Celtics missed their first 12 three-point attempts to start Game 5 of NBA Finals

BOSTON  — The Celtics needed to come out strong Monday night to start Game 5 of the NBA Finals after blowing Game 4 last Friday. They did not come out strong, and it ended up costing them against the Warriors.

The Celtics missed a ton of shots to start their Game 5 loss in San Francisco. They missed layups. They missed free throws. Most notably, they missed threes. A lot of threes.

Boston started Game 5 by going 0-for-12 from three-point range, the most missed threes to start a Finals game over the last 25 years, according to Elias Sports Bureau. 

Rough.

The Celtics didn’t make their first three of the night until there was 4:34 left in the second quarter. Jayson Tatum drained one from the left wing to cut into Golden State’s lead, making it a 37-29 game.

Al Horford hit a three after Tatum and Marcus Smart hit one shortly after that, but the Celtics finished the first half just 3-for-15 from downtown. Tatum and Smart were both 1-for-3 from behind the arc, while Horford was 1-for-2. Jaylen Brown was 0-for-2, Payton Pritchard was 0-for-3, and Grant Williams and Derrick White were both 0-for-1 from deep for Boston.

The Warriors were only 3-for-17 from three-point land in the first half, and finished the game only 9-for-40. Steph Curry missed all nine of his threes in the game. 

The Celtics trailed by 12 at halftime, 51-39, but quickly erased that deficit with a hot start to the third quarter. After missing their first 12 from downtown, the Celtics went on to hit eight straight threes, including their first five of the second half. A Horford three at the 6:28 mark in the third quarter put Boston ahead 58-55 — the Celtics’ first lead of Game 5.

Those eight straight makes from downtown are also an NBA Finals record. Go figure.

But after going 6-for-9 from three in the third, the Celtics were just 2-for-8 from deep in the fourth quarter. Boston was 11-for-32 overall from downtown in the loss. 

As the Celtics cooled off in the fourth, the Warriors got hot, and Golden State now owns a 3-2 lead in the series following Monday night’s 104-94 victory.

The Celtics will look to keep their season alive with a Game 6 win on Thursday night in Boston.