Celtics take Game 1 from Warriors with incredible fourth-quarter run
BOSTON -- The Celtics didn't steal Game 1 of the NBA Finals from the Golden State Warriors. They came out and took it right from them with one epic fourth-quarter surge.
Al Horford and Jaylen Brown sparked the Celtics' comeback, as Boston went on a 17-0 run late in the fourth quarter and kept the Warriors off the board for nearly five minutes. The Celtics won 120-108 to hand Golden State its first home loss of the postseason.
"That's kind of who we've been all year: Tough grinders," head coach Ime Udoka said after the win. "A resilient group."
Horford led all Boston scorers with 26 points, scoring 11 in the fourth as Boston erased a 12-point deficit to start the final quarter . He was a perfect 4-for-4 in the fourth, including 2-for-2 from downtown.
Brown had 24 points, 10 of which came in the final frame, while Derrick White added 21 off the bench off 5-for-8 shooting from three-point range. Marcus Smart had 18 points off 7-for-11 shooting.
Tatum struggled mightily, finishing just 12 points. He hit only three of his 17 shots, but did dish out 13 assists.
"We're battle-tested. We've been through a lot of losses, but we always come through," Brown said after the win. "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and we got a lot of strong guys in that locker room."
There were jitters early on for Boston as everyone took the floor for their first Finals game. Lots of jitters. Tatum airmailed a three on his second shot and missed two free throws. Brown also threw up an air ball from downtown.
Steph Curry, meanwhile, had no jitters. The Celtics forgot to defend one of the best three-point shooters on a number of occasions in the quarter and Curry made them pay by draining six of his eight threes for 21 first-quarter points. Somehow, Golden State led by just four points, 32-28, heading into the second quarter.
The Warriors rattled off an 8-0 run early in the second, capped off by a Thompson three to put them ahead 47-37. But that's when the Celtics woke up.
Boston answered that run with a 10-0 run of its own. Brown started it with a jumper. Robert Williams followed by blocking a Jordan Poole layup and then taking a nice feed from Tatum for an easy dunk. Marcus Smart hit a long two (his toe was on the line), and then on Boston's next possession, fed Brown underneath for an easy bucket. Brown capped off the run with a nice 19-footer, tying the game at 47-47.
A pair of Brown freebies gave Boston just its second lead of the game, and after an Otto Porter three gave Golden State a 52-51 lead, the Celtics took it right back. Curry was called for an offensive foul on a push-off on Smart (Smart didn't even flop on the play) and Boston turned that into a Horford three to go up 54-52. Curry was held scoreless in the second quarter and picked up his third foul just before halftime.
Boston took a 56-54 lead into the break despite Tatum scoring just eight points in the first half. While Tatum struggled from the floor, going 2-for-9 in the first half, he did take advantage of the double teams that he saw and dished out seven assists.
Rebounding became an issue for the Celtics out of halftime. Boston gave up five offensive rebounds in the first five minutes of the third quarter, and the Warriors took advantage. After Kevon Looney pulled down a Curry missed three for his sixth offensive rebound, he dished it to Wiggins for an open look from downtown that gave Golden State a 71-64 advantage.
Brown missed a floater out of Boston's ensuing timeout, and Curry went down the floor and hit him with a behind-the-back move that ended with an absurd floater to give the Warriors a 73-64 lead.
Wiggins scored 12 points for Golden State in the third and the Warriors outscored the Celtics 38-24 in frame. Boston trailed 92-80 heading into the fourth quarter.
Then the magic started for the Celtics.
Brown scored the first five points to start the final quarter, and then fed Robert Williams on a lob to make it a 92-85 game. Boston's run went to 9-0 when Payton Pritchard put in a layup to make it a 92-89 game.
The teams traded baskets, but Boston was within one when White nailed a three to make it a 101-100 game midway through the quarter. White tied it at 103-103 with another three (over Curry) and Horford gave Boston the lead with 5:10 on the clock with another triple off a Curry miss.
Out of a Golden State timeout, Horford came up with a Draymond Green turnover and canned another three to put the Celtics on top 109-103.
Horford kept the Boston drive going by corralling a Brown miss and feeding Smart for a corner three. Smart drained another triple to make it a 17-0 Celtics run and give Boston a 117-103 lead with 1:44 left.
That run was nearly historic.
Boston outscored Golden State 40-16 in the fourth quarter, tying the largest margin in any quarter in NBA Finals history. It was pure dominance. The Celtics shot 15-for-22 from the floor in the quarter.
The Celtics continued their road supremacy this postseason, improving to 8-2 away from TD Garden this postseason. They'll look to notch another road tilt in Game 2 on Sunday night.
