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Stephen A.: Wiggins put forth his best performance ever (2:00)

The Warriors took a 3-2 lead in the series with a win over the Celtics. There is a delay of 2 minutes.

3:23 AM ET

Andrew is waiting for a moment to shine on the NBA finals stage.

He had been a veteran for eight years. He is taking advantage of the fact that he is here.

The Warriors defeated the Celtics 104-94 on Monday night to take a 3-2 lead in the series.

We knew we needed his defensive and versatile skills. Steve Kerr said they had no idea that he would make this kind of contribution. Almost every player in the NBA knows that circumstances are everything. You need to find the right place and the right people. Wiggs has been a pleasure to work with.

The discourse surrounding the team has largely been about how Golden State needed to support Stephen Curry.

On a night when Curry was held to 16 points and didn't hit a single 3-pointer, the relief was provided by Wiggins.

He has scored 26 points in the playoffs. He scored 20 paint points. It was the first time in the entire season that he led the Warriors in scoring and rebound, and it was the first time he had recorded back-to- back double-doubles.

Klay Thompson said, "buying in is one of the biggest keys to success in this league, and for what Andrew did tonight, I mean, we don't get." The entire team and the Bay Area are lifted by that.

Draymond Green said that the trust to look to Wiggins in those moments, the ones when the team needs any kind of spark, has been building since he arrived.

A lot of people saw that trade as another piece they could move. "We looked at the trade from the very beginning, and we found a guy who could fit in with a healthy group." He continues to show that. He continues to improve. We have thrown challenges in front of him. That has been big. We need him to do that for a victory.

It's easy to fit into Golden State according to the man.

He said it was a winning culture. They have done well in the NBA. They helped you succeed when I arrived. The best in you are brought out by them. The best for you is what they want. It's supportive.

Throughout the season, the fit with the Warriors has been a constant topic of discussion. His emergence has been due to his role with the Warriors being someone who can take on top defensive assignments.

He doesn't mind taking on the aggressive role on Mondays.

His impact was much more than his scoring. The Warriors held the Celtics to 7-of-16 shooting in Game 5, and once again took on the opponent's best scorer, as well as leading the defense.

The key to our game is defense. Green and Gary Payton II were named as central figures by Kerr.

Despite being the first player to foul out of a Finals game since 2000, Green held the Celtics to just 1-of-10 shooting when he was guarding.

Kerr has been watching that guy for eight years. He is always on the defensive. The man is distributing the ball. He's bringing a lot of energy. Draymond was great.

Green scored eight points, but more importantly, he walked the line of being aggressive and vocal without it getting to the point of distraction. This has been an issue for Green so far.

If you're watching the game, you'll notice him at all times because he's kind of everywhere, in a situation like this where things are not as smooth and you have some rough patches, he finds a way to respond with the right energy and approach. We need that fighting spirit. We aren't in the Finals without him playing at such a high level all year.

The Warriors have hung their hats on being a defense-first team all season, despite the fact that they have two of the NBA's best, most dangerous shooters. The Warriors think their defense leads to their offense.

They pointed to players like Wiggins as examples.

Curry said that he embraced the challenge of consistency and what he could do on both ends of the floor. There is an opportunity for him to do what he is doing because of the way that we play and the way that we have embraced him. The bottom line is that he is having fun. That is the most important thing.