NBA Finals: Kerr credits Celtics in Game 1 win
The Warriors were in control the majority of Game 1 against the Celtics, but the Celtics “played a brilliant quarter” in the fourth to take back the win.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals was all about the fourth quarter. If you missed that, you would have thought the Warriors walked away with the win for sure. But alas, it’s not over ‘til it’s over.
The Warriors started out hot. Steph Curry put up 21 points and six three-pointers in just the first quarter. Their defense held Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum to 3-of-17 shooting from the field. Playing on their home court, the Warriors had a double-digit lead by the fourth quarter and everything was going in their favor. That’s when the Celtics came alive.
“The message at the start of the fourth was just, we’ve been here before,” said Tatum. “We know what it takes to overcome a deficit like that. And we had a lot of time left. So it wasn’t time to hang your head or be down.”
Boston went on a 40-16 run in the fourth to win the game by double digits, 120-108. Celtics head coach Steve Kerr gave credit to the Celtics team, saying they “earned the win”.
“I mean, they made 21 threes,” said Kerr. “They were moving the ball really well. They had us on our heels. They made a good push to start the fourth and they kept that momentum going. Boston just played a brilliant quarter.”
Game 2 will be on Sunday, June 5 at Golden State. It’s unlike the Warriors to lose on their home court. The fact that the Celtics were able to accomplish it in Game 1 is a good sign for them, especially when you consider Curry’s 1st quarter performance plus the fact that Tatum played slightly worse than usual. The odds are we see Tatum improve and Curry struggle to have a performance like that every single game.