NBA Finals

The NBA Finals begin tonight, and the teams will be familiar even if some of the faces aren't. The Golden State Warriors played in every finals from 2015 to ...

Marcus Smart, who this season became the first guard to win Defensive Player of the Year since Gary Payton in 1996, will be tasked trying to contain Curry's near-infinite shooting range. The Boston Celtics haven't gotten this far for a dozen years, but are making their 22nd trip to the finals as a franchise. "They've won three elimination games, won seven games on the road — including last Sunday in Miami to clinch a spot in the finals," Goldman said.

On today's show, Brendan and Doug discuss the upcoming NBA Finals between the Warriors and Celtics & look back at their All-NBA predictions.

Hear how Doug and Brendan think that will affect their performances to start the series. On today’s show, hosts Brendan Hedtke and former Timberwolves’ guard Doug West break down the All-NBA teams and take a look back at their awards voting from a few weeks ago. They feel like they did a pretty solid job, but let them know what you think!

In Game 1 of the N.B.A. finals, Golden State is raining 3-pointers as it tries to fend off a young Celtics team hungry for a trophy of its own.

Payton, who broke his elbow during the Western Conference semifinals, said he was “not quite there yet.” Iguodala initially did not sound optimistic about playing in the finals, saying that he was trying to “finish the season walking on two feet.” Smart said on Wednesday that it was a “pretty serious injury” and that he was “thankful to be able to play.” Van Gundy also said he wasn’t sure why he had been pulled from broadcasting Game 1, and that he hoped to be back for Game 2 Sunday in San Francisco. He had heeded his mother’s advice about playing college basketball for a Black coach, to learn leadership skills from someone who looked like him. He played for professional teams in Mexico, Australia, Spain, Finland and South Korea. He was a player development coach with the N.B.A.’s Denver Nuggets when Carmelo Anthony was there. It’s worth remembering, too, that this is the first N.B.A. finals game for Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of the team here in San Francisco, following the franchise’s move across the bay for the start of the 2019-20 season. This is rather unusual for a finals game: Celtics Coach Ime Udoka has subbed in a lineup featuring four bench players to play with Jayson Tatum. And so far, the lineup has outscored Golden State by a point. Also, get this: The Celtics are shooting just 38.5 percent from the field. Jones won a preposterous 10 championships with the Celtics, and was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1984. His six 3-pointers in the first quarter set an N.B.A. record for most 3s in a finals quarter, as well as most ulcers caused in the Boston fanbase. How? They’re shooting the ball well, they’re getting some nice offense from Marcus Smart, and Payton Pritchard and Daniel Theis have both come off the bench to hit 3-pointers. This was San Francisco.

Steph Curry, Bill Russell and Elgin Baylor are some of the basketball legends who hold individual NBA Finals records.

On top of that, Horry holds an NBA Finals record involving the number seven. Johnson also holds the second-highest mark for turnovers in a Finals game. Russell and Chamberlain have an overwhelming presence in the Finals rebounding records. Russell has two Finals games with 40 rebounds. Baylor is one of just seven players to ever score 50 or more points in a Finals game. The Lakers forward erupted for 61 points in Game 5 of the 1962 Finals against the Celtics. He played all 48 minutes, shot 22-for-46 overall and made 17 of 19 free throw attempts in a 126-121 win.

sara.ziegler (Sara Ziegler, sports editor): Eight grueling months after we started this NBA season, we're finally down to our final two: the Boston Celtics ...

zatzman: He’s going to be asked to switch onto Steph so, so much in the pick and roll. The Warriors can use any of Porter, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Payton (in addition to their starters and Poole), depending on what they’re going for. Golden State (mostly just Draymond and sort of Steph) gets so careless sometimes, and the Celtics occasionally look like they forgot how to play offense, or even what offense is. Any bucket from either is going to feel so back-breaking for the other team. The Warriors don’t run 100 pick and rolls a night, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to test his lateral mobility that way. dre.waters: To me, the Warriors’ versatility is why I’m pretty bullish on them, aside from my fandom of course. (The Celtics would probably just pre-switch to avoid it and start another tactical chess match that way.) dre.waters: We know the Warriors love to go small: Their five-man lineup of Curry, Poole, Thompson, Wiggins and Green has been the team’s Among lineups with at least 50 minutes played. Switching the pick and roll is the high-volume defense type against which Steph and Poole have struggled the most, and Boston has been one of the best and most frequent users of the switch. But Golden State, well … our model hasn’t loved the Warriors all season: Even after they started 18-2, we still just gave them an 11 percent chance to make the Finals, and even now that they came out on top in the West, we still don’t give them much of a chance. Playoff series are all vastly different organisms, so how they’ve played to date really has very minimal effect on how they’ll play in the Finals. (He didn’t play enough minutes to qualify for the RAPTOR leaderboard, but ended up pretty close to neutral, rather than a clear negative.

