If you were at the Chase Center for Game 1 — you could probably sense the nervousness throughout the arena. A once 15 point lead was trimmed to 12 points at the end of the third quarter. Then the lead was cut to five points minutes into the fourth quarter. Celtics forward Jaylen Brown was making things happen — staying aggressive and taking what the defense gave him. 

The 7-0 run that started the fourth quarter came from Brown who made plays for himself and his teammates. The Warriors were still in control of the game — and Warriors guard Klay Thompson answered the run by making a tough fadeaway 3-pointer to increase the lead 97-92 in the fourth quarter. Warriors superstar Stephen Curry connected on a step-back midrange moments later and it seemed like the Warriors were going to run away with this one. 

Then the barrage started. 

Each 3-pointer from the Celtics seemed to suck the life out of the Warriors — as they ended the fourth quarter on a 17-0 run and went 9-for-12 from 3-point range as a team. Celtics center Al Horford had the game of his life with 26 points on six-for-eight shooting from 3-point range. 

“It was a tough loss, especially the way we did lose,” Thompson said. “It’s not the end of the world, we’ll regroup tomorrow and we’ll bring a much better effort on Sunday. It’s first to four, not first to one.” 

It wasn’t all bad for the Warriors though. The first quarter was dominated by Curry as the Celtics somehow continuously lost the two-time MVP in transition and implemented a drop coverage on the greatest shooter in the game. 

Curry went nuclear — scoring 21 points on a scorching six-for-eight from 3-point range and seven-for-nine shooting from the field. Curry continued to make history, as his six 3-pointers set a new NBA Finals record for most threes in a quarter. 

“We’ll be fine,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “We’ll figure out the ways we can stop them from getting those threes. We pretty much dominated the game for the first 41-42 minutes. We’ll be fine.”

It seemed like it was going to be one of those nights for Curry — but the Celtics had a well balanced attack throughout the game. 

In addition to Horford, the Celtics gained solid contributions from guard Derrick White who chipped in 21 points and went five-for-eight from 3-point range. As ESPN announcer Mark Jones put it — White seemed have knocked down every timely shot as the Celtics clawed their way back into the game. 

Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum struggled from the field as the Warriors were able to limit his offensive prowess — but Tatum still managed to have an imprint on the game with his 13 assists. A big emphasis on Tatum’s improvement has been with his playmaking ability. His assist numbers increased throughout his career as he continues to ascend to that superstar level. 

Whereas the Celtics had five players in double-figures — the Warriors had only four as Warriors guard Jordan Poole struggled to adjust to the toughness of the NBA Finals. Poole — who usually performs well in games one and two — had a rough night where he only registered nine points. The bench mob received contributions from Warriors forward Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter Jr., but the Warriors need more out of Poole since Poole can provide that extra scoring punch to offset the Celtics bench. 

“We didn’t stop the bleeding soon enough,” Green said. “They kept hitting shots. No surprises. They are who we thought they were.” 

Somehow, the team that just won a seven-game series a mere four days ago in Miami and landed in San Francisco, CA. a day or so later had more energy and gas to keep up with a well-rested, experienced Warriors team.

Though this game counted as one win — the Celtics have all the momentum heading into Game Two since they also stole home court advantage. Look for the Warriors to bounce back in Game Two on Sunday, June 5.

(Photo credit: Jim Poorten / Getty Images)