The Boston Celtics say they will use the experience they gained in the Conference Semifinals to try to make a comeback in the NBA Finals at the expense of the Golden State Warriors.
The Celtics, trailing 3-2 in the series, will look to force a playoff in front of their fans at TD Garden on Thursday.
“The message I sent to the guys is to go home confident,” said head coach Ime Udoka, whose comments were echoed on the Boston team’s website.
“You have to focus on one game at a time. We’ve been in this situation before and we were successful against Milwaukee. Let’s take this series back to [San Francisco].”
The situation was all the more complex against the Bucks as the Celtics needed to win Game 6 away. After all, Grant Williams had scored 27 points in the last clash to lead his team to a dry 109-81 victory.
“We know what we have to do,” assured his teammate Robert Williams III. We know what we have to work on. I have a lot of faith in everyone in the dressing room.”
The key to defeating Steph Curry and his gang? “Consistency,” according to Udoka.
“We didn’t do it consistently, especially offensively. We’ve gotten to a point where we have to do quarter at a time, not just one game at a time.”
However, we can expect the Celtics to have their hands full in Game 6 while Curry will be proud. The star player didn’t make any of his nine shots from downtown and finished the game with just 16 points, well below his standards.
“It’s good for us,” said Draymond Green. He’s going to be angry in Game 6 and that’s what we need.”
To the delight of head coach Steve Kerr, Canada had replaced Andrew Wiggins Curry by leading his team by 26 points.
“He was fantastic,” Kerr said. Not just during this series, but for the entire playoffs.