Post Game - NBA Finals Game 1 - Warriors - Away

NBA Finals: Celtics' 4th-quarter barrage stuns Warriors to steal Game 1



SAN FRANCISCO — The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors at their own game.

Boston hit its first seven 3-pointers of the fourth quarter to turn a 12-point deficit heading into the final period into a 120-108 win in Game 1, stealing an NBA Finals game at Chase Center on Thursday.

The Celtics went 9 for 12 from long distance in the fourth quarter as part of a 17-0 run in nearly five minutes of game time.

Jaylen Brown keyed the late run, scoring 24 points with seven rebounds and five assists for the Celtics. Derrick White had another good performance off the bench, scoring 21 points with five 3-pointers.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum struggled, going just 3 of 17 for 12 points with 13 assists.

Al Horford, playing in his first Finals game after 141 playoff games without making it to the last series, led the way for the Celtics with 26 points, including six 3-pointers. The teams combined for a Finals-record 40 3-pointers, smashing the previous record of 35 set by the Cleveland Cavaliers and Warriors in 2017.

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown dribbles against Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson during Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco on June 2, 2022. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown dribbles against Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson during Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco on June 2, 2022. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Stephen Curry started the 3-point barrage in the first quarter, but the Warriors weren’t able to support his classic performance.

Curry scored 21 points in the first quarter, the most he has ever scored in a single quarter in Finals history, and made 6 of 8 3-pointers, a Finals record for made triples in one quarter. Curry, of course, also held the previous record of five 3-pointers in a Finals quarter (along with Ray Allen and Kenny Smith).

Curry finished with a game-high 34 points. Andrew Wiggins added 20 points for the Warriors.

Klay Thompson moved into second place on the all-time playoff 3-pointers list, passing LeBron James. Curry is first on that list. Thompson had 15 points and three 3-pointers Thursday.

Warriors forwards Otto Porter Jr. (foot soreness) and Andre Iguodala (neck) played after missing time in the previous rounds. Iguodala became the first non-Lakers or Celtics player to play in seven Finals series.

Gary Payton II (broken elbow) was cleared before the game, but did not play.

The loss was the Warriors’ first at home this postseason (9-1).

Wow! After keeping us quiet for 3 qtrs, that was quite an explosion. So glad that they won. The green teamers were loud coming out. Chase center softens the sound inside.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/06/02/sports/capped-by-championship-caliber-celtics-comeback-this-was-everything-an-nba-finals-game-should-be/

Capped by a championship-caliber Celtics comeback, this was everything an NBA Finals game should be
By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Staff,Updated June 2, 2022, 19 minutes ago

The Celtics trailed the estimable Warriors by 15 points late in the third quarter, only to roar back in the fourth on the strength of their NBA-best defense and the shooting of veterans Al Horford and Derrick White.

When it was over Thursday night, the Celtics were 120-108 winners in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at San Francisco and dreams of a championship feel very real.

Most everything was stacked against the Celts in this one. The Warriors were 9-0 at home in these playoffs, and had a full week of rest while the Celtics were staggering through their seven-game rock fight with Miami. The Warriors have been in the Finals in six of the last eight Junes, winning three championships. Steph Curry lit up the night with 21 first-quarter points.

All of that meant nothing when the Celtics went into lockdown defense mode and rode the shooting of Horford and White to an 11-point lead with two minutes left. On a night when Jayson Tatum struggled, the Celts went to something that never fails: defense.

And in the spirit of Bill Russell, KC Jones, Tom Sanders and Dennis Johnson, the Celtics pulled through to win one of the greatest Finals victories in the storied history of this franchise.

It was the first Finals game played at the three-year-old Chase Center. In the early years of this Warrior Dynasty, the Dubs played all their home games at the ancient, gray, concrete palace formerly known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. It was a gym Larry Bird never particularly liked and also served as the rookie home of young Robert Parish in 1976. If you want a good look at the old Coliseum, find a way to watch “Inside Moves’' with David Morse and John Savage. Parish and his good pal Clifford Ray make cameos in the 1980 film.

Draymond Green and the Splash Brothers did not make the playoffs in 2020 or 2021, but returned with a vengeance this season and wiped out Denver, Memphis and Dallas en route to the Finals, going 9-0 in their downtown San Fran playpen.

The Warriors came into the night with five players owning Finals experience, a grand total of 123 games played by messrs. Curry, Green, Klay Thompson and Co. The 2021-22 Celtics, meanwhile, do not have a single player who had ever played in the Finals before Thursday.

Journey’s Neal Schon performed the anthem on his guitar. Too bad he wasn’t accompanied by Journey drummer Steve Smith who went to Whitman-Hanson High School (where the late Nick Cafardo played sax in the school band) and Bridgewater State College.

