The Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) who was scoreless in the second quarter is seen upside down on the Chase Center floor in San Francisco in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the visiting Boston Celtics on Thu Jun 2, 2022 (AP News photo)
Celtics steal the game and the show from Warriors 120-108; Boston’s Horford leads with 26 points
By Barbara Mason
Thursday night the Golden State Warriors took on the Boston Celtics in game one of the NBA finals. Head Coach Steve Kerr described this year’s journey as a “rocky road.” “Everyone came into this season really hungry,” he said.
The Warriors battled injury throughout the season and have proven time and time again just how resilient they are and how they handle adversity. Unfortunately for Golden State in Game 1 of the NBA Finals the Celtics took adversity to their hosts at Chase Center in San Francisco defeating the Warriors 120-108 to go up 1-0.
The Warriors dismissed the Denver Nuggets 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs. They went on to take a 4-2 series from the Memphis Grizzlies. In the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors went right through Luca Doncic and the Mavericks to win the series 4-1.
Golden State has seen some brilliant basketball and at times some less than stellar play. There was far more of the latter than the former and they now are aiming for the ultimate prize; becoming the NBA Champions.
Game 1 recap: The Warriors had an amazing opening quarter. They were leading 32-28 after the first quarter and Stephen Curry was playing lights out basketball from the start.
Curry had six three’s in the quarter and was the driving force in this game. The Celtics were having trouble defensively to start the game and were playing catch up from the start. Although it was a close game the Celtics had yet to take the lead.
With 5:01 left in the second quarter the Celtics tied up the game at 47. Marcus Smart had begun to have a lot success containing Curry. Curry was unable to score in the entire second quarter.
With 2:32 left in the half Boston took their first lead of the game since mid-way through the first quarter 51-49. At the half Boston had a slim two point 56-54 lead. The Celtics defense had really come to life presenting a lot of problems for the Warriors especially the Marcus Smart-Curry matchup.
The third quarter was a frenzied one. The Curry shot drought came to and end and after three the Warriors had taken a 92-80 lead. Off the bench Otto Porter Jr. had 12 points and was just another reason for the Golden State turnaround. Andrew Wiggins had 20 points after three quarters and the Warriors defense had shown up in the third quarter.
The Warriors started the fourth quarter with a few misses and in a flash the Celtics trailed by five 92-87. With five minutes left in the final quarter the Warriors let the Celtics off the hook.
Boston took a 106-103 lead and the tide had really turned in favor of the Celtics. Jalen Brown was the driving force in the turnaround for Boston. The Celtics continued to extend their lead and with 3:23 left in the game had a 111-103 lead.
Golden State had really taken their foot off the pedal. They were missing inside the paint, from long and from the line. Boston on the other hand could not miss in the final minutes. The Celtics would take the first game of the series.
Golden State had suffered their first home loss of the playoffs. A sullen Curry made his way to the locker room after the game. He finished the game with 34 points but it was the letdown in the fourth quarter coupled with the red hot shooting by Boston that decided this game.
The Warriors had held Jason Tatum to 17 points but Al Horford picked up the slack with 26 points along with Jaylen Brown with 24. Boston took full advantage of the Warrior meltdown in the fourth quarter to win the game. They outscored Golden State 40-16 in the final quarter, a real shocker.
Game Two is scheduled for Sunday at 5:00. The Warriors will try to get back on the winning track at Chase before heading back to Boston for game three.
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