It looked like the Golden State Warriors were going to win the NBA Championship at Chase Center on Thursday night after an ugly third quarter for the Boston Celtics.
The third quarter ended. The game was completely turned on it's head after the Celtics made so many 3-pointers.
Boston hit its first seven 3-pointers in the fourth and went on to beat the Warriors 120-108. The Celtics became the first team in NBA Finals history to win by double-digits in the fourth quarter.
Being resilient has been the word for this year. It showed tonight.
In the second half, it definitely did. In the playoffs, Boston has struggled in the third quarter, and did it again in the first game against the Warriors, who have historically dominated coming out of the halftime break.
In the third, the Celtics were down by a large amount. They made five mistakes. Golden State got going from the 3 point range. The two men combined to shoot 2 for 10 from the field.
The Chase Center was rocking at that point. It seemed like the celebration was on. The feel inside Boston's huddle was different.
At the beginning of the fourth, the message was "We've been here before", according to Tatum. We know how to overcome deficits like that.
That's a great group of people. It won't be easy. We've gotten our self out of it because we've been there before. There was a lot of time left. It was time for you to figure it out.
The Celtics went ahead and did that. When a team buries its first seven 3-pointers, it's helpful. It went further than that. The Celts were 9-for-12 from 3-point range.
Golden State was only 7 for 17 from the field. In the fourth, the Celtics put up an absurd 12-to-1 assist-to-turn over ratio. The Celtics' fourth quarter scoring margin of plus 24 was the best in the NBA finals.
Celtics coach Ime Udoka left the reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart on the bench for most of the fourth quarter, opting instead to ride Pritchard for the biggest moments of Boston's season to date.
Udoka said that they are proud of everyone being able to contribute. On a night when your best guy has an off night, other people step up.
In the Eastern Conference finals, White scored 21 points off the bench and hit 5 3-pointers.
Al Horford, playing in his first NBA Finals game after previously being the record holder for playoff games played without a Finals appearance, had 26 points, six rebound and three assists, including hitting all four shots he took in the fourth quarter, setting his career high with six 3-pointers.
Even though he was 3-for 17 from the field, he still finished with 13 assists to just two turnovers, and was plus 27 in the fourth quarter, even though he didn't score a single point. He missed all three shots he took in the quarter.
When asked how he felt about the game, he smiled and said "ecstatic". There were 40 points in the fourth quarter. We got the win.
I had a poor shooting night. I just tried to make a difference. We are in the title. We are in the finals. I was not concerned about getting a win. At this point, that is all that matters.
I don't think I'll shoot that badly again. I'll accept it if it means we keep winning.
The Celtics said that they stole Game 1 while not playing their best. They went 21 for 41 from 3-point range. They got off to a slow start and had a sloppy third quarter, when a roster that didn't feature a single player with NBA Finals experience looked like it.
Don't stop playing." Horford said that's their message throughout the game. It's a good team. We continued to play no matter what.
We did that. It wasn't our best game, but we kept fighting and found a way to win.
The game was a reflection of Boston's season. Over the final 35 games of the regular season, the Celtics posted the best offensive and defensive ratings in the NBA, despite being under.500 at one point.
Boston won elimination games on the road against both Miami and Milwaukee in order to get to this point. They became the first team to beat the Warriors at Chase Center in the playoffs.
After playing 12 games in 23 days across the Eastern Conference semifinals and finals, Boston will get another three days to rest and prepare for Game 2 on Sunday, when the Celtics will have an opportunity to put a stranglehold on this series.
It says what we have been doing all year. We've been told we're out all year. Yes, rightfully so. There have been moments. We're still fighting. We are that way.
That's our identity over the last few months. It stayed with us for a reason.
The Celtics are three victories away from an NBA title.
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