A MARTINEZ, HOST: The NBA Finals begin tonight. And it seems like a throwback to old times, and by old times, we mean from 2015 to 2019, when the Golden ...

That threesome was the foundation of the team that played in those five straight Finals and won three championships. The change worked and helped the Warriors win a championship. And now it's going to be facing the ultimate test. They won three elimination games, won seven games on the road, including last Sunday in Miami to clinch a spot in the Finals. Home-court advantage, such a big deal in the NBA playoffs, and to overcome that seven times, that's impressive. Again, we're going to call on David Thorpe. He has a nice descriptor, this one for Boston's defense - the wood-chipper. We win or we lose, we kind of go home and kiss your kids, and you move on. GOLDMAN: Ball and player movement - when it's working well, it is a thing of beauty. And it seems like a throwback to old times, and by old times, we mean from 2015 to 2019, when the Golden State Warriors played in every Finals. The Warriors are back, and they'll take on the Boston Celtics, a storied franchise in its own right but one that hasn't gotten this far for a dozen years. Head coach Steve Kerr listens to ideas from his players, even famously made a lineup change in the 2015 Finals based on advice from a team video coordinator. Certainly, the potential is there, A. You've got the NBA's best offense, Golden State, against the best defense, the Celtics. Who's going to win that titanic clash? Tom, let's start with the big picture. The NBA Finals begin tonight.

On Thursday night in California, the Golden State Warriors are hosting the Boston Celtics for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. For the game, the two teams have ...

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ended their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. This is the sixth time in the last eight years that the Warriors have made the Finals, and they have also won three titles over that time span. Payton II has not played since the second-round, and Iguodala has not played since the first-round, so this is huge for the Warriros that they are finally available again.

There's a lot to look forward to in this Celtics-Warriors matchup.

The Steph-Klay-Draymond trio will be going for their fourth championship together. Equally, how Draymond Green and Co. look to handle the Celtics’ array of scorers will be interesting to watch. The Boston Celtics will be facing the Golden State Warriors, starting with Game 1 on Thursday at 9:00 pm ET.

SLAM breakdown the 2022 NBA Finals and the most important matchups and x-factors heading into Thursdays Game 1 in Chase Center.

The Time Lord’s shot-blocking at the rim and perimeter has been invaluable when healthy. Boston struggled when Tatum and Brown were flimsy with the ball this postseason. The main question will be, can Golden State rely on their typical offensive actions going against a defense that’s been excellent at stopping superstar scorers like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Boston went .500 over the first 50 games of the season but won after 26 of their last 32 games, finishing the season with the best defensive rating in the League. Golden State’s biggest x-factor will have to be the two-way play of Andrew Wiggins. As a member of the Warriors, Wiggins has emerged as an All-Star after thriving as a third option scorer. This is the Boston Celtics’ first title series appearance since 2010 when they lost to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Jay-Z is sitting on the floor at Game 1 of the NBA Finals in San Francisco between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics.

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ended their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. As for the Celtics, they have been a contender for a large part of the last six years (four trips to the Eastern Conference Finals), but this is their first time in the Finals since the 2010 season when they had Paul Pierce. For years, he had been a part owner of the New Jersey Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets).

Two of the NBA's top franchises begin their battle for the Larry O'Brien Trophy on Thursday. Read more on Boston.com.

This won’t be the first time the Celtics and Warriors have faced off in the NBA Finals. The two franchises faced off in 1964 for the world title. The Celtics got aggressive on offense to close the half, and in turn, they take the lead going into the break. His latest, which came from 29 feet, forced the Celtics to call a timeout. Steph Curry is 6-of-7 from deep with an NBA Finals record 21 points in the first quarter. As Boston was able to cut the lead back to 11, Andre Iguodala made a contested 3-pointer to help extend Golden State’s lead back to 14. On the defensive end, the Celtics slowed downed Curry, which helped slow down the Warriors’ offense. After calling a timeout, Brown missed a floater in the lane. That appeared to happen in the second. But the Celtics kept the ball, and with the shot clock winding down, Derrick White made a contested 3-pointer to tie the game. After an errant pass gave the Celtics the ball back, Robert Williams had a thunderous slam off an alley-oop from Brown. As Steph Curry went to the bench to start the fourth, Boston kept its stars in. Jaylen Brown scored five straight points before sending an alley-oop to Robert Williams to cut the Warriors’ lead to five.

