June 2, 2022, 11:31 PM ET
June 2, 2022, 11:31 p.m., Jayon Brown’s EBoston Center dribbled against Clay Thompson of the Golden State in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Brown finished with 24 points. Credit … Ezra Shaw / Getty Images
SAN FRANCISCO – After a long and eventful journey to the NBA Finals, Golden State was grateful for a week of rest and recovery before facing the Boston Celtics in Game 1 on Thursday night.
Golden State’s modest vacation came to an abrupt end. Boston took care of that by stunning Golden State, 120-108, to take the first game of the best series of seven at Chase Center.
The Celtics relied on their depth to clear the 15-point deficit in the second half. Al Horford scored a record 26 points, while Jaylan Brown added 24 and Derrick White scored 21 from the bench.
Jason Tatum scored just 12 points in the win, shooting 3 of 17 from the field, but had 13 assists per game. The Celtics also managed to overcome the turbo efforts of Stephen Curry of Golden State, who scored 34 points.
Game 2 is Sunday night in San Francisco.
In pre-match remarks, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver noted that the finals pitted against two of the league’s original franchises – an appropriate series for the NBA, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this season. The Philadelphia Warriors won their first league championship in 1947, when they took care of the Chicago Stags in five games. The Celtics are chasing their 18th title and their first since 2008.
The finals, of course, are familiar ground for the famous stars of Golden State. Curry, Clay Thompson and Draymond Green have made it to their sixth final in eight seasons. And the Warriors seemed familiarly dominant, as they only needed five games to eliminate the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals.
The Celtics, on the other hand, came out of a tough seven-game streak with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. Before Match 1 against Golden State, Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III were still recovering from injuries. And Tatum and Brown, the two young Celtics stars, provided huge minutes throughout the playoffs.
Golden State seemed ready to jump all over Boston in the beginning. In the first quarter alone, Curry lowered six 3 points – a 3-point quarter-final record – and scored 21 points, while Golden State led by 10. Even Andre Iguodala took action, securing his first minutes of the first round after missed most of the postseason with back problems.
But the Celtics are not in the finals by accident. They created the highest-ranked defense in the league in the regular season and increased the pressure on Curry while the game continued. Think of a possession in the second quarter as Curry tried to get rid of a series of screens. White defended him, then Tatum, then Smart, the defender of the year in the league. Surprise: Curry couldn’t find a place.
Jordan Poole closed the first half for Golden State, scoring an attempt for 3 points from the top of the board and the Celtics led 56-54. A gold-clad crowd that roared for most of the half seemed to be in a collective stupor. Adult drinks awaited many fans in the hall.
Golden State is known for its explosive third quarters, and Thursday’s version was no different. By the time Curry threw acrobatic laying, Golden State was backed by 9.
But fueled by unremarkable players like White and Peyton Pritchard, the Celtics made a huge run in the fourth quarter, leading 109-103 when Horford sank with three consecutive points.
Fans began to head for the exits at the last minute.
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