Boston Celtics win Game 1 of NBA Finals

Celtics were victorious over Warriors winning 120-108 at Chase Centre in front of 18,064 fans. They take the advantage heading to Game 2.

Al Horford and Jaylen Brown had a combined total of 50 points which pushed Celtics towards the victory even when Jayson Tatum was shooting 3-of-17 in the night. The veteran, Al Horford, scored 26 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter as the Celtics rallied back after at one point being behind 103-100.

Steph Curry had 34 points for the Warriors and Draymond Green was all over the glass and the rim too as he racked up 11 rebounds.

It was tight in the first half with Warriors going to the break behind by 2; 56-54.Celtics shot 52.6% in the second quarter compared to Warriors 42.9%. Both teams looked balanced and no one wanted to be left behind as they both were aiming for the lead.

At the end of the third, it was Warriors who were leading by 12 points. Everything seemed to be going according to plan for the Warriors as they looked to build on that lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Celtics were not waving the white flag as they dug deep into their plays to cut the deficit and take the game into their own hands. Marcus Smart had back to back three pointers late in the quarter.

Not a single Celtics player had played an NBA Finals game before Thursday and the Celtics responded well under pressure of being the ‘under-dog’.

Celtics outscored the Warriors in the fourth with an astonishing margin 40-16 and eventually winning the match 120-108.

Udoka, Celtics coach, had this to say, “We pride ourselves on everybody being able to contribute on both ends. That’s rewarding, especially on a night when your best guy has an off night. Others step up. So it is rewarding and knowing we can play so much better, that’s the main thing. Didn’t have a great three quarters and kept ourselves in the game, then locked down when we needed to.”

Golden State Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, had this to say with regards to Celtics fourth quarter display, “My gut reaction, what I just witnessed, they came in and played a hell of a quarter, and you have to give them credit. It’s pretty much as simple as that.”

The Warriors have the chance to level the series in Game 2 in San Francisco on Sunday.