Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics big man Robert Williams III has been playing through a knee injury throughout the 2022 NBA Finals, and he revealed that he gave up on a particular treatment after learning how to manage the pain.

Williams told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that he had his knee drained multiple times during the Eastern Conference Finals, but he's since stopped after the issue didn't subside.

"I was really having my knee drained a lot last series," Williams said. "I stopped draining it because there was no point, in my opinion. My knee kept filling back up with fluid. So, I’ve kind of learned how to manage it to be able to play."

Williams was forced to undergo meniscus surgery late in the regular season. He then suffered a bone bruise in the conference semifinal round against the Milwaukee Bucks. Since then, Williams has been a fixture on Boston's injury report. The 24-year-old detailed his treatment routine that has allowed him to stay on the floor.

"Icing, deep tissue massages, treatment, wait three or four hours and then start the process all over again until [it’s time to sleep]," Williams told Haynes. "Usually that same routine. Maybe a little BFR [blood flow restriction training] here and there, but usually that same ritual."

Per Haynes, Williams has been ensured by Boston's medical staff that he's not risking further injury to his knee, and at this point it's "all a matter of pain tolerance."

When healthy, Williams is a defensive anchor for the Celtics as well as a finisher at the rim. In the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Williams is averaging 7.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks while shooting 88.9 percent from the field in 25.0 minutes per game.

The Celtics are facing a 3-2 series deficit ahead of Thursday's Game 6. Williams said he and his teammates are going to do whatever it takes to ensure that the Warriors aren't celebrating a championship win at TD Garden.

"S--t, we’re trying to win," Williams said. "It’s crazy. I’m living my dream right now. Obviously, it would be way better if we win, but my whole thing is accountability for my team. Letting them know I’m here through whatever, and hopefully, the message is relayed to everyone else."

Playing against the Boston Celtics has been a challenge for Draymond Green and his Golden State Warriors teammates.

Just not quite on a LeBron James level.

"It doesn't compare to mentally playing against LeBron James, who I think is arguably the smartest guy to ever play this game," Green told reporters Wednesday. "Not one of—he's arguably the smartest guy to step foot on a basketball court. So, to say it compares to that, it's disrespectful to LeBron and it's a lie to you [the media]."

The Warriors played against James' Cleveland Cavaliers in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018, with Golden State winning three championships. James' lone victory in that rivalry, the 2016 Finals, led to Kevin Durant signing with the Warriors and forever changing the trophy cases of both teams.

On the cusp of a fourth ring after taking a 3-2 lead over the Celtics heading into Thursday's Game 6, Green says Boston has presented a different challenge with its athleticism.

"It is a challenge mentally because these guys are superathletic, they are superyoung and fast and strong, and ... then obviously they're supertalented," Green said. "When you're facing that, you have to try to outthink a guy. If a guy is faster than me, how can I beat him to a spot? I have to anticipate him. I have to think. I have to try to understand what he's trying to get to. So, I think that's been huge in this series from a mental standpoint and just trying to understand and be a step ahead of them."

That being said, Green said playing against James is a "chess match" because of his ability to dissect plays on the fly with his once-in-a-generation basketball IQ. LeBron has flashed a photographic memory of in-game situations, showing an ability to remember individual plays in incredible detail.

While Green said no one compares to James' basketball intellect, he highlighted Marcus Smart as the "brain" of the Celtics operation.

Though the Boston Celtics are on the brink of elimination ahead of Thursday's Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, guard Jaylen Brown said his team's confidence isn't shaken.

"We're looking to give it everything we've got. We are not scared. We do not fear the Golden State Warriors," Brown told reporters. "We want to come out and just play the best version of basketball that we can. We know it's a good team over there. We know they've done it before. But we have all the belief in ourselves."

The Celtics took a 2-1 series lead, but their last two losses could have been demoralizing, as turnovers and sloppy play were the reasons for their demise.

Boston is 0-6 this postseason when it commits 16 turnovers or more. Its star players have also struggled to find consistency throughout the series.

