This is how you open the NBA Finals Series.
Boston went up tonight (Thursday-Friday) to a stormy 0-1 draw against Golden State thanks to a heroic display in the final quarter.
The Celtics, who were already 15 points behind the Warriors, exploded at the end with a 0:17 run and a monstrous fourth quarter of 16:40 on the way to stealing a home run and a costly advantage in opening the series.
"It's us, it's what we do all season and it's what my players know how to do," winning coach Aima Yudoka said at the end.
"We have a team that does not give up, that can always come back from behind. The defense did not work well and let Steph Kerry go wild, but in the last quarter we relaxed and achieved an impressive victory of defense."
A 4Q surge helped us take Game 1, as we closed out with a 120-108 finish against the Warriors.
pic.twitter.com/BoxdYNVfVF
- Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 3, 2022
The one who stood out above them all and provided the highlight of his career is Al Horford.
The veteran Boston star, who also celebrated his 36th birthday last night, surpassed and finished with 26 points and 6 threes that were a key part of the Celtics' huge turnaround.
"I've been waiting for this moment for years," Horford admitted at the conclusion.
"It's true it was my first game in the NBA Finals, but I've already played other important games. There's not much difference for me. The friends found me over and over again and I just scored, that's all."
And pay attention to the data.
During the fourth quarter Horford came in with Boston 4 behind against Golden State.
He came out with a 5 minute lead before the end.
His 6 threes were also the most of a player in a final debut.
Definitely a night not to be forgotten.
Score in the 4Q
97-101: Al Horford checks in
120-105: Al Horford checks out pic.twitter.com/ndoCYprjSw
- StatMuse (@statmuse) June 3, 2022
And on the other side of course the Warriors.
Although already leading by a double-digit margin, and Steph Kerry providing another huge display when he finished with 36 points (21 in the first quarter) - Golden State went down undefeated in the home court.
The one who chose to be rather optimistic is Diamond Green who said: "We were more dominant in most stages of the game, we will be fine. This is not a blow to our confidence, embracing the challenge and this is our chance to do things a little differently."
Final 📊
Steph - 34p / 5r / 5a / 3s
Andrew - 20p / 5r / 1s / 3b
Klay - 15p / 2r / 3a
Otto - 12p / 4r / 2s
Andre - 7p / 3a
Jordan - 9p / 2r / 2a
Dray - 4p / 11r / 5a / 2s
Kevon - 4p / 9r / 5a / 3b
Nemanja - 3p / 1r
Juan - 1a pic.twitter.com/OAdzkjhR4E
- Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 3, 2022
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us