The Celtics rode the most lopsided fourth quarter in NBA finals history to a 120-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 on Thursday night.

Curry scored a smooth 21 points in the opening period on 7-for-8 shooting, including 6 of 8 made threes – missing a half-court heave at the buzzer. “It’s an unbelievable feeling just to be here and competing at this level against such a dynamic franchise the last couple years,” Boston guard Payton Pritchard said. Brown’s 3 at 8:22 made it 94-92 before Klay Thompson answered with a three. “I was just getting the looks, knocking them down. The 15th-year big man, who turns 36 Friday, played in 141 previous postseason games, most ever before playing in the NBA Finals. “I felt like the guys kept finding me time after time.

According to Patrick Everson of Props, the Golden State Warriors are receiving the majority of the bets at BetMGM for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the ...

"Money five to one on Golden State, which is currently -165 on the moneyline," he said. - SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ended their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. "Here at BetMGM Nevada, tickets just over three to one in favor of the Warriors, money about one and a half to one on the Warriors," Everson said.

The Boston Celtics scored 17 straight fourth quarter points to hand the Warriors a stunning home loss in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Boston used a 3-point flurry to storm back as White and Horford combined to hit four consecutive fourth quarter three-pointers amid the Celtics’ extended run. But not for Curry who zoomed all across the court to create open looks amid a record-setting first quarter. They came in and earned the win.” During the nearly five-minute scoring drought, Horford and guard Marcus Smart each made a pair of 3-pointers to put the game out of reach. They knocked down every big shot in the fourth quarter. “They made 21 threes, they were moving the ball really well, and they had us on our heels,” coach Steve Kerr said after the loss.

Al Horford scored a team-high 26 points, Jaylen Brown registered 24, and the Celtics outpaced the Warriors 40-16 in the fourth quarter to take Game 1 of the ...

Boston shot 50.6 percent in the win, including an outrageous 21/41 (51.2 percent) on threes. The two teams combined to make the most threes in a first half in NBA Finals history. They outscored Golden State 40-16 in the final 12 minutes. Two areas that helped Golden State build a double-digit advantage were on the offensive glass and at the free-throw line. This time, from above the break, pushing the Celtics' advantage to 117-103. It also gave the visitors a 114-103 lead. Still, the lead was 92-80, so it's not like Boston's out of this, but it will take the visitors best 12 minutes of the night to pull out a Game 1 win. They went on a 19-7 run to end the second quarter. But at the other end, the Warriors scored 15 points in less than five minutes to start the second quarter. Brown then took off to the other end, where he got rewarded for his continued effort with a transition dunk. Speaking of Curry, the Chef also cooked from beyond the arc in the first frame. Jayson Tatum and Smart led the team with six points apiece.

Or will the Boston Celtics win title No. 18 and break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in NBA history? The first step toward the title will be ...

Boston is just one road win shy of tying the record of nine road wins in a single postseason set by the 1994-95 Houston Rockets. Can they get it on Sunday in Game 2? While Tatum is shooting 17.6%, the rest of the Celtics have combined to shoot 59.7% (37-for-62). The Boston Celtics scored 40 points in the 4th quarter tonight. Less than a minute later, Smart delivers the dagger 3 to put Boston up 117-103 with 1:43 to play. He makes both to give him 30 points on the night and puts the Warriors back up by double-digits (77-66). We’ve now seen a 15-point swing in the fourth quarter and there’s still 5:08 to play. It is the fifth time this postseason that the Warriors have scored at least 35 points in the third quarter. 9. It’s been another big third quarter for the Warriors so far — a theme for this year’s postseason. Curry shoots the 3-pointer after the whistle and it splashes (don’t waste them when they don’t count, Steph). Can the Warriors win their fourth title in eight years (and seventh in franchise history)? Or will the Boston Celtics win title No. 18 and break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in NBA history? Meanwhile, Curry has no points on 0-for-2 shooting so far in the second quarter and was just hit with back-to-back fouls in less than a minute. 15. Big response from the Celtics with a 10-0 run to tie the game at 47-47 with five minutes remaining in the half.