Robert Williams III jumped center against Kevon Looney. The last time the Celtics and Warriors met in the NBA Finals, it was Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain in the middle.

Curry drained six threes in the first, which ended with the Dubs leading, 32-28. The pace was far too fast for Ime Udoka’s liking as the Warriors led by as many as 7, but somehow the Celtics kept pace and kept it close. Curry made 7 of 9, far too many of them clean looks from downtown. He was the first to score 21 in a Finals quarter since Michael Jordan did it in 1993. Curry was on an 84-point pace. It was delightful, scintillating basketball — no officials getting in the way early.

The Warriors ran to a 10-point lead in the second, but the Celtics responded with a 14-2 run, taking their first lead since the opening minutes when Tatum made two free throws to put Boston ahead, 51-49. Curry did not score in the second quarter and the Celtics led, 56-54, at intermission. The teams combined to make 20 threes in the first half, a Finals record.

The Celtics had to be feeling good about the half. They withstood Curry’s first-quarter haymakers, came back from 10 down, and managed to lead at intermission even though Tatum only had 8 points.

The Dubs dialed up their defense in the third, continuing to frustrate Tatum and getting big baskets from the likes of Otto Porter, Andrew Wiggins, and ancient Andre Iguodala.

Down 12 starting the fourth, the Celtics went to work and cut the hearts out of the champions, playing great defense and taking a 109-103 lead with 4:45 left, making folks very nervous in San Francisco. A 17-0 fourth-quarter Celtics run will do that.

Boston never goes away easily. Its 40-16 advantage was the most lopsided fourth quarter in Finals history.

Give us six more games just like this, please.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/06/02/sports/celtics-erupt-fourth-quarter-beat-warriors-game-1-nba-finals/

Celtics once again claw their way back, and other observations from stunning Game 1 win over Warriors
By Adam Himmelsbach Globe Staff,Updated June 2, 2022, 1 hour ago

SAN FRANCISCO — The Celtics have insisted throughout their surge toward the top of the NBA that they never expect things to be easy for them. And with Stephen Curry raining 3-pointers and a rowdy crowd providing a jolt to the one group that has been in the NBA Finals before, it became clear that the Celtics would have to scratch and claw and seek a way once again.

But trailing by 12 points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Celtics put on a 3-point-shooting display for the ages, connecting on seven in a row to daze and wobble the Warriors and ignite a 120-108 Game 1 comeback win that left this crowd and this veteran Golden State team stunned.

In the fourth quarter, the Celtics connected on 9 of 12 3-pointers and outscored the Warriors, 40-16, to hand the Warriors their first home loss of the playoffs.

The Celtics won despite a 3-for-17 shooting night from superstar forward Jayson Tatum, getting powerful performances from just about everyone else. Al Horford had 26 points, Jaylen Brown scored 24, and Derrick White added 21. Tatum did chip in with 13 assists.

Curry had 34 points for Golden State. But 21 came during a majestic opening quarter. He was just 5 for 16 after that.

Boston trailed, 92-80, at the start of the fourth quarter, but charged back behind Brown with Curry on the bench. He sparked a quick 7-0 burst, Curry came back into the game, but the floodgates did not close. Over a stretch of a little more than five minutes, the Celtics connected on six consecutive 3-pointers to roar to a 109-103 lead.

Observations from the game:

On Wednesday, Curry said that he had nerves during his first Finals appearance in 2015, but that they washed away once Game 1 got rolling. It looked like Tatum could relate. The Celtics star started the game by missing a jumper before air-balling a 3-pointer by a foot. A few minutes later, he missed a pair of free throws. Tatum had been getting longer first-quarter runs recently, but in this case coach Ime Udoka took him out midway through the first quarter — much like the regular season — perhaps for a quick reset.

Tatum had nine assists through three quarters and did well to find open teammates, but his shooting remained off for much of the night. He was just 3 for 14 from the field at the start of the fourth quarter and missed some wide-open looks in that stretch. The good news for the Celtics is that he’s mostly bounced back from bad nights pretty well.

The Celtics have faced unique challenges in each of their playoff matchups, but no opponent moves as constantly and with as much purpose as the Warriors. They are always in motion, and they also do an excellent job of finding one another on these cuts and slips. It’s a huge difference from matchups against more isolation-heavy teams such as the Nets and Heat.

That movement and some timely screens helped free up Curry, but the Celtics still did an awful job of accounting for the Warriors superstar during the opening quarter. It was almost as if they’d forgotten he’s the greatest shooter of all time. On one, Payton Pritchard somehow left Curry alone at the right arc, and he was already on fire at that point. It was an easy one. Curry finished the first quarter with an NBA Finals-record six 3-pointers and scored 21 points. The Celtics actually had to be pleased to be down just, 32-28, given that eruption. It could have been much worse.

