3 Things We Learned From Warriors-Celtics NBA Finals Game 4 On Friday

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics 107-97 in Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Finals on Wednesday to even this series up at 2-2 heading back to San Francisco for Game 5.

With their backs up against the wall and facing a scenario where they could have gone down 3-1 in the NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors responded in Game 4 against the Boston Celtics on Friday night.

Entering this game, the Warriors had been picked apart in the first quarter, oftentimes starting out the game slow and having to fight their way back from a big deficit.

However, the Warriors looked strong in the first quarter, trailing by just one-point after the first 12 minutes of play and they looked especially good on the interior, an adjustment they made from Game 3 when Boston punished them scoring-wise and rebounding-wise in the paint.

While the Celtics went on a little bit of a run in the second quarter, the Warriors still held their ground and were starting to get things going, especially Stephen Curry who ended the half with a game-high 19 points.

The third quarter of Game 4 was much like the third quarters of the previous three games in this series and the Warriors outscored the Celtics 30-24 with Curry scoring 14 points in the quarter and helping Golden State take a one-point lead into the fourth.

Over the final twelve minutes of Game 4 on Friday night, Curry continued to give the Celtics’ defense fits and the Warriors as a whole were putting in work on the offensive and defensive glass.

Golden State ended up outrebounding Boston 55-42 in Game 4, helping them hold on and even up this series at 2-2 after a 107-97 victory on the road.

With everything tied up at 2-2, the 2022 NBA Finals is now a “Best-of-3” series with the Warriors owning home court advantage. 

Game 5 on Monday night could very well determine the winner of this series and some things that happened on Friday night could be very telling as to what we should expect to see.

Stephen Curry Will Not Be Denied During His Quest For Finals MVP

Game 4 between the Warriors and Celtics can simply be summed up by one word:

GREATNESS.

Stephen Curry put on an absolute show in this game and no matter if he was wide-open, heavily contested or being fouled, everything Curry seemed to put up went in, especially in the second-half. In fact, the two-time MVP shot 7-11 from the floor on 5-6 from three-point range in the second-half alone!

43 PTS | 14-26 FG | 7-14 3FG

Stephen Curry put on a masterpiece of a performance last night 👏 pic.twitter.com/NTAHqhkSOp

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 11, 2022

Finishing the game with 43 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, Curry did not look limited by any foot injury whatsoever in this game and he cemented his case for Finals MVP, even though this series is still far from over.

He has been the most dominant player in the 2022 NBA Finals by a long-shot and the reason the Warriors even have a chance to win yet another title is because of Steph Curry.

“I don't rank my performances. Just win,” Curry said after the win.

All night long, when Golden State needed a basket, Steph Curry was the guy to step up for them and he may be having his best playoff series ever against one of the best defensive teams he and the Warriors have ever faced.

Through four games in the 2022 NBA Finals now, Curry is averaging 34.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and is shooting 49.8% from the floor, 49.1% from three-point range. These numbers alone rank Curry with some of the greatest players of all-time in the history of the NBA Finals and should he continue to play at this level, it is not hard to believe that he will get his fourth ring and first Finals MVP.

Boston Needs Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown For All 48 Minutes

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have both been great in the 2022 NBA Finals. They have each hit some clutch shots in the Celtics’ two victories and defensively, both Tatum and Brown have made an impact.

However, we have yet to see these two All-Stars sustain success over the course of an entire game and dominate on the offensive-end of the floor together at the same time.

The Celtics’ inconsistency on the offensive-end of the floor has hurt them at times in this series and it especially hurt them in Game 4, a game in which Boston could have taken.

Turnovers obviously hurt the Celtics’ chances to win this game, but they only scored a combined 43 points in the second-half, Tatum and Brown combining for just 16 of those 43 points.

Getting production from both players at the same time not only puts Boston ahead in terms of scoring in this series, but it forces the Warriors’ defense into trouble.

Given their lack of size and athleticism, the Warriors cannot really guard both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum at the same time, especially if both players are hitting shots.

Moving the ball and getting others open looks is key for the Celtics’ offense, however, there needs to be a point where enough is enough and both Brown and Tatum need to realize this. Having the ball late in the shot-clock and being assertive is what will win Boston this series.

Should they both continue to defer to one another though and take turns “getting hot” shooting the basketball, the Warriors will hang around until they pull away in the second-half, much like what happened in Game 4.

Andrew Wiggins Is The Key For Golden State

Stephen Curry’s Game 4 performance was incredible and Golden State made the right second-half adjustments defensively, but what really won them this game was their effort on the glass.

Outrebounding the Celtics 55-42, 16-11 on the offensive glass, the Warriors were able to build a lead and hold onto it over the course of the second-half. Perhaps no player had a greater impact on this game for Golden State than Andrew Wiggins, who finished with 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.

He finished +20 for the game, trailing only Kevin Looney at +21 for a game-high plus-minus rating, and Wiggins really showed where he can make an impact in this series and in Golden State’s championship efforts.

Many people tend to think that a No. 1 overall pick needs to lead the league in scoring one day or be a ten-time All-Star in order to “live up to the hype” put on them, but that is simply not the case. Andrew Wiggins is a perfect example of this.

Wiggins plays his role so well for the Warriors and his ability to not only attack the basket offensively, but attack the glass on both ends of the court is what won the Warriors this game.

All three of his offensive rebounds were huge in this game, some leading to easy layups allowing the Warriors to hold their lead at the time, and Wiggins aided the Warriors’ defense by not allowing second-chance opportunities for the Celtics.

Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole may be heavily regarded as the three best shooters and scorers on the Warriors, but Andrew Wiggins may very well be the most important player for them in this series because of how he can positively impact the game on both ends of the floor.

He has been the primary defender on Jayson Tatum, he has rebounded at a high-level and is averaging 16.5 points per game in the NBA Finals, third on the team behind just Curry and Thompson.

In order for Golden State to win two of the next three games and win their fourth championship in the last eight seasons, Andrew Wiggins will need to continue to be a two-way factor like he has been, as well as continue attacking the glass.

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