Down 12 points after another strong third quarter from the Warriors, the Celtics' historic shooting fueled an unprecedented fourth-quarter comeback to steal ...

His 21 points in the opening frame were his most in any quarter in a Finals game, the most by any player in a Finals first quarter, and the fourth most overall in any Finals quarter -- only Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas have scored more. If Boston can pair a fraction of its offensive exhibition in Game 1 with its signature defense on three additional occasions, the Celtics will have an opportunity to consummate a steady nine-year rebuild following their legendary Big Three era. To illustrate the improbable nature of the performance, Horford's six 3-pointers represented the most in any game of his career, regular season or playoffs. In the first quarter alone, Curry, in search of his first Finals MVP, drained an NBA-record six 3-pointers, four of them uncontested. Coming into the Finals, Boston had attempted 45.5% of its field goals from 3-point range -- only the Dallas Mavericks attempted a higher percentage this postseason. Those stout defenses -- the NBA's two strongest -- couldn't do much to contain the offensive explosion set off at Chase Center in the first half.

Boston's fourth-quarter run was marked by hot shooting, swift passing and small ball -- sound familiar?

From that point on, they went 26-7 with a net rating of plus-13.8, five points better than the closest challenger, and earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics know how to fight back because they've been fighting back all year long, and Udoka continued to preach resilience as the Warriors extended their lead in the third quarter. Defensively, the Celtics went to a lot more switching and pre-switching in the fourth quarter in order to limit Curry's shooting and the Warriors' penetration. Udoka said the small unit played also played with more physicality and "seemed to wear [the Warriors] down a little bit." They held Golden State to 6-of-15 shooting in the fourth quarter, including 1-for-6 from 3-point range, before the benches were emptied in the final minute, and forced as many turnovers as the Warriors had assists. "Strength in Numbers" has been the Warriors' motto for years, but on Thursday it certainly applied to the Celtics. The attack was so widespread that the Warriors had nobody to key in on. The Celtics also used small-ball, a Golden State staple of years past, to dominate the fourth quarter on both ends. They moved the ball quickly, penetrating into the paint and kicking out to players in perfect position with even more perfect passes. Instead the Boston Celtics went on an unprecedented run in the fourth quarter, sparked by lights-out shooting and pinpoint ball-movement, to come away with a 120-108 Game 1 win in San Francisco, draining the life from what had been an electrically rabid sellout crowd. His 13 assists, however, epitomized a Celtics team -- bolstered by the messaging of head coach Ime Udoka -- committed to making the right play, no matter how simple, trusting that it would eventually yield positive results. A 38-point third quarter of that nature has been a knockout blow for many an unfortunate opponent over the last eight seasons of Warriors basketball. A scoring run that leaves you scouring the record books, unable to fathom that something this devastating has ever happened before.

Curry scored the most points in a Finals quarter since Michael Jordan in 1993.

Curry has now made at least five 3-pointers in a single Finals quarter three times during his career. The six made 3-pointers are a Finals record for a single quarter. The 21 points were the highest-scoring single quarter in the NBA Finals since 1993 (Michael Jordan had 22 vs.

Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors are hosting the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday evening in San Francisco, and Curry is off ...

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ended their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. The Warriors are in the Finals for the sixth time in the last eight years, which no other team in the league has done over this time. In the first quarter, the superstar guard made six three-pointers, which is the most that have ever been made in a Finals quarter.

Why Boston's relative inexperience might have been overrated, that overwhelming 4th-quarter run and more from the Celtics' theft of Finals homecourt.

And that’s what should concern the Warriors. Not only did they lose a game with Tatum misfiring (3-17 FGs), they must anticipate a strong Game 2 response. And even if that’s not necessarily true, it’s perhaps the right mindset to have to allow that motivation — or desperation — to instill a sense of urgency within an aging player. The usual roles were reversed and the outcome was delivered in a most unanticipated manner: The Celtics shot 51% from deep for the game and made seven 3s to start the fourth. Sure did, managing to throw the Finals and the Warriors for a loop. The way Horford sank timely 3s in the fourth quarter, applied traps defensively, and essentially showed the leadership the Celtics have valued since his return this season proved invaluable. After what he did against the Bucks and Heat in the previous rounds, a grand entrance in the Finals shouldn’t be much of a surprise. He was on pace to finally get a 40-piece in this postseason (he came six short, though). The Celtics arrived here with little rest, were on the road against a team previously unbeaten in this building in the playoffs, were down 12 to start the fourth quarter, staring at a percolating Stephen Curry, with Jayson Tatum unable to get buckets … and proceeded to punch the Warriors right in the mouth. Against the Warriors. Against Curry and Klay Thompson. This was a case of stolen identity. And usually it takes one stolen game to win a title. Did the Celtics actually out-small the Warriors and also out-shoot them from deep? What you saw was the searing response of a team that actually was experienced under bright lights.