Brown had gotten off to a strong start, but his production has tailed off. In Monday's Game 5, he scored 18 points on 5-of-18 shooting and missed all five of his three-point attempts. He also committed five of the team's 18 turnovers.

Jayson Tatum hasn't been his usual self either, shooting 37.3 percent from the field.

Despite those struggles, Brown said he and his teammates are embracing their opportunity.

"Everything that we learned this year is like a badge of honor that we wear," he said. "We don't let it hang over our heads. We bounce back. We've been able to respond well all year. So, we're looking forward to the challenge."

Ime Udoka wants his team to stop focusing on officiating and get back to playing its game.

The Boston Celtics coach told reporters Wednesday that the squad is having "too many conversations" about refs and has not been focused enough on the task at hand.

Boston has dropped the last two games and faces elimination heading back home for Game 6, with the team showing clear frustration with officiating in both losses.

Udoka and Marcus Smart were both hit with technical fouls in Game 5, while Jayson Tatum and Grant Williams were both seen consistently barking at the refs.

Al Horford told reporters after the game:

“Yeah, not our best moment. As you guys know, I feel like we’ve been able to fend those things off, especially throughout the playoffs. For whatever reason tonight I feel like it got to us.

“It’s one of those things that we kind of brought it back. We were able to focus back in, but we can never let that get to us. We can’t let that affect our game, the way that things are being played."

While the Celtics may have been frustrated with the officiating, the numbers don't back up any advantage given to Golden State. The Warriors were called for 28 fouls in Game 5 compared to 16 for Boston. The Celtics had fair points at various times about missed calls, but there were some whistles blown that probably could have been held back at other points.

Udoka is correct in noting that his team can't melt down over whistles in a Finals environment. If the Celtics let officiating mistakes dictate their attitude Thursday night, they'll likely be headed for Cancun rather than Game 7.

Boston Celtics center Al Horford realizes the team is in a do-or-die situation after falling behind 3-2 in the NBA Finals following a 104-94 Game 5 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday.

According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Horford lamented Boston's poor play late in Game 5 before turning his focus to Game 6:

"Obviously we're a little discouraged after having such a good third to come out in the fourth and not execute like we needed to. We felt like we had opportunities, kind of started playing like we were playing earlier in the game. That's definitely, you know, tough.

"Our backs are against the wall. This is the time that we look at each other in the eyes and we got to figure it out. We have an opportunity now. Got to figure it out. There's no tomorrow for us."

The series shifts back to Boston where the Celtics will try to win Game 6 on Thursday and send the series to San Francisco for a decisive Game 7.

The Celtics had a chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead at home in Game 4, but they couldn't contain Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry, who went off for 43 points in a win.

For the middle portion of the pivotal Game 5, it looked like the C's would prevail.

Golden State seized an early 16-point lead and led by 12 at halftime, but the Celtics came out firing in the third quarter and took the lead by the halfway mark.

Boston built that lead to as much as four by virtue of hitting eight straight three-point attempts in the third quarter, but Golden State erased the deficit on a Jordan Poole buzzer-beater, entering the fourth with a one-point advantage.

It was all Warriors from there, as Golden State outscored Boston by nine in the fourth and showed the championship mettle that helped it make five straight NBA Finals and win three titles from 2015 to 2019.

While the Warriors hold a huge experience advantage in terms of big-time playoff games, the Celtics have some experienced players in their own right, and it starts with Horford.

The 36-year-old is playing in his first career Finals, but he's played 146 career postseason games and has appeared in 950 regular-season games as well.

Horford has been a steadying force for the Celtics this season since returning from a two-year hiatus spent with the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Boston will need a big performance out of Horford in Game 6 after he posted a team-worst minus-19 rating in Game 5, but it will also need Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart to step up in a major way in order to avoid elimination.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum explained the Game 5 fourth-quarter spat with the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green and Gary Payton II was about his desire to shoot the ball after the whistle heading into a commercial break.

