Celtics rally to take Game 1
Brown, who played at Cal with Steve Kerr’s son, has 24 points in Boston win
Jaylen Brown fueled a comeback charge and scored 24 points, Al Horford hit six 3-pointers and the Boston 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.
Horford finished with 26 points and the Celtics outscored the Warriors 40-16 in the final 12 minutes after trailing by 15 points late in the third quarter.
Boston made its first seven tries from long distance in the fourth and wound up 9-for-12 beyond the arc over the final 12 minutes as almost everybody got involved in the 3-point flurry. Jayson Tatum was the lone Celtics regular who struggled offensively, finishing 3-for-17.
Stephen Curry scored 34 points in his return to the NBA’S big stage for the first time in three years, but the Warriors couldn’t sustain momentum from a 38-point third quarter that put them ahead 92-80 going into the final 12 minutes.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday night back at Chase Center.
The Celtics’ comeback was the biggest in the Finals after three quarters since Michael Jordan’s Bulls overcame a 15-point deficit to beat the Trail Blazers in Game 6 in 1992.
Derrick White’s 3-pointer over Curry with 5:40 remaining tied the game at 103, then Horford hit from deep the next time down as the Celtics took their first lead since halftime.
The Celtics are looking to capture their record-breaking 18th title, which would move them past the Lakers, and now are just three wins away from doing it.
Brown, who starred at nearby California for one college season, made consecutive baskets that tied the game at 47 with 5:03 left before halftime and the Celtics led 56-54 at the break. Golden State then used a signature third-quarter spurt, pouring in 38 points to
build a big lead.
Brown then scored five quick points early in the fourth and assisted on an alley-oop dunk to Robert Williams III as the Celtics pulled back within 92-87 with 9:35 remaining. Brown’s 3 at 8:22 made it 94-92 before Klay Thompson answered with a 3.
Andrew Wiggins scored six of Golden State’s first 14 points and wound up with 20 in his Finals debut; Draymond Green grabbed 11 rebounds before fouling out with 48.3 seconds left. Thompson contributed 15 points as the Warriors began their sixth Finals in eight years after making five straight trips from 2015-19 and winning three championships.
They’ll have to win this one from behind after being 21-2 in their previous Game 1s under Steve Kerr.