Getty Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
On June 2, the Boston Celtics surged to victory over the Golden State Warriors courtesy of a phenomenal fourth-quarter performance.
Led by Jaylen Brown, the Celtics’ offense began to cook down the stretch, with nine made three-point attempts in the final 12 minutes of play giving them a comfortable lead. However, things didn’t always look like they were going Boston’s way, as Jayson Tatum struggled to impact the scoring column, and the Warriors embarked on a big third-quarter run of their own.
Still, the Celtics’ performance to close out the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals has put everybody on notice and ensured they’re taken seriously from this point forward after being written off heading into the final series of the post-season.
Speaking after the game, Stephen A Smith told SportsCenter that he believes Boston’s roster is the perfect test for Golden State’s defense, primarily due to their size, length, and defensive ability.
“The key thing is that you couldn’t stop Jaylen Brown, and if you can’t stop Jaylen Brown, you know somebody else on Boston is going to get off. That’s the key here, they seem too big, they seem too physical, and obviously, they were more than capable of making shots.
Nine three’s in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors made a total of seven shots in the fourth quarter. This is a very bad sign, the series is far from over. Styles make fights, and the Golden State Warriors, after one game, look like they’re in some serious trouble,” Smith said.
Celtics Win With Team Effort
Despite Tatum’s cold shooting night, he was still able to impact winning by providing the Celtics with 13 assists and five rebounds, showing his growth as a playmaker and the improvements he’s made with his basketball IQ.
Still, when Tatum is struggling to see his shots fall, the Celtics need other members of the rotation to stand up and be counted, and against the Warriors, multiple guys stepped into the spotlight. Derrick White continued his recent good form, dropping 21 points on five-of-eight shooting from beyond the arc.
@DanKelley66 Credit to the Celtics, going with the hot hand in the 4th and stepping up their defense!
Al Horford ensured his impressive post-season continued, as he provided the Celtics with 26 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal, making him the highest-scoring player on Boston’s roster for the night. Jaylen Brown was also integral in Boston winning game one, as his fourth-quarter antics are what swung the game in the Celtics’ favor, while Payton Pritchard was also reliable from deep and got some good work done on the glass, finishing with six boards.
After spending most of the season being criticized for a lack of offensive weapons, the Celtics proved they have more than enough offense within their squad to help cover for when their stars are having an off night.
Draymond Green Takes Shot at Celtics
For non-Celtics fans, the easiest way to discredit their win and chances of lifting the NBA Championship is to point toward some uncharacteristic shooting from the team’s rotation players.
Speaking after the game, Draymond Green also took a similar line of thinking, noting how it’s unlikely that Horford and White combine for a total of 47 points in the remaining games of the series.
“They have guys that put pressure on the rim, so you’re going to have to rotate him. We’ll have to figure out where our next rotation is coming from and do it. They hit 21 threes, and Marcus Smart and Al Horford, and Derrick White combined for 15 of them.
The guys are good shooters, but they combined for, what, 15 out of 8; Smart, 7, 8, 15-for-23. My math right? 8, 7, and 8. Yeah, that’s 23, right. Yeah, 15-for-23 from those guys, eh, you know, so, we’ll be fine,” Green said when asked about Boston’s 51.2% three-point shooting on June 2.
Now, the Celtics will need to rest up and be ready to withstand the inevitable Warriors’ counterpunch, because if they do, Boston could be taking a two-game lead back home to the TD Garden heading into next week.