While Steph Curry fell into an uncharacteristic shooting slump in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the rest of his teammates on the Golden State Warriors stepped up against the Boston Celtics on Monday night.
Andrew Wiggins put together one of his best performances of the playoffs with a team-high 26 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the field with 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals in 43 minutes.
Behind Wiggins, Klay Thompson added 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor with five triples. Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole each tacked on double-figure scoring performances off the bench in Golden State’s 104-94 win in Game 5.
Following the Warriors’ win to take a 3-2 lead against the Celtics in the NBA Finals, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst made headlines. In an appearance on Sportcenter with Scott Van Pelt, Windhorst called Golden State’s win over Boston in Game 5 a “checkbook win.”
Andrew Wiggins, he’s not an underdog. He makes $32 million. While the Warriors were down these last couple of years, winning no games, they kept spending money. Because they’ve got it. They re-signed Draymond Green, they re-signed Steph Curry, they re-signed Kevon Looney, they kept Andrew Wiggins and boy, did it show up tonight. Andrew Wiggins, with the supreme moment in his career. He was a throw-in in a trade, other teams would’ve totally gotten rid of him, they stuck with him. They have a $340 million payroll when you consider taxes. You don’t just have to beat the Warriors on the court; you got to beat their checkbook. Nothing away from Andrew Wiggins tonight, but this was a checkbook win for the Warriors.
Via @gifdsports on Twitter:
“They have a $340 million payroll, you just don’t have to beat the Warriors on the court, you gotta beat their checkbook…this was a checkbook win for the Warriors” pic.twitter.com/3OzI3Jc0pX
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) June 14, 2022
Although they carry the league’s most expensive payroll at just under $176 million, Golden State’s ownership, led by Joe Lacob, has continually paid a hefty price to keep the Warriors’ championship core together to compete in the postseason. Golden State has rewarded homegrown talent with contract extensions like Curry, Thompson, Green and Kevon Looney. While their payroll is inflated, Lacob and the Warriors’ ownership have paid the luxury tax bill under the league’s collect bargaining agreement.
Regardless of whatever Golden State’s win in Game 5 is being labeled as, the Warriors are now just one victory away from hanging another banner at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
Game 6 is set for 6 p.m. PT on Thursday at Boston’s TD Garden.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
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