This time, Curry and the Warriors had no response to Boston's counterpunch. Jayson Tatum had just 12 points, but role players like Derrick White (21 points) and ...

The Warriors, too, have to be stunned after a near-record setting fourth quarter collapse. It’s hard to lose a game with those shooting statistics. This time, Curry and the Warriors had no response to Boston’s counterpunch.

Just a couple of offseasons ago, the Philadelphia 76ers made several critical personnel moves, which caused quite a stir in the city of Brotherly Love.

In his first nine minutes on the floor coming out of the half, Horford dropped seven points, going 2-3 from beyond the arc. Horford was quiet for the first 17 minutes of the game as he scored just eight points off of five shots. In the first 12 minutes of action, Curry went 6-8 from three, scoring 21 points. The move was met with tons of criticism aimed towards the Celtics as one season in Philadelphia and OKC left many to believe Horford’s best days were well behind him. However, fitting Embiid and Horford together in the same starting lineup was a challenge for the 76ers. Last offseason, the Thunder moved Horford once again so he could make his return to Boston for a second stint.

Boston seized a win to open the NBA Finals and put Golden State in the rarest of situations.

So the Warriors can comfort themselves with their vast experience and their history of resilience and all those banners hanging above the Chase Center court. We’ve won a road game, at least one road game, in I don’t know how many consecutive series.” The guys are good, but…” Green kept pausing, cocking his head to the left and raising his palms, as if to say, without saying it, but there’s no way they can do that again. They’re stronger defensively than the Mavericks and Grizzlies were. So no, it’s not a hit to the confidence at all. And they won this game despite getting just 12 points (on 3-for-17 shooting) from franchise star Jayson Tatum. Sure, the Golden State Warriors have been down in playoff series before, and knocked off kilter in the Finals before. “You get a chance to do something else, do it in a different way, embrace the challenge. Horford, who averaged 1.3 threes per game this season, hit six (on eight attempts). Smart, a career 33 percent shooter on threes, went 4 for 7. Marcus Smart hit a pair of threes. Al Horford hit a pair of threes. And then, all that familiarity and experience feel like a tattered, moth-riddled security blanket.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A backbreaking barrage of 3-pointers that leaves the opponent cloaked in helplessness, searching for answers from a higher power.

From that point on, they went 26-7 with a net rating of plus-13.8, five points better than the closest challenger, and earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics know how to fight back because they've been fighting back all year long, and Udoka continued to preach resilience as the Warriors extended their lead in the third quarter. Defensively, the Celtics went to a lot more switching and pre-switching in the fourth quarter in order to limit Curry's shooting and the Warriors' penetration. Udoka said the small unit played also played with more physicality and "seemed to wear [the Warriors] down a little bit." They held Golden State to 6-of-15 shooting in the fourth quarter, including 1-for-6 from 3-point range, before the benches were emptied in the final minute, and forced as many turnovers as the Warriors had assists. "Strength in Numbers" has been the Warriors' motto for years, but on Thursday it certainly applied to the Celtics. The attack was so widespread that the Warriors had nobody to key in on. The Celtics also used small-ball, a Golden State staple of years past, to dominate the fourth quarter on both ends. They moved the ball quickly, penetrating into the paint and kicking out to players in perfect position with even more perfect passes. Instead the Boston Celtics went on an unprecedented run in the fourth quarter, sparked by lights-out shooting and pinpoint ball-movement, to come away with a 120-108 Game 1 win in San Francisco, draining the life from what had been an electrically rabid sellout crowd. His 13 assists, however, epitomized a Celtics team -- bolstered by the messaging of head coach Ime Udoka -- committed to making the right play, no matter how simple, trusting that it would eventually yield positive results. A 38-point third quarter of that nature has been a knockout blow for many an unfortunate opponent over the last eight seasons of Warriors basketball. A scoring run that leaves you scouring the record books, unable to fathom that something this devastating has ever happened before.

