Final thoughts
The Boston Celtics have stolen home field advantage from the Golden State Warriors after pulling off a 12-point comeback in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. It’s hard to imagine a more impressive start than that and it’s also difficult to believe that the Warriors won’t go back to the drawing board and start Sunday’s Game 2 with a chip on their shoulder. This is not going to be a sweep, that seems pretty obvious after the back-and-forth battle between these two teams today.
We will be back on Sunday to cover Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Stick with the Guardian all throughout this series, no matter how many games it lasts, as the Golden State Warriors face off against the Boston Celtics for the 2022 NBA title. That, however, will wrap up today’s live coverage, thanks to all who followed along with us. Ciao!
Boston Celtics take Game 1
Yas K:
Al Horford is a legend!
Interviewed after having a huge performance in his first NBA Finals game ever just nonchalantly calls it “fun.”
Celtics 120-108 Warriors, FINAL
Celtics 120-108 Warriors, FINAL
It’s bench-emptying time. No team wants one of their starters to get injured in a blowout. Here comes names like Luke Kornet and Nemanja Bjelica. Good for them, it’s always nice to say that you saw the floor in an NBA Finals game. In fact, Bjelica hits three-pointer for the Warriors to cut their final deficit by three before the final buzzer.
The Celtics have won Game 1 of the NBA Finals!
Updated
Celtics 120-105 Warriors, 48.3, fourth quarter
Thompson scores real quick but there’s no more time left. Plus, Horford makes a layup immediately afterwards. Green fouls him on the play and that probably will wrap things up for the Warriors here. Horford makes the and one and the Celtics, who have a 15-point lead, take a timeout.
This one is over.
Celtics 117-103 Warriors, 1:32, fourth quarter
Draymond Green gets called for an offensive foul that eliminates a Warriors basket. On the other end, Smart makes another three-pointer. They’ve gone 9-for-11 from three in this quarter and that might seal a huge Game 1 road win here.
Celtics 114-103 Warriors, 2:10, fourth quarter
37 three-pointers in this game, which is a record according to the graphic they put up. Make that 38, as Smart eventually ends Boston’s possession with another one.
Celtics 111-103 Warriors, 3:17, fourth quarter
A score here would be huge for Boston. And they get it! It’s a Horford midrange-jumper to put them up by eight. The clock is starting to be an issue for the Warriors. However, Green gets fouled and gets a chance to cut into Boston’s lead…
And he misses both. Warriors could come to rue those gimmes. Boston takes a full timeout after Tatum secures the rebound.
Celtics 109-103 Warriors, 3:47, fourth quarter
After the timeout, the Warriors turn it over and Horford hits his second straight three. Six-point game. Wiggins can’t hit a three on his end. Neither can Pritchard. The ball is in Curry’s hands and he misses. Dodging bullets, they are.
Pritchard snares the rebound and the Celtics call a timeout to slow things down.
Well that’s as close to perfect as you could expect the Celtics to start the fourth quarter but there’s zero chance that the Warriors don’t have a response ready.
Celtics 106-103 Warriors, 5:08, fourth quarter
You think Al Horford is glad to finally be in the Finals? He hits a 27-footer that puts the Celtics up by three and forces a dazed Warriors team to call a timeout and figure out what just happened.
What a ridiculous game this has been!
Celtics 103-103 Warriors, 5:40, fourth quarter
White, still the Big Shot Maker for the Celtics, hits a three to cut it down to a single point lead but Curry immediately answers to make it a three-point lead.
But only briefly! White with another three-pointer!
Celtics 97-101 Warriors, 6:47, fourth quarter
Now both teams are cooking. Klay hits a monster three, Brown hits a layup, Green dunks, Pritchard hits a three, Curry hits a jumper… (runs out of breath)
After all that it’s a four-point Warriors lead.
Celtics 92-94 Warriors, 8:22, fourth quarter
Out of the timeout, Brown steals the ball and gets into Pritchard’s hand for a two-pointer. The Warriors need to score soon… and they do on an Andre Iguodala dunk.
That Brown answers with a three. Two point game.
This is why Boston refused to break up Tatum and Brown: when one is having an off-night, the other one picks up the slack.
Celtics 87-92 Warriors, 9:35, fourth quarter
Brown hits a three-pointer and then Brown and the Time Lord combine for an alley-oop dunk that forces Warriors into calling a timeout. That’s a 7-0 Celtics run and that’s absolutely what they needed to do here. Can Golden State counterpunch?
Celtics 82-92 Warriors, 11:19, fourth quarter
Thompson misses a three-pointer, Brown hits a quick jumper. The Celtics do a good job here at making the Warriors work… and miss.
Celtics 80-92 Warriors, 11:19, fourth quarter
So, can Boston make up a 12-point deficit? Not impossible, but Tatum is going to need a big game and the defense will have to be flawless.
We’ve seen it before.
Except he misses his first shot of the quarter.
Email from Yas K:
G’day Hunter.
Bit odd to consider Celtics underdogs but they are. Hope this storied institution can somehow pull off what Cavaliers did.
Don’t think it’s going to be this game, unless they play a perfect 12 minutes of basketball. I think this still will be a fairly competitive series.
