2022 NBA Finals: What Celtics Game 1 Victory Against Golden State Means For Rest Of Series
On Thursday night, Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals was played and what a game this was!
Trading baskets left and right, the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors put on a show in the first game of what we are all hoping is a very long and hard-fought series.
With these two teams going back-and-forth early on, Stephen Curry started out the game red hot for the Warriors. Scoring 21 points on 6-8 from three-point range in the first quarter, Curry looked unguardable at first, but Golden State only led by four points entering the second quarter of play.
In the second quarter, these two teams continued to trade baskets from the perimeter and it was the Celtics who took a two point lead into the locker room. Jayson Tatum was struggling from the floor, but everyone else was stepping up around him for Boston, giving them a lot of confidence heading into the second-half.
As it tends to be in many games, the third quarter belonged to the Golden State Warriors, as they outscored the Boston Celtics 38-24 and looked like they were going to coast to a victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
However as the Warriors cooled off in the fourth quarter due to the Celtics stepping up defensively and as a result, Boston really started clicking offensively. Quite honestly, this is an understatement because what happened in the fourth quarter on Thursday night may be the best fourth quarter performance in NBA Finals history!
Making their first seven three-pointers in the fourth, the Celtics chiseled away at the Warriors lead until they took the lead themselves and ran away with a 120-108 victory.
Stunning, mind-blowing and overwhelming are all words that can describe Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Warriors and looking back on this game, where do we even begin?
So much happened in the first game of this series and now, with the Celtics silencing all of their doubters, we have ourselves what looks to be an instant classic in the NBA Finals!
This was an astonishing performance by the Boston Celtics and here is what we can take away from their Game 1 road victory.
Derrick White And Al Horford Had Career Nights
Jaylen Brown had 24 points and Jayson Tatum was able to positively affect the game with 13 assists, but the key story from Game 1 of the NBA Finals revolves around Al Horford and Derrick White.
The night these two guys had could very well go down as legendary performances in Celtics lore should Boston go on to win the Finals this year, especially if they can continue to build off of their recent success.
Combined, Horford and White went 11-16 (68.8%) from three-point range, as Al Horford made six three-pointers and Derrick White made five off-the-bench.
Both players for Boston recorded a season-high in made threes and they really took over in the fourth quarter, shooting a combined 5-6 from the floor, making a combined four three-pointers to help spring this massive Celtics comeback.
Who knows what got into these two guys given that they are not normally high-level three-point shooting threats, but when you look at this game as a whole, the Warriors really did not pay much attention to both White and Horford.
Sure, there were a few instances in which they just hit some miracle shots while being tightly contested, but a vast majority of their baskets and shots from the perimeter were wide-open looks the Warriors gave them.
Heading into Game 2, both Al Horford and Derrick White should expect to see a lot more on-ball pressure by Golden State simply because the Warriors’ lives depend on it.
Throughout these playoffs, Boston has proven to be a really strong three-point shooting team at times and both of these players have really stepped up for them when it has mattered most.
In the postseason, Horford is now shooting 46.3% from distance and over his last three games, White is shooting 61.1% from distance!
While the talk heading into the NBA Finals was on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, both Al Horford and Derrick White have really stepped up into the foreground for the Celtics and are the main reason why they currently find themselves up 1-0 in this series.
Every Game Of This Series Will Be Decided In The Fourth Quarter
What Boston did in the fourth quarter was pure greatness and quite honestly, this may have been one of the most dominant fourth quarter performances not just in NBA Finals history, but NBA history as a whole.
After getting outscored by 14 points in the third quarter and being down by 12 points entering the final quarter of play, the Celtics shot 9-12 from three-point range, they outscored the Warriors by 24 points in the fourth and they went on a 20-5 run over the final six minutes of this game.
While this is just one game, it is very clear to see how evenly matched the Celtics and Warriors are, which is why we should not expect any blowout victories in this series.
Game 1 ended in a 12-point victory for the Celtics, but this was not a blowout by any means even though Boston went on a tear in the final quarter of play.
Every single game of this NBA Finals series moving forward is going to be decided in the fourth quarter and what this really comes down to is which team will lock in defensively?
Through one game, it is very clear to see what the Celtics are able to do defensively and how well their defense translates to offense, especially from the three-point line. Taking Game 1 on the road was a massive accomplishment, but now it is time to see what the Warriors are made of.
Steve Kerr’s group is going to bounce-back in a big way heading into Game 2 and while this Game 1 loss definitely stings, this series is still very far from over. Golden State was the best defensive team in the league during the regular season based on defensive rating and while Boston stole the first game, the Warriors will have a big chance to respond on Sunday.
Maybe it is a little cliché to say, but every game of this Finals series is going to be decided in the fourth quarter, much like it was in Game 1.
Boston Proved They Have Depth
Depth always plays a major role in deciding the winner of the NBA Finals and while a lot of focus all year long has been on the Warriors bench, Boston really proved that they have other scorers outside their two All-Stars on Thursday night.
Jayson Tatum struggled offensively in Game 1, shooting just 3-17 from the floor and scoring only 12 points, but he finished with a game-high 13 assists and really found ways to be productive without scoring.
Not to mention, the entire Celtics roster stepped up around their superstar, allowing them to go on the unbelievable fourth quarter run they did in this one.
Al Horford had 26 points, Derrick White had 21 points off-the-bench and Marcus Smart had 18 points. Along with Jaylen Brown scoring 24 points and taking over the offense late in the game, the Celtics had a very balanced scoring attack, whereas the Warriors really only played through Stephen Curry and had trouble moving the ball in the fourth quarter.
They may not have a ton of depth, but the Celtics’ eight-man rotation has worked for them all playoffs long and it worked wonders in Game 1 against the Warriors.
Shooting 21-41 (51.2%) from three-point range is not going to happen again for the Celtics in this series, but the fact that they proved they can score in many different ways with numerous different faces is definitely a concerning sight for Golden State.
The contributions Horford, Smart and White had from the perimeter took a massive amount of pressure off the backs of Tatum and Brown in Game 1 and moving forward, Boston has all the confidence in the world now.
They know what they are capable of doing and heading into Game 2 on Sunday, the Celtics are most likely going to continue firing away from the perimeter until the Warriors prove they can stop them.
The Celtics are not just Jayson Tatum and they proved this with their stunning Game 1 victory in the 2022 NBA Finals.
Related stories on 2022 NBA Finals
- Here's What Jayson Tatum Said After Game 1 Of The NBA Finals: Jayson Tatum met with the media after the Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at the Chase Center. CLICK HERE.
- Steph Curry's Bold Quote After Losing Game 1: Steph Curry met with the media after the Golden State Warriors lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. CLICK HERE.
- Draymond Green's Bold Quote After Game 1 Of The NBA Finals: Draymond Green met with the media after the Golden State Warriors lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics on Thursday evening. CLICK HERE.