Every game of the NBA Finals is live on Sky Sports; watch Celtics @ Warriors – Game 2, live on Sky Sports Arena & Main Event, on Sunday night from 12.45am ...

Andrew Wiggins had 20 points and Klay Thompson had 15 for the Warriors, who completely lost their way in the fourth despite boasting much more experience than their opponents. They outscored the Celtics 38-24 in the third to turn a two-point half-time deficit into a 12-point lead. The Celtics' chief scoring option Jayson Tatum operated more as a facilitator, finishing with 12 points, 13 assists and just two turnovers but shot just 3-for-17 from the field. Curry exploded in the first frame in San Francisco for 21 points. They came in and earned the win." The Warriors have been noted for their third-quarter runs during their dynastic run and so it proved here.

Stephen Curry came out on fire in Game 1 of the NBA Finals and hit 6-of-8 from 3 in the first quarter, scoring 21 points to get Golden State an early lead.

Curry got some help getting rolling by the Celtics, who made some odd defensive choices to open the game. — Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors)June 3, 2022 That’s an NBA Finals record for most 3-pointers in a quarter.

The Warriors were ran out of the gym by Boston in the fourth quarter of Game 1 — and it wasn't just because the Celtics made shots.

The Warriors lost because their offense couldn’t crack Boston’s defense late in the fourth quarter when it mattered. Warriors opponents took nearly 38 percent of their field goal attempts from three on the season, which ranked No. 21 in the league. The Warriors lost because their defense yielded way too many wide open looks from three. Boston has four or five shooting threats on the floor in every lineup they play. The Warriors’ offense wasn’t. The Celtics defense certainly was. The Warriors went 0-for-5 over that stretch. those guys, give them credit, they knocked down every big shot in the fourth quarter, they came in and got the win." Golden State didn’t make another field goal until the 1:09 mark of the fourth quarter. It’s easy to point to Boston’s hot shooting from behind the arc as the biggest reason they were able to steal Game 1. The Warriors looked like they were well on their way to victory through three quarters in Game 1. What happened from there was at once one of the great collapses and great comebacks in NBA Finals history. The +24 margin in the final frame tied an all-time NBA Finals record.

The Golden State Warriors entered the series opener with 123 more combined games of NBA Finals experience than the Boston Celtics and left with the worst ...

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Klay Thompson met with the media after the Golden State Warriors lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ended their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. "We all have been through situations like this, and we realize that it's gonna be very hard, and the best part about it is we have another opportunity Sunday." The Celtics are in the Finals for the first time since the 2010 season when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.

A whole lot of stats help tell the story of the Warriors' Game 1 loss to the Celtics, but these five should open some eyes.

Reminder: This came right after the Warriors scored 38 points in the third quarter to the Celtics' 24. "My gut reaction, what I just witnessed, they came in and played a hell of a fourth quarter, and you have to give them credit," Kerr said. "They took advantage of every opportunity and moved the ball." "The adjustments of what it felt like out there, what the looks were, where we got in trouble a little bit out there and making the adjustments for the next game. "That's the beauty of this series, and looking forward to playing a team like that and a guy like that," Curry continued. The margin for error in the Finals in miniscule. To no surprise, where it hurt the Warriors most was the fourth quarter. In Game 1 against the Celtics, Green finished 2-for-12 from the field and missed all four of his 3-point attempts. White was held scoreless the last time the Warriors faced the Celtics and missed all five of his 3-point attempts. He's no slouch there, and the Warriors have to get a hand in his face. Horford's six 3-pointers are the most ever for a player in a Finals debut. This was a teeter-totter full of swings and momentum, with Boston coming out on the winning side.

Jayson Tatum wasn't very sharp on Thursday night, but Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Marcus Smart and Derrick White all turned in great performances. They all had at ...

He was truly sensational. And yet, that's exactly what happened in Game 1. They TOOK it.

Losing 120-108 to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors now find their backs up against the wall heading into Game ...

As Steve Kerr mentioned, this is just one game and whoever wins the championship this year will have to win four games, not one or two. Their blend of three-point shooting on offense and being able to switch almost any ball-screen defensively is what makes them a very worthy foe to Golden State in this series. “You know, we've been in this position before, and we've won series where we've lost the first game,” Kerr said. Golden State knows they are more than capable of bouncing back in this series though and veteran All-Star Draymond Green mentioned that in his postgame remarks on Thursday night. The guys are good shooters, but they combined for, what, 15 out of 8; Smart, 7, 8, 15-for-23,” Green said. “They hit 21 threes, and Marcus Smart and Al Horford and Derrick White combined for 15 of them.