If Boston’s defense was a bit rattled at the start, it certainly settled in during the second quarter. White and Marcus Smart keyed the lockdown effort at the point of attack, getting into Golden State’s shooters before they had any room to think about spraying 3-pointers. The Warriors connected on 7 of 13 3-pointers in the first quarter but just 2 of 8 in the second, and Curry was held scoreless in a little more than six minutes of action, and the Celtics took a 56-54 lead to halftime.

The Warriors don’t have a physically imposing lineup, but they’re scrappy, and 6-foot-9-inch Kevon Looney is an elite rebounder. The Celtics used double-big lineups for much of the night, but the Warriors had 23 second-chance points through the first three quarters anyway. If this continues it’ll be interesting to see whether Udoka just leans into more of a small-ball group that is stronger in other areas.

Sometimes referees wait to see if a ball goes in before deciding whether to call a foul. It seems like an odd practice, because a foul should just be a foul. Regardless, this approach helped the Celtics in the waning moments of the second quarter. Tatum caught a pass under the hoop and flipped up a layup that missed. After the ball landed, Curry was called for a foul, his third. A potentially important moment.

Tatum,  I have never read so many negative posts on a player on the game on thread.  Our best player.   Bad shooting night, yes, but  13 ASSISTS (7 in the first half and 6 in second half) and most of them for open 3's for teammates,( at least 30 points worth of assists)  but pull him from the game? He stinks.  If you look at his passes, they were right in the guys shooting motion.      Only  2 TURNOVERS as well.  

Brown came on and shot the ball well for a stretch.  Big time.  Important timing on his scoring but please quit over dribbling.  4 turnovers.

Horford shot very well and did a lot of good things.  
White who has been blasted for his shooting, not tonight.

Williams gave us some good short minutes. 4 blocks

PP played well.  Still don't know why he doesn't get more minutes.  He is probably our most pure shooter and he gives the effort on defense.  Unless he is getting overwhelmed he needs to play more because he will spread the floor.

Marcus played great tonight.

Great team win with a lot of guys contributing in different ways. Not a lot of fouling and team turnovers down to acceptable level.

Get game two and that would be HUGE.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/Boston-Three-Party-sinks-Warriors-in-Game-1-of-17216680.php

Boston Three Party sinks Warriors in Game 1 of NBA Finals - San Francisco Chronicle
June 2, 2022
Updated: June 2, 2022 9:12 p.m.

Stephen Lam / The Chronicle

The Golden State Warriors had to lose a playoff game at Chase Center at some point, but by falling to the Boston Celtics 120-108 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, they picked a terrible time to do so. What were the key takeaways from the Warriors’ series-opening setback?

Elite defense to total meltdown: The Warriors initially played textbook defense on Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Yes, Golden State threw some zone looks at Boston's duo throughout the game, but mostly they were able to stifle them with straight up, aggressive, man-to-man defense.

As expected, Andrew Wiggins started on Tatum, and Klay Thompson picked up Brown. Those two were fantastic early in limiting their penetration and forcing them to settle for outside shots. And when they did get beat, the Warriors’ help defenders did a great job cutting off driving lanes as they recovered. Brown was a more effective scorer than Tatum (especially in the fourth quarter when it mattered most), and did most of his damage on pull-up jumpers because he just couldn't get all the way to the rim.

But basketball is a game of adjustments. The Warriors had built a 92-80 lead entering the fourth quarter, and that’s where the wheels fell off.

Boston locked up defensively. Brown started getting to the rim. But the wildest thing of all is, the Celtics heated up from deep, knocking down 9-of-12 3-pointers as they outscored the Warriors 40-16 in the final frame. Brown finished with 24 points on 10-of-23 shooting, while Tatum had 12.

What really beat the Warriors beat was the performance of Boston’s complementary players. Al Horford dropped a team-high 26 points and Derrick White 21 coming off the bench. The pair combined for 11-for-16 shooting from deep. In a five-minute span of the fourth quarter beginning at the 6:04 mark, Boston made 5-of-8 threes (and was 6-of-11 overall) while the Warriors were 0-for-5 from the field.

The Warriors just couldn't survive that, leading to their first playoff defeat in Chase.

Mama, there goes that man: Stephen Curry’s quest for his fourth NBA championship (and the Finals MVP recognition that has eluded him through 13 years in the league) got off to a big start. He poured in 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting (6-of-8 from 3-point range) in the first quarter, and finished with a game-high 34 points with five rebounds and five assists.

It appeared as if the Warriors' seven-day break did wonders for Curry. He looked refreshed and that was evident in his aggressive play. Fans have waited patiently for a classic Curry Flurry in these playoffs, and they got one in Game 1.

