NOW ONUS IS ON WARRIORS
In Game 1, Boston showed its resilience.
In Game 2, Golden State gets a chance to answer.
Over the last two months, no teams in the NBA have shown more of a bounce-back ability than the Celtics and the Warriors. The latest example came Thursday night, when the Celtics went on a dazzling 4818 run down the stretch to erase a 15-point deficit and win Game 1 of the NBA Finals 120-108.
It was the fifth doubledigit comeback by Boston in these playoffs. The only team with more is Golden State, with six such rallies this postseason.
“That’s kind of who we’ve been all year,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “Tough grinders, resilient group that we can always know we can rely on our defense to kind of buckle down when needed.”
Now, it’s the Warriors’ turn. They haven’t dropped back-to-back games in more than two months, and — although it should be noted
the trio has played in only 20 games together — they have yet to lose consecutive games this season with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson all in the lineup.
“This series,” Curry said after Game 1, “is just getting started.”
The Warriors know they let an opportunity slip away in Game 1. Golden State is 5-0 since the start of March after losses, a penchant for getting back on track that served as a silver lining.
“Guys are bummed, as you would expect,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “But it’s a seven-game series for a reason. I think you give Boston credit. They came in and earned the win. Played a great fourth quarter. We’ll come in, watch the film and see where we can get better. And you know, it’s one game. So, you move on to the next one.”
Another loss Sunday would put the Warriors in serious trouble, against a Boston team that has been forged by fire throughout these playoffs. They swept a Brooklyn team led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Round 1, outlasted Giannis Antetokounmpo and defending champion Milwaukee in seven games in Round 2, then won another Game 7 — this one on the road — over Miami to claim the Eastern Conference title.
“It’s hard to win in this league, especially in the playoffs,” Boston’s Jaylen Brown said. “Any given night, things could go differently, but a good team is able to respond. A good team is able to put their best foot forward each and every night. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve learned a lot over the years, and now the stage is at its brightest, we’ve got to apply everything that we’ve learned into these moments.”
Notable
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that he expects the oft-maligned “transition take foul” to come with stiffer penalties next season.
Silver expects the rules regarding the play — where a defender intentionally commits a foul to halt a transition opportunity for the opposition — are going to change this summer.
It’s something the NBA and its competition committee have been studying for several seasons, and Silver says it’s time has come.
“I am confident that we’ll see a change,” Silver said. “I would not say I’m overconfident that it will be the last change, even though this is a rule that we’ve been experimenting with in the G League for last four years.”
The way such fouls have been officiated in the G League since 2018 is this: The clear path foul results in two shots and the ball; a take foul, where no play on the ball is made but doesn’t rise to the level of a clear path foul, the fouled team retains possession and gets one free throw before play resumes.