The Boston Celtics reached a fork in the road to the NBA championship last Friday night.
To the right, a smooth, four-lane highway, traffic free as far as the eye can see. Green light poles about 50 feet apart on each side, and white banners with a green 18 fluttering from every overpass. The shoulder wide and clean, and signs indicating rest areas every few miles.
To the left, a rutted gravel path riddled with potholes, narrow as the lane on a basketball court, lacking lights of any kind. No signs, no rest area, no nothing.
Naturally, the Celtics approached the fork with every intention of taking the easy way to the title by beating the Golden State Warriors at TD Garden for a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
But at the last minute the Green Machine, jolted by a 107-97 loss in Game 4, veered left to the dark, treacherous gravel path leading west, now tied 2-2 and facing a best-of-three series with two games in San Francisco.
What happened? The Warriors played better. It’s that simple. Stephen Curry shook off an ankle injury from Game 3 and led the way with 43 points, 7 three-pointers, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists, an MVP performance. Andrew Wiggins added 17 points and 16 rebounds, his career best. Kevon Looney chipped in six points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
The Celtics should have won Game 4 but looked like a playground team the last five minutes, four guys standing around the perimeter while one dribbled down the clock before shooting and missing. Talk about ugly. They led by four points with five minutes to play and scored only three, an Al Horford trey, the rest of the way. Jayson Tatum finished with 23 points but made only 8 of his 23 shots. He had six assists and six turnovers.
What’s next? Your guess is as good as mine. The Warriors will play well in Game 5 Monday night on their home court with a chance to take a 3-2 series lead back to Boston for Game 6 on Thursday night. This is Golden State’s sixth NBA Finals of the Stephen Curry Era. They have won three. They know what it takes.
The Celtics remain a mystery. Their play varies dramatically from game to game. They have lost five times at home this postseason. They have worn on the road. They have won Game 7 twice. They have not lost back-to-back games since March. But the only certainty about this team is they choose the road less traveled.
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Is it just my imagination, or is Larry Bird’s No. 33 still the most popular among jersey-wearing Celtics fans? Larry Legend, 65, retired 30 years ago.
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Great photo of Bill Walton, wearing a green Celtics T-shirt and cheering with fans during Game 3, in the June 10 edition of the Wall Street Journal. Walton, 69, was the sixth man on the Celtics 1986 championship team. According to WSJ columnist Jason Gay, Walton took the T’s Orange Line train to the game at TD Garden. He was in the crowd for Game 4 Friday night.
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Congratulations to the Brown women’s crew, which finished seventh overall at the NCAA Championships in Sarasota, Fla., Memorial Day weekend. The Bears finished two points behind Yale, one behind California and one ahead of Ohio State. Texas and Stanford tied for first with 124 points each, but the Longhorns repeated as national champions by winning the Varsity 8 Grand Final.
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And kudos to the Brown men, who rowed to a fourth-place finish overall at the IRA Championship in West Windsor, N.J., its best finisH since 2015. The Bears took home a bronze medal in the Varsity 8. Yale, California, and Washington were the first three finishers overall.
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Farewell to Richard “Dick” Carolan, a prominent figure in Brown University athletics for seven decades, who died recently. Dick came to Brown from Brookline (Mass.) High School and Kimball Union Academy. He was a three-sport athlete in high school and excelled as a center and linebacker at Brown, earning second-team All-Ivy as a sophomore in 1955. He served two years in the U.S. Navy, returned to Rhode Island, married Mary Louise Gilbane, a cousin of Brown football teammate Paul Choquette, settled in Barrington and began his career in financial services. He formed Carolan and Co. in 1969 and specialized in municipal bond underwriting. Dick was a founder of the Brown Sports Foundation in 1983, past president of the Brown Football Association, and a trustee emeritus of the university. He leaves five children, 18 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His wife died in 1999.
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Big money from Saudi Arabia has broken the decades long stranglehold the PGA Tour has had on professional golf. The LIV Golf Invitational Series, bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, teed off last Thursday at a suburban London club. Before the day was over, the PGA Tour suspended 17 players who crossed over to LIV from PGA. Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson are among the defectors. But weep not for Mickelson. Various media reported the left hander received a $200 million signing bonus. LIV Golf includes eight 54-hole tournaments with a field of 48 and no cuts. Charl Schwartzel of South Africa won the inaugural LIV tournament on Saturday and earned $4 million.
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What a spring for La Salle Academy. The boys lacrosse team won its 10th consecutive Division I championship, routing archival Moses Brown, 15-5, in the final. Kudos to coach Steve O’Donnell on a fantastic run. The boys tennis team finished the regular season 14-0 and won its third consecutive Division I title. The Rams did not lose a match in the state tournament.
The boys outdoor track team won its first state championship since 1978, and the girls defended their 2021 title. The golf team won the state championship. Sophomore Max Jackson and freshman Olivia Williams won individual honors.
The boys volleyball team lost a five-set thriller to North Kingstown in the Division I final.