Curry's dynamite first quarter against the Celtics was historic: the 21 points were the most he has scored in any Finals quarter, his six made 3-pointers set a Finals record for a single quarter, and Curry joined Michael Jordan as the only players since 1993 to score 21 or more points in a quarter in a Finals game.

Initially, lazy defense from Boston had a lot to do with Curry’s first-quarter eruption, too. They just couldn’t stay attached to him as he came off ball screens. Curry got some of the best looks he has had all postseason in that opening quarter. Boston entered Thursday night with the best defense in the league, seeing the Celtics make so many early errors on the best shooter in the game was head-scratching.

Injured Warriors return: Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. and Andre Iguodala returned for Game 1. While Porter played 23 minutes and Iguodala 12, Payton didn't get into the game.

Porter and Iguodala had efficient returns, at least from a scoring perspective, combining for 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. But the Warriors were a combined minus-21 with the veteran pair on the floor.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/ostler/article/Celtics-rope-a-dope-on-Steph-Curry-worked-How-17216724.php

Celtics’ rope-a-dope on Steph Curry worked. How will Warriors respond in Game 2? - San Francisco Chronicle
Scott Ostler
June 2, 2022
Updated: June 2, 2022 9:39 p.m.

The Golden State Warriors and their fans have always held this to be true: If Stephen Curry is on, the Warriors are golden.

He is the leader of the pack, the setter of the tone.

And so it was Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at once-friendly Chase Center.

Curry was lit. He came out of the gate snorting and charging, with a first quarter for the ages: 21 points, on 7-for-9 shooting, including 6-for-8 on 3-pointers. Plus 3 rebounds and two assists.

Epic stuff. The Warriors had only a four-point lead at the quarter, but one thing Warriors’ fans know: In Curry we trust.

One problem the Warriors had in the earlier rounds of the playoffs was slow starts, digging themselves into a hole and struggling to get out. This time, no hole, thanks to Curry.

This game had Warriors’ glory written all over it. They even threw one of their patented third-quarter blitzes at the Celtics. When it was all over, though, Curry was sitting dejectedly on the Warriors’ bench, towel over his head, the weight of the basketball world on his shoulders.

Curry finished the night with 34 points, but he and his teammates were buried under a Celtic tsunami. Curry couldn’t find the range in the fourth quarter when the game was slipping away. He even passed up an open 3-pointer when there was still a glimmer of hope, a strange sight.

Gone was the Warriors’ home-court advantage, gone was any statement they could have made against the taller, stronger Celtics. It was only the fourth time since 1996 that the home team in the Finals lost Game 1.

The loss wasn’t all on Curry, of course. Draymond Green seemed fully energized, but his lack of offense was badly exposed, as the Celtics let him shoot and he went 2-for-12. If Green takes more than one 3-pointer in a game, that’s a red flag for the Warriors. He took three, and missed ’em all.

Klay Thompson was Sub-Par Klay, with 15 points, and Jordan Poole scored just nine in 25 minutes, 1-for-5 from 3-point land.

A picture emerged: The Celtics’ vaunted defense is fully legit. They are the league’s No. 1 rated D, and they showed that Thursday.

Even Curry’s first-quarter blaze showed something. The Celtics may have looked silly to some for opting to single-team Curry, a player who demands constant double-teams and exotic defenses. Instead, the Celtics played a form of rope-a-dope, letting Curry fire away, figuring he couldn’t keep up that blistering pace, and trusting that their defense wouldn’t allow the other Warriors to pick up the slack when Curry was either out of the game, or cooling off.

The Celtics did put Marcus Smart on Curry. Smart was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, but no one man is going to stop Curry when he’s feeling it.

The Celtics’ strategy worked. Maybe it even threw the Warriors’ off-stride. Normally when teams pay extra attention to Curry, it opens the floor for his teammates, but the Celtics made sure those other teammates were not left alone. That kept the Warriors’ flowing offense from flowing much of the game. The Warriors were held to 24 assists, about six below what they normally need for a win.

Instead, the Warriors wound up saddled with the mother of all Game 1 losses.

Guess who the Warriors are going to look to, to help them shake off this roundhouse punch to the jaw and get back in the fight? Curry.

He’s their crunch-time leader, their big-moment guy. He loves the Finals, he’s one of just five players in NBA history to average 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in the NBA Finals. The others, you’ll recognize by their first names: LeBron, Kobe, Michael and Jerry.

The NBA axiom is that the series doesn’t start until the visiting team wins a game, or Game 7. Well, the Finals officially started Thursday night.

Clearly the Warriors will need a full team effort to get off the canvas. One game can’t crush the soul of this team, we know that from past history, but they’ve got some re-grouping to do.

And if the Warriors do come back to make this a series, if they bounce back and make a run at glory, guess who’s going to have to lead the way?

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