The Golden State Warriors were 9-0 at home heading into Game 1 of the NBA Finals. And after three quarters of the opening game of the NBA Finals it looked as good as if that perfect home record would be 10-0 at night’s end.
But an epic collapse and some unreal shots by the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter, where they outscored the Warriors 40-16, turning a 92-80 deficit into a convincing 120-108 win, changed that.
The loss flipped home court in the Celtics’ favor and gives them some serious confidence and belief that they can win this series. Warriors players. including star guard Klay Thompson, said while the loss stung, it’s on to Game 2, which is now a must-win. The former Wazzu Cougar also stated it’s no time to panic, but to stick together even more.
“We stick together through thick and thin, wins and losses. We’re not going to splinter because we didn’t play like we wanted to. We’re just gonna continue to play as hard as we can. And I just know if we do that, we’ll be better.”
All of our goals are still right in front of us. pic.twitter.com/swo5vcaZu4
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 3, 2022
The Warriors are champions and have championship DNA, and while a Game 1 collapse would probably sever most teams, Golden State is built for the moment. But they need to know this Boston team won’t concede them anything. The Celtics have rallied before and there’s no reason to not believe they can do it again.
Championship Pedigree Must Show Beginning In Game 2
For the better part of Game 1 Golden State looked like the better team, but once again mental lapses and costly turnovers led to easy transition baskets for the Celtics. And while the Warriors’ big three are saying all the right things, they must now go out and do it. Steph Curry seemed unbothered in his postgame presser, saying it’s the first to four, not one.
“It’s about winning four games, by any means necessary. For 42 minutes, we did enough to win a game, and that’s not how basketball works.”
The loquacious Draymond Green shared those same sentiments saying, “We’ve always embraced challenges. It’s no different. We’ll embrace this one. So, it’s not a hit to the confidence at all.”
The WIZARDRY of Wardell Stephen Curry II 🪄 pic.twitter.com/eLbLFFW0Ex
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 3, 2022
Celtics Made 21 Threes: Beating Warriors At Their Own Game
Not many teams can outshoot the Warriors, and when it does happen you usually chalk it up as an anomaly. Of the Celtics’ 21 three-point makes, nine came in the fourth quarter and 15 were made by Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Al Horford. Those are three guys the Warriors are banking on not shooting that way again, and it’s what Steve Kerr is willing to give up in order to better contain Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics’ two stars.
Kerr knows it’ll be tough to beat Boston with those three players hitting that many from deep, but he didn’t sound too concerned with it being a trend going forward.
“It’s going to be tough to beat Boston if they are making 21 threes and they are getting a combined 11 from Horford and White.”
All eyes on Game 2. pic.twitter.com/K9lQZznz36
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 3, 2022
While all of that may be true, the Warriors will need more scoring from Thompson and Green. Curry’s two partners in crime had a combined 19 points, which is not going to cut it in this series. Also, Kerr should feature Andrew Wiggins more. He can score whenever he wants to, and he showed it with 20 points on 13 shots in Game 1.
