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The Golden State Warriors will attempt to win the NBA Championship as they face the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at the TD Garden. It's time to continue our NBA odds coverage with a Warriors-Celtics Game 6 prediction and pick.
The Warriors defeated the Celtics 104-94 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday. It was their second win in a row in the series and the second by a 10-point margin.
Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with 26 points on 12 for 23 shooting. Additionally, Klay Thompson generated 21 points, going 5 for 11 from beyond the arc. Steph Curry added 16 points. However, the best help came from the bench. Gary Payton II had 15 points on 6 for 8 shooting. Likewise, Jordan Poole added 14 points on 4 of 8 shooting.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 27 points, shooting 5 for 9 from the 3-point line. Meanwhile, Marcus Smart added 20 points on 7 of 15 shooting. It was not the best night for Jaylen Brown on Monday. He scored 18 points but shot an unruly 5 of 18 from the field. Robert Williams II had 10 points with eight rebounds.
The Warriors will attempt to remedy an issue that has existed throughout the postseason. They are 0-3 in close-out games when given the first chance to end a series.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Warriors-Celtics odds:
NBA odds: Warriors-Celtics Odds
Warriors: +3.5 (-106)
Celtics: -3.5 (-114)
Over: 210 (-108)
Under: 210 (-112)
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Why The Warriors Could Cover The Spread
The Warriors are blazing hot right now. Golden State trailed the series 2-1. Then, they roared back to win back-to-back 10-point games. The Warriors shot 46.6 percent from the field and only a dismal 22.5 percent from the triples in Game 5. However, they managed to win by beating Boston at its own game.
The Warriors clamped down defensively while taking care of the ball on their own end. They produced nine steals in Game 5 while also causing 18 Boston turnovers. Additionally, the Warriors shot 50 percent from the field in the fourth quarter while holding the Celtics to 26.7 percent shooting in the final frame. The Warriors also converted their free-throw attempts. Golden State hit 86.7 percent of its shots from the charity line, while Boston only converted 67.7 percent.
Curry did not have the success he had in Game 4. He missed all nine 3-point attempts. However, he had great support as Wiggins, Thompson, Payton, and Poole stepped up. Curry remains the heart and soul of this team and must produce better to give the Warriors a definite chance to close out the series. The Warriors built an early lead in Game 5 and saw the Celtics claw back. It was a sharp turn from the rest of the games, where the Warriors performed significantly better in the second half. Golden State has yet to put together an all-encompassing dominant outing. However, they hope to get ahead early in front of a hostile crowd at the Garden.
The Warriors' bench was spectacular in Game 5, with Payton and Poole stepping up. Their bench outscored Boston's bench 31 to 10, delivering a significant blow while the starters rested. The Warriors will cover the spread if the bench players excel again, taking the Celtics out of action and forcing them to play their starters longer.
Why The Celtics Could Cover The Spread
The Celtics are still one of the best teams in the world. Their defense throughout the regular season and the playoffs remains elite. Alternatively, they have not been able to turn superior defense and rebounding into buckets on the other end. They trailed throughout Game 5 and could not keep up with the energy the Warriors provided.
The Celtics were unflappable earlier in the series because they converted their chances at crucial moments in the game. They destroyed the Warriors in Game 1 in the fourth quarter. They repeated this in Game 3. However, they have not been able to replicate the effort throughout the past two games. The Celtics allowed the Warriors to score 29 points on 50 percent shooting in the fourth quarter in Game 5. However, Boston managed 20 points on 26.7 percent shooting. The Celtics took plenty of ill-advised shots and could not generate the space to create better opportunities. Therefore, they struggled and watched as the Warriors pulled away.
The Celtics need the best performances out of Brown, Tatum, and Smart. Brown's abysmal shooting in the fourth sunk any chance the Celtics had of coming back. He must do better with the season on the line. The Celtics will cover the spread if they force the Warriors into taking terrible shots. Additionally, they cover if they produce a better fourth quarter.
Final Warriors-Celtics Game 6 Prediction & Pick
It is do or die for the Celtics. They still have the pieces capable of winning this game and extending this series. Their defense is elite, and their scorers are more than capable of bouncing back. Additionally, the Celtics have been in this position before, as they trailed the Milwaukee Bucks 3-2 in the second-round series. Expect the Celtics to come out firing on all cylinders and cover this game, extending the series to seven games.
Final Warriors-Celtics Game 6 Prediction & Pick: Celtics: -3.5 (-114)