Tatum barely scored in Game 1, but he made the winning plays the Celtics needed to take the lead in the NBA Finals.

When White went into the paint and draw a crowd, he would pass to an empty spot in the corner for Brown to jump out on the couch and bury the shot. When Brown got the ball off a defensive rebound, Tatum would leak out to the corner to open the lane and spark the ball movement. When the Celtics got to the final minutes of Game 1 with a double-digit lead, there was still that nagging fear that the offense would stagnate as Boston tried to run down the clock and Curry would shoot the Warriors back into it. Udoka was going to put the ball in his hands even more, and it was on him to honor that responsibility. “I think that was kind of his message from Day 1, just to challenge me to be the best player that I can be and improve other areas of my game,” Tatum said about Udoka. “We watched a lot of film throughout the course of the season of games — just areas, things I could improve on. “All year leading up to this, we’ve been kind of grooming and preparing Jayson for these moments where teams are going to key in on you so much that they try to take you out of the game,” Smart said. Tatum didn’t hide how much the All-NBA snub bothered him last season and knew he had to be a winner if he wanted to reach the first team this year. Tatum was a plus-27 in the fourth quarter, and he didn’t even score. But the pieces of a champion orbit around its stars, and that’s what the organization has been preparing Brown and Tatum for. “The teams that win in the postseason are all about player movement and ball movement,” Hanlen said. “In past years, (Tatum’s) focus has been on scoring and being able to carry the load on the offensive end through scoring. As Tatum ran up and down the floor watching the comeback take place around him, he never forced his way into the flow of the game.

Despite shooting poorly, Jayson Tatum broke an NBA Finals record in Game 1. Here's why the Golden State Warriors should be terrified.

Stephen Curry and the Dubs aren’t out of this series, but they must figure out a way to slow Tatum and the Celtics’ role players down. But the Duke product has been both a facilitator and scorer in the playoffs before, recording 29 points and eight assists in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this year. They have a deep team and the three-point king, Stephen Curry. However, they should be nervous about Tatum’s facilitating role in Game 1. The Warriors will have to continue focusing on Tatum, which could leave shooters like White and Marcus Smart wide open. With 7:09 left and the Celtics trailing 99-94, Tatum dished out an assist to Pritchard, whose long-range basket trimmed the score to 99-97. However, Tatum broke the record for total assists in a Finals debut with 13.

Jayson Tatum met with the media after the Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriros in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at the Chase Center.

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ended their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. This is the first time in Tatum's career that he has been to the Finals, and in the first game the Celtics looked like they had been there before. The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors by a score of 120-108 on Thursday evening to take on Game 1 of the NBA Finals on the road in California at the Chase Center.

Tatum's 13 assists in Game 1 were a career-high and the most ever for a player in their Finals debut.

Again, a pick-and-roll gets Tatum a chance to attack Looney. He gets a step on him to the baseline, and Green is over in a flash to cut off the drive. He's the kind of guy that he's going to figure it out. Turning Tatum into a surefire playmaker has been a year-long odyssey for Udoka and the Celtics, and the hard work paid off in Game 1. The ball is already in the air as Porter is trying to get set, and that gives the Celtics the advantage. A risky proposition considering that while Tatum is prone to going ice cold at times, as he did in Game 1, he always bounces back. "All year leading up to this we've been kind of grooming and preparing Jayson for these moments where teams are going to key in on you so much that they try to take you out of the game," Smart said. Now, the Warriors have to decide whether they want to stay the course or adjust how they defend Tatum. "You have to be able to make plays and affect the game in different ways. In fact, the timing on his passes was so sharp that he often caught the Warriors' help defenders with their weight and momentum shifted towards him, giving them no chance to recover to the perimeter. You aren't going to make shots every night, but you can always control your approach; Tatum's was right on the money on Thursday. His 13 assists were a career-high, and also the most for any player in their Finals debut. Otto Porter Jr. instinctually shifts down towards the paint to try and cut off a drive, but Tatum reads that and makes the pass right away. With Tatum's shot abandoning him, Brown took over and either scored or assisted on 20 of their first 23 points in the frame.