The Golden State Warriors entered the night undefeated on their home turf during the 2022 NBA playoffs, and for three-quarters they looked set to continue that trend in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Series against the Boston Celtics. However, things changed significantly over the last 12 minutes of action as the visitors entered the Chase Center and beat the Warriors 40-16 in the fourth quarter to come out with a 120-108 victory.
The stars of both teams played as Stephen Curry led all scorers with a record 34 points, while Andrew Wiggins, Clay Thompson and Jordan Poole combined 44 points, nine rebounds and 7 assists. In the end, this was not enough to overcome the performance of Jason Tatum, Jaylan Brown, Al Horford and Derrick White, as the road team managed to steal the home team’s advantage in match 1.
The second game will take place on Sunday night in San Francisco.
Here are four key findings from the game:
1. The Celtics stole it with an incredible fourth quarter
The Celtics got into serious trouble in the fourth quarter with 12 points from the Warriors, who were 9-0 at home in the playoffs in the first three rounds. And when the shot began with Jason Tatum’s two simple glances to continue his brutal performance, the return didn’t seem to be on the cards.
Then Jalan Brown took control. As Tatum struggled, the Celtics put the ball in his hands and he started playing after the game. He either scored or assisted on 20 of the Celtics’ first 23 points in the fourth quarter when they came back and finally tied with 5:40 left behind a three-pointer by Derrick White, which Brown assisted. It would be difficult to say enough about how important this section of Brown was. This was the exact scenario they needed him to step up, and he did it in the biggest game of his career.
It looked like we were going to be in a frantic final, but instead the Celtics just kept moving forward. They beat the Warriors 17-5 in the final 5:40 to step back for a double-digit win and a 1-0 lead in the series. The last result for the fourth quarter was 40-16 in favor of the Celtics. This difference of 24 points was the biggest in the fourth quarter in the history of the finals.
While the Celtics played well in all aspects of the game in the last frame, the key factor was their 3-point shot. They made their first seven attempts for the quarter from the center and finished 9 out of 11 from the deep fourth. Even more impressive was that five different players made a 3-pointer during this stretch.
“Just keep playing,” Al Horford said after the victory. “That was our message throughout the match. They are such a good team. And for us, it was easy, you know, to keep playing, no matter what. And our boys, that’s what we did. It wasn’t our best game, but we kept fighting and finding different ways to achieve that victory. “
2. White does it again
When the Celtics swapped Josh Richardson, a first-round pick in 2021 and a first-round pick in 2028 to acquire Derrick White of the San Antonio Spurs, there were some who worried they had given up too much for a person who would not even be in their starting lineup. As it turns out, they may not have given up enough.
White fit in seamlessly when he arrived on time and stepped up again and again during the playoffs, especially when Marcus Smart was dealing with injuries. On Thursday night, White did it again with perhaps his best performance so far. He finished with 21 points and 3 assists, topped the season’s top five and three points and played stellar defense all night. Plus-minus in a game is not always the best indicator, but whites have a high plus-25 in this game, no surprise.
His ability to shoot screens and stick to Steph Curry, Clay Thompson and Jordan Poole as they run on the floor is the main reason he is important in this series. Every offense the Celtics received from him was a bonus and they hit the jackpot in Game 1. It was only the second time he had scored 20-plus points in the playoffs, and he hit two massive 3s during their fourth-quarter run.
“[White was doing a] least of all, “said Celtics head coach Ime Udoka.” Obviously it’s five out of eight out of three. But playmaking, shot and defense. You’re talking about not having a lot of relegation when Marcus came out and he came in, his size and flexibility in defense, his ability to play to attract guys and be aggressive in attack was huge tonight. “
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3. Horford’s debut in the finals was a huge success
Al Horford has been in the league since 2007 and has reached the playoffs in 13 of his 15 seasons. But until that game, he had never made it to the NBA Finals. In fact, his 141 playoff games without participating in the finals were an NBA record. This drought finally ended on Thursday when he stepped on the floor for match 1.
He looked just like at home as he tried his first shot of the evening – a 3-pointer off the canal by Jason Tatum. This shot foreshadowed what was to come, as Horford made six three-pointers in his career on the road to 26 points, six rebounds and three assists. In addition to a career record, Horford’s six three were the most of any player in NBA history in their first game in the finals.
“I’m just grateful for that opportunity,” Horford said after the game. “I just go out and play basketball at the end of the day. That’s right. I’m just grateful to be in that position. God has put me in this position and this is something I embrace and am excited about. I’m just excited to share this stage with this group of guys. We have a lot of great guys here, guys who really fell in love with what we’re trying to do. It’s just fun to see it all come together. “
Like many others, Horford was especially great in the fourth quarter when the Celtics returned. He made a perfect score 4 out of 4 on the field for 11 points and hit the 3rd, which gave them a lead forever with the remaining 5:10. Like Derrick White, defense is what the Celtics really need from Horford. When he scores this way, it makes them very difficult to win, as Game 1 showed.
4. Curry makes a story, then cools down
Steph Curry scored 3 points for the first basket in the match, which started a historic first quarter in which he made six 3 and scored 21 points. The six 3 was the NBA Finals record for the most ever made in a quarter by a player, and 21 points were the most a player had in the quarterfinals since Michael Jordan in 1993.
While Curry still had to make strikes, the Celtics’ numerous defensive failures were a big part of his early success. There were a number of possessions where the Celtics miscommunicated, leaving Curry wide open to training-level strikes, and others where their big players sat too far in the cover of the fall.
While the game was going on, the Celtics settled in defense and did a much better job of curry security. His last line looks great – 34 points, five rebounds and five assists – but he did almost nothing after the first quarter. In fact, he had more shots (16) than points (13) from the second quarter onwards. This is an encouraging sign for the Celtics.
5. Tatum becomes a playmaker
Jason Tatum started Game 1 by placing jumps in each of the Celtics’ first two possessions and his night of shooting didn’t improve much from there. He finished with 12 points in 3 of 17 from the field for his least effective play-off game and the second least effective game of the season.
Still, he still had a huge impact on the game, and the Celtics were a plus-16 with him on the floor. Part of that was his defense, of course. With all the other elite defenders on this team, Tatum is sometimes overlooked, but his length and flexibility make him very difficult for opponents.
But the main thing for Tatum on Thursday night was his playmake. The Warriors would not allow Tatum to beat them by playing one on one. Tatum replied, making the right game over and over. He was not disappointed when his shot did not fall, did not try to force the action and get stuck in traffic and took care of the ball. As a result, he finished with the highest in his career 13 assists, which were also the most in the history of the NBA for a player in their debut in the finals.
“Yes, I think it was somehow [Udoka’s] message from day one, just to challenge me to be the best player I can be and improve other areas of my game, “Tatum said.” We watched a lot of movies throughout the game season, only areas, things I can improves. You know, obviously making games was one thing. Attracting a lot of attention. Just help the team as much as possible. So he did a great job challenging himself, just the band, in that aspect. “
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