Tatum detailed the situation, which saw him hold the game ball for the entire timeout, following the Celtics' 104-94 loss, which gave the Dubs a 3-2 series lead.

Shooting the ball after the whistle is a bit of a gray area when it comes to the NBA's unwritten rules. Hall of Fame forward Kevin Garnett famously used to swat away any effort to get in the extra rep, but for the most part it happens without incident.

Green and Payton, sensing Tatum's desire to hoist up a shot, escorted him straight to the Celtics bench for the media timeout, so the C's star decided to just keep the ball.

It was a touch of gamesmanship amid a hard-fought series.

Golden State held a 12-point lead at halftime, but Boston stormed back, outscoring the Dubs 35-24 in the third quarter.

The Warriors defense turned up the intensity in the final period, holding the Celtics to 26.7 percent shooting (4-of-15), to regain control of Game 5.

Now Boston must win the final two games of the series to capture its first NBA championship since 2008. Golden State is seeking its fourth title since 2015.

"I've said it before: You better be confident, right?" Tatum told reporters. "We ain't got to win two in one day. We just got to win one game on Thursday. We've been in this situation before. So it's not over. Got to win on Thursday. That's all we got to worry about right now."

The Celtics found themselves in the same situation in the second round when they trailed the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks 3-2 before winning the last two games in lopsided fashion.

They'll try to repeat that feat beginning Thursday night when the series returns to their home floor, TD Garden. Staying away from the battle-tested Warriors' mind games would be a wise way to go.

When the Boston Celtics look back on Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Finals, the team will not be happy with its fourth-quarter performance.

Boston fell to the Golden State Warriors 104-94 at Chase Center after an implosion in the final frame to fall behind 3-2 in the series. The Celtics had used an impressive third-quarter run to overcome a 12-point halftime deficit, only to squander it with just 20 points in the fourth quarter.

It was a disappointing finish after a strong comeback for Boston. The Celtics shot 4-of-15 from the field and 2-of-8 from three-point range in the fourth quarter.

Experts and critics online didn't hold back in their assessment of Boston's late-game collapse.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 27 points, but he scored only five in the fourth quarter. Boston failed to take advantage of an off-night by Golden State star point guard Stephen Curry, who was limited to 16 points on 7-of-22 shooting (0-for-9 from deep).

Now on the brink of elimination, the Celtics will head home for Thursday's Game 6, desperate for a shift in momentum. Boston has struggled throughout this series to compete at a high level for a full four quarters, and the team can't afford another such occurrence. Any other lapses by the Celtics could lead to the Warriors hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy at the TD Garden.

The momentum in the 2022 NBA Finals is squarely with the Golden State Warriors ahead of Monday's Game 5 at Chase Center. But Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum isn't shaken in the slightest.

"We've been here before, third time in a row, I feel like, that we've been here. So we know what it takes. We know what we have to do, the attention to detail, things like that," Tatum told reporters Sunday. "And I'm confident, like I've been all playoffs, confident in the fact that we'll respond and play better for the majority of the game tomorrow."

The Warriors managed to tie the series 2-2 with a 107-97 victory in Friday's Game 4 at TD Garden. Golden State star point guard Stephen Curry poured in 43 points on 14-of-26 shooting with seven three-pointers.

Tatum had 23 points Friday but struggled with his efficiency, shooting 8-of-23 from the field. It was the 24-year-old's third time in the series against the Warriors that he shot under 40 percent. He admitted after the game that he expects better from himself.

"It's on me. I got to be better," Tatum said. "I know I'm impacting the game in other ways, but I got to be more efficient, shoot the ball better, finish at the rim better. I take accountability for that."

The Celtics managed to steal a win on the Warriors' home floor in Game 1, so they're not intimidated by the prospect of returning to the Bay Area for Game 5. Tatum indicated that his teammates relish the opportunity to score an upset in a road game.

"They got a great crowd, great fanbase. Obviously, they've been in this position many of times. ... But, you know, it's basketball," Tatum said Sunday. "I feel like, for whatever reason, we played somewhat better on the road this playoffs than we have at home."