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Andrew Wiggins dominates as Warriors take 3-2 series lead

By Jarrett Prendergast

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 13: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Golden State Warriors brings the ball up court against Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics during the first quarter in Game Five of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center on June 13, 2022 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 13: Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Golden State Warriors brings the ball up court against Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics during the first quarter in Game Five of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center on June 13, 2022 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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After a masterful performance from Stephen Curry in game four, the star point guard struggled to find his shot in game five. So where would the Golden State Warriors get their scoring production? Look no further than Andrew Wiggins who had a huge game on the biggest stage.

Andrew Wiggins has officially arrived as a key player to a potential championship team as the Golden State Warriors inch closer to their ultimate goal.

The former first-overall pick scored 26 points on 12-23 shooting and brought in 13 rebounds. Wiggins also led the team in minutes by playing 43 of the 48. Similar to Curry, Wiggins could not get his three-point shot to fall in this game. He shot 0-6 from three but he attacked the rim and made the most of his mid-range attempts.

This was the first time this season that Wiggins led the team in points and rebounds in a game. He has back-to-back double-doubles in the NBA Finals and he has taken his game to a new level in the postseason. Along with Wiggins, Klay Thompson scored 21 points on 7-14 shooting and he nailed five threes.

The next three leading scorers were Curry (16 points), Gary Payton II (15 points), and Jordan Poole (14 points). For the first time in 233 games, Curry did not make a three-pointer. Yet, the Warriors still won.

You can not hold a great shooter down for long and after making zero threes in game five, watch out for a more aggressive Curry early in game six.

One of the biggest momentum swings in this game came at the end of the third quarter, Poole hit a 38-foot bank shot that gave the Warriors a one-point lead and swung all the momentum in their favor after a quarter which the Celtics dominated.

The Warriors’ defense held the Celtics to a 20-point fourth quarter after giving up 35 in the third. It was a huge defensive performance that ultimately helped the ‘Dubs get this Game 5 win. Now the Warriors head into a close-out game on Thursday night. The Warriors seemingly have to shoot better in game six after making only 22.5% of their threes in this game. If they shoot better and continue to dominate on defense there is no reason they can not close this series out in Boston.

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