went glass! That’s an 11-point run by the Warriors who end the quarter up five after being down by as many as 12.
That’s some NBA action!
Warriors 18-22 Celtics, 2:09 1st quarter
Here comes Payton again - he misses a three from the corner, but follows his shot, gets the rebound and lays it in, just like coach told you to do in high school. Great fundamentals there, and some really poor boxing out.
Time out on the floor...
Warriors 16-20 Celtics, 2:38 1st quarter
Curry misses his second three-point attempt, then Williams is fouled by Looney in the act of shooting: that’s his second personal. Williams hits both shots.
A flurry of fouls ensues - the lates, a Smart fouls of Payton Jr in the lane. He hits both free throws and it’s a four point game.
Warriors 10-16 Celtics, 5:09 1st quarter
Life from Golden State - a Wiggins three helps close the gap.
Then Thompson hits from downtown, and so a little momentum shift here. That said, Boston already have seven points off turnovers.
Warriors 2-14 Celtics, 7:49 1st quarter
Curry misses his first three from the near side, and then is called for a push foul on Smart on the other end.
Now Thompson levels Smart on a screen and is hit with his second foul.
Then Boston turns it over via a deflection by Wiggins and Tatum fouls Curry before he can run the break.
The Warriors have the ball - they are ice cold - Thompson misses a jumper and are 1-6 from the field.
Warriors 2-12 Celtics, 9:25 1st quarter
Marcus Smart penetrates and pulls up in the paint, draining a little eight footer. Wiggins, the Game 5 star misses from 15, and Brown comes back and drains a three.
Now Tatum comes off a GS miss and hits another three. Time out Warriors! Crowd goes wild: this is the dream start Boston badly needs!
Tip-off
Boston wins the tip, Al Horford is fouled on a post-up by Klay Thompson and heads to the line, hotting both free throws.
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In the Garden
The newly redesigned Larry O’Brien Trophy is in the building should the Warriors win and claim a fourth title of the Curry era, rubber stamping their championship dynasty.
Personally I find the Louis Vuitton box thing a bit ostentatious, but I guess championship trophies have to be fancy.
Tradition and heritage. For the third year in a row, the Larry O'Brien Trophy will be awarded to the winning team in a bespoke #LouisVuitton travel case, hand-crafted in the Mason's historic Asnières workshop. #LVxNBA pic.twitter.com/S8jT5ppQ0l
— NBA (@NBA) June 1, 2022
Game Fives
You may remember that the Celtics, red-hot following a sweep of the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, lost Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks at home before recovering to dethrone the champs in seven games. Earlier this week these Celtics found themselves on the losing end of another crucial Game 5. This time it was against the Warriors, who were begging Boston to take the contest, with Stephen Curry held to human totals and blanked from three point range. Thanks to Andrew Wiggins piking up Golden State, Boston are back in a similar situation: having to sweep two games.
It’s a big ask, and personally, I think Boston are out of gas. It doesn’t help that their chief rim protector Robert Williams is hobbling on a surgically repaired knee.
And so I predict a win for the visitors 116-101. What say you?
Hola!
Hi folks, and re-welcome to our coverage of Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The Celtics are on their last legs and they need to sweep the next two games to prevent the Warriors from winning their fourth title since 2015. It’s a tall order but at least Boston are at home tonight - I mean, that should help, shouldn’t? Well, perhaps not, because these Celtics are just 6-5 at home during these playoffs. So they’ll have to snap out of their Garden mediocrity if there’s going to be another cross-country haul in their future.
Do they have a chance? Absolutely, and they’re even favored to do so according to Vegas. The Celts will also have the world’s most obnoxious basketball fans willing them along to a would-be Game 7, and that can’t hurt.
How will it end? We’re about to find out because tip-off is moments away. In the mean time, feel free to send thoughts and feelings to @LengelDavid or via Email.
Stick with us!
Unsurprisingly, Draymond Green is not a popular man in Boston. Andrew Lawrence had a look at the heel’s heel and his contribution to the Warriors down the years:
Father and son watch: here come Al and Tito Horford (I assume Tito will not be playing tonight).
🔊 Al & Tito Horford had a message as they arrived for Game 6
— NBA (@NBA) June 17, 2022
Get your 🍿 ready.
Warriors (3-2) Celtics, 9 PM ET on ABC pic.twitter.com/RGWnDFyzHN
Stephen Curry is the favorite for NBA finals MVP after a few ridiculous performances earlier in the series but he was (relatively) cold in Game 5. Not that it mattered as Andrew Wiggins, the former No 1 overall pick, stepped up and gave the most important performance of his career. Here’s Tom Dart with more on the Canadian:
Welcome to our coverage of Game 6. The Warriors have been here before, of course. Stephen Curry will win his fourth title with Golden State if they win tonight, and the two-time MVP says he will draw on that experience when they take the court in Boston.
“You just understand what the nerves are like,” Curry told reporters earlier this week. “At the end of the day, once you get out there, you just have to be in the moment. You got to be present as much as possible, not worry about the consequences of a win or a loss. The only opportunity you have is that 48 minutes.”
Not that he’s free of nerves exactly:
“The more you can trick your mind into being in the moment and staying there, that’s the best advice I can give anybody in that situation,” he said. “Because it’s going to be the hardest game you probably ever played in your career because of what the stakes are.”
NBA finals schedule
David will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s how the series has gone so far with the Warriors one win from the title and the series poised at 3-2 to Golden State.
Game 1: Boston Celtics 120-108 Golden State Warriors. The Celtics used a huge fourth quarter to roar past the Warriors in the series opener.
Game 2: Boston Celtics 88-107 Golden State Warriors. Jordan Poole’s halfcourt buzzer-beater polished a dominant Warriors win over the Celtics.
Game 3: Golden State Warriors 100-116 Boston Celtics. Boston moved into a 2-1 series lead thanks to strong performances from their core players.
Game 4: Golden State Warriors 107-97 Boston Celtics. Stephen Curry was at his sparkling best with 43 points to leave the series poised at 2-2.
Game 5: Boston Celtics 94-104 Golden State Warriors. Andrew Wiggins erased a rare Stephen Curry dud to take his team to within one win of the title.
Game 6: Thursday June 16, 9pm ET at Boston. (TV: ABC in the US).
Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday June 19, 8pm ET at Golden State. (TV: ABC in the US).
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