Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins shoots against Boston’s Jaylen Brown, left, and Jayson Tatum in the first half Monday night in San Francisco. Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Andrew Wiggins delivered the biggest game yet in his eight-year career with 26 points and 13 rebounds, Klay Thompson scored 21 points, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 104-94 on Monday night for a 3-2 NBA Finals lead.
Stephen Curry contributed 16 points and eight assists but the all-time 3-point leader’s NBA-record streak of 132 straight postseason games with at least one 3 ended, along with his NBA-best run of 233 consecutive games with a 3 between regular season and playoffs combined.
Exhibiting a determined confidence and grit all evening, Wiggins drove through the lane for an emphatic one-handed slam with 2:10 left to cap his brilliant performance on both ends.
The best-of-seven series resumes in Boston on Thursday night and if the Celtics can win at home they will return to the Bay Area for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday. All five games so far have been decided by 10 or more points.
Marcus Smart was whistled for a technical foul then an offensive foul in a one-second span early in the fourth. He overcame a slow start to score 20 points, and Jayson Tatum had 27 points and 10 rebounds.
Jordan Poole knocked down a 33-foot 3 from the left wing to beat the third-quarter buzzer as the Warriors took a 75-74 lead into the final 12 minutes after the Celtics roared back in the third.
The Celtics found their own third-quarter magic that has long defined Golden State’s success in the second half. Boston trailed 51-39 at the break before charging back with 35-point outburst in the third.
Al Horford hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 6:28 left in the quarter that made it 58-55 as the Celtics finally found their shooting groove from deep. Grant Williams’ three-point play at 3:55 gave Boston a 66-61 lead.
That was Boston’s eighth straight made 3 after missing the initial 12.
Jaylen Brown was 2 for 11 to start the game and finished with 18 points on 5-of-18 shooting and missed all five of his 3-point tries.
Tatum gave Boston its first 3-pointer on the night 4:34 before halftime and the Celtics were 11 of 32 from deep overall.
Golden State wound up 9 of 40 from beyond the arc — Wiggins 0 of 6.
Draymond Green had eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists before fouling out with 3:01 remaining.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.