With three NBA championships, six NBA Finals appearances, and three Hall of Famer teammates, everything about this moment is familiar and comfortable.
On this stage, you have the upper hand. For the time being. Until you’re blitzed for 10 straight minutes on your home court by an opponent with 0 championships, 0 Finals appearances, and a slew of young, still-developing players. Then, all of that comforting familiarity becomes a moth-eaten safety blanket.
It’s true that the Golden State Warriors have been beaten in the playoffs and the Finals before. But not every time. In any case, it’s never been like this before.
A third-quarter three-point barrage from the Boston Celtics, who were younger, stronger, and spryer, left even Stephen Curry speechless, as they rolled to a 120-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, opening the Finals and handing the Warriors their first series deficit.
the 30 year old Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry makes a shot in the second half of 2022 NBA Finals game one versus Boston Celtics.
Cary Edmondson/Sportsday
When asked about the situation on the court, “It’s not ideal,” Curry replied, “but I’m confident in our team and our ability to overcome adversity, as well as how we’ve reacted in the playoffs after losing.”
They handled this shocking loss as an inconvenience, not a crisis of any kind, to the core that won those championships just a few years before.
NBA star Klay Thompson told Sports Illustrated, “It’s first to four (wins), not first to one.”
True, that’s what I was getting at. The Warriors had to come back from a 2-1 Finals deficit (and lose their home-court advantage) against the Cleveland Cavaliers in order to win their first championship in 2015. They had to come back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals the next year to make the Finals.
Only twice in Steve Kerr’s eight-year tenure as head coach has the Warriors lost Game 1 of a postseason series: against the Thunder (which they won) and against the Toronto Raptors (which they lost) (which they lost).
This is a new experience, and it’s likely more uncomfortable than the Warriors are willing to acknowledge. Especially in light of the circumstances. They went into the fourth quarter with a commanding lead of twelve points. Warriors turnovers and Jaylen Brown threes erased it in seven minutes. There was no respite from the avalanche. Two of Al Horford’s three-pointers went in. Two of Marcus Smart’s threes were made. Payton Pritchard and Derrick White teamed up for three more.
Final quarter: The Celtics shot 9 for 12 from the arc, outscoring the Warriors 40-16, which is the biggest margin in Finals history, leaving the spectators stunned and numbing them.
There was little else in the stadium besides a group of Boston fans yelling, “Let’s go, Celtics!” in the waning minutes.