SAN FRANCISCO – A groundbreaking barrage of 3-pointers that cloaks the opponent in helplessness, seeking answers from a higher power. Players on the bench celebrate with well-deserved arrogance every time the ball shoots unopposed from the rim through the net. A scoring run that will have you combing through the record books and unable to imagine anything so devastating has ever happened before.
In the very first NBA Finals game at the Chase Center, this was to be the story of the Golden State Warriors—their return to the premier league of the basketball universe. Instead, the Boston Celtics put on an unprecedented run in the fourth quarter, fueled by no-light shooting and pinpoint ball movement, to walk away in San Francisco with a 120-108 Game 1 win and the life of what was once an electrician to rob rabid sold out crowd.
Golden State’s too-good-to-be-true narrative was written back in mid-Q1. Stephen Curry was on an unstoppable stoker that only he is capable of, going 6-for-8 from 3-point range en route to 21 points in the opening frame. Fast forward to the second half when a typical Warriors run turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 15-point lead in the third quarter in just over two minutes.
A 38-point third quarter like this has been a knockout for many unfortunate opponents in the last eight seasons of Warriors basketball. To say Boston responded would be one of the greatest understatements in the NBA’s 75-year history.
When people think of the Warriors, they probably think of 3-pointers – long-distance floors by Curry and Klay Thompson stand above any other shooter in basketball history. On Thursday, however, Boston used the Warriors’ beloved weapon against them.
The Celtics beat Golden State 40-16 in the final frame, made even more stunning by the blistering 9-on-12 3-point shooting they rained down on the Bay Area and its fans. At one point, they made seven consecutive 3-pointers, the last of Al Horford’s who gave his team a six-point lead that seemed virtually unassailable given the momentum imbalance at the time.
The turnaround was made all the more remarkable as Jayson Tatum, Boston’s top scorer who had just won Eastern Conference MVP, was held to 12 points on 3-of-17 shooting and faced various aggressive defensive looks throughout the night, including one Box and one. However, his 13 assists embodied a Celtics team – bolstered by head coach Ime Udoka’s message – that is committed to making the right play, no matter how simple, and confident that it will eventually yield positive results.
“They are doing a great job of helping out and things like that. So, you know, it’s obviously just as easy as drawing two and finding someone that’s open,” Tatum said after Game 1. “That’s what I was just trying to do.”
It wasn’t just that the Celtics made 3s — they were 21-41 for the game — it was the way they set them up. They moved the ball fast, penetrated the paint and kicked with even more perfect passes to players in perfect position. Check out this game where the Celtics deliver four passes in six seconds, resulting in an open 3 for Horford, who set an NBA record for players who made their Finals debut that night with six 3-pointers .
Dare we say that ball movement looks Warriors-esque.
The Celtics also used small-ball, a Golden State staple in years past, to dominate the fourth quarter at both ends. The unit on the pitch when Boston finally took the lead was Horford in the middle, along with Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. Less than three minutes later, the Celtics had built a six-point lead and sent off Warriors center Kevon Looney. Steve Kerr countered with the “Poole Party” lineup of Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole – which stuttered after looking unbeatable against the Denver Nuggets in the first round – but she could nail the gaping holes not stuff in the dam of the Warriors that the Celtics had broken loose furiously.
The attack was so widespread that the warriors had no one to turn to. Horford, Brown, White and Marcus Smart each made two 3s in the fourth quarter. Pritchard added one. “Strength in numbers” has been the Warriors’ motto for years, but it definitely applied to the Celtics on Thursday.
“We’re proud that everyone on both sides can contribute,” said Udoka after the game. “It’s rewarding, especially on a night when your best guy is off.”
Defensively, the Celtics went into a lot more switching and pre-switching in the fourth quarter to limit Curry’s shooting and the Warriors’ penetration. Udoka said the small unit also played with more physicality and “seemed to wear off [the Warriors] down a little.” They held Golden State in the fourth quarter with 6-of-15 shots, including 1-of-6 from 3-point range before the benches emptied in the last minute, forcing so many turnovers as possible The Warriors had assists Overall, the small ball lineup paid off for Boston, and it’s something to watch as the series progresses.
In a way, it was fitting that these Celtics came out of a big deficit in their first NBA Finals game—after all, their regular season was marked by an unlikely act of switch flicking. After a mediocre start, they found themselves 25-25 on January 28th. From that point on, they went 26-7 with a plus-13.8 net rating, five points better than their nearest challenger, and earned second place in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics know how to fight back because they’ve fought back all year, and Udoka continued to preach resilience as the Warriors extended their lead in the third quarter.
“We’ve been through a lot. We have had many experiences, many losses. We know what it takes to win,” Brown said after Game 1. “I give top-to-bottom appreciation to every player in this dressing room. We have a great, resilient group. The chain is only so strong at its weakest link.”
The weirdest thing about the playoffs, and the Finals in particular, is that as soon as the final buzzer sounds in Game 1, it’s all about Game 2. Both teams will watch the film and make adjustments, knowing the complexion of Sunday’s rematch might look nothing like the opener at all. But on Thursday, the Celtics reiterated what they’ve found over the past five months — they believe they have what it takes to be NBA champions, and nothing can stop them from that mindset.
“We cannot get too high and we cannot get too low. We played very well but we need to keep that energy up in the next game and we understand that,” said Smart. “We all know this game is a running game. You don’t go into game planning to play badly. Things happen. You just have to find a way.”