Celtics 80-92 Warriors, end of the third quarter
Miserable way to close out a miserable quarter for the Celtics: Pritchard puts Poole on the line for two free throws. He makes them. Williams gets a dunk to cut the lead down to eleven points.
Iguodala hits a three! Disaster.
Yet, the Warriors end up fouling White with just 1.6 seconds left in the game. Also, not ideal. White gets both free throws and that will wrap up a dominant third quarter for the Warriors.
Celtics 76-87 Warriors, 52.4, third quarter
Brown hits a layup to finally stop the Warriors run. Then, White stops the clock by drawing a foul and goes to the line to cash in two freebies (yes a mixed metaphor, but I’m pressed for time).
Celtics 74-87 Warriors, 1:38, third quarter
Poole gets free throws (the foul is on White) he makes both. Porter finally misses his first three but the Time Lord fouls Wiggins and puts him on the line, he makes both free throws and pulls off a nifty steal.
Celtics 72-83 Warriors, 2:57, third quarter
White tries to calm things down with another three-pointer but Porter once again answers. Horford hits one himself but the Celtics can’t afford to trade baskets because they have a lot of ground to make up.
Celtics 66-80 Warriors, 3:43, third quarter
Curry gets on the line, and gets a foul on Tatum, where he then calmly makes both. As one would expect. Horford can’t hit a three and Porter secures a rebound. Celtics teetering.
AND POOLE HITS A THREE!
Celtics 66-75 Warriors, 4:02, third quarter
Huge block by Looney on White and then Smart BUT Tatum finally hits a floater. Great defense, better offense.
Celtics 64-75 Warriors, 4:33, third quarter
It feels like the Warriors have a chance to put their foot down right here and right now but no leads are safe here in this game, I feel. I’ll be honest I was expecting far less back-and-forth. This could be a super-fun series.
Out of the timeout, Looney tips in his miss and makes it a 7-0 Warriors run.
Celtics 64-73 Warriors, 5:19, third quarter
Tatum turns it over giving the ball back to Golden State. It’s their time for a timeout.
Celtics 64-73 Warriors, 5:19, third quarter
Tatum only has 10 points. He’s going to need to have one of his patented big fourth quarters for the Celtics to win this one. Meanwhile Brown—who has been committing his trademark travels for most of the game—finally picks up his first foul.
Celtics 64-73 Warriors, 5:58, third quarter
Key stretch for Boston here in what has been a rough third quarter. They can’t get anything going in their ATO play and Curry adds to his point total with a mere two.
Updated
Celtics 64-71 Warriors, 6:59, third quarter
Someone want to call a timeout? Just for my sake? No?
Now Horford gets called for a foul putting Looney on the line. He makes both of them but Horford answers with a three.
But Wiggins hits a longball right back and finally Boston calls a timeout.
Celtics 61-66 Warriors, 8:19, third quarter
And the Splash Brothers hit back-to-back baskets as Thompson makes a jumper to push up the Warriors lead. Green gets called for a foul on Horford, who hits one-of-two free throws.
Celtics 60-64 Warriors, 8:36, third quarter
As predicted, Curry has rediscovered his stroke during halftime and makes another three to push his team ahead.
Celtics 60-61 Warriors, 9:43, third quarter
Smart puts up the first Boston points of the second half but Wiggins immediately answers with a jumper. A Green foul puts Tatum on the line and he cuts the Golden State lead down to one.
Start of the third quarter
Celtics 58-61 Warriors, 11:17, third quarter
Wiggins gets a three-pointer to start the third so now Boston are starting the quarter down. Curry gets back into scoring as well, nailing a floater to increase the Warriors lead.
Celtics starters have zero fouls
— fendo (@dancingwithnoah) June 3, 2022
Meanwhile, as bears repeating, Curry already has three.
In case you were wondering why we call Boston’s Robert Williams III as the Time Lord? Well here’s the story, if you need some halftime reading.
Halftime thoughts
I am already exhausted. So might be Steph Curry, who didn’t score a single point in the second half after hitting six three-pointers in the first. Expect him to come out of halftime refreshed and dangerous. The Celtics’ two-point lead does not feel like a lead at all: it almost feels like they’re still going to be playing from behind in the second half.
They should probably play it as if they are, to be honest.
Celtics 56-54 Warriors, end of the first half
Celtics 56-54 Warriors, end of the first half
Wiggins ties it up but Curry picks up his third foul. Tatum goes on the line, trying to tip the scales back in Boston’s favor. Poole replaces Curry for the rest of the quarter while Tatum drains his free throws.
Celtics force Porter into a huge out-of-bounds turnover and that’s effectively the end of the first half.
Updated
Celtics 54-51 Warriors, 1:31, second quarter
Porter hits yet another three to put the Warriors back up by one. On the other end: yet another Brown travel. Oof. Curry is looking to score in this second quarter… but gets called for an offensive foul. On the other end, Horford hits a three and Boston pops back up front.
Celtics 51-49 Warriors, 2:32, second quarter
Brown steals the ball from Wiggins and gets it to Smart for a game-tying layup. Brown then gets fouled by Wiggins and gets to the line with a chance to untie it. He does, nailing two free throws.
Celtics 47-49 Warriors, 3:35, second quarter
Warriors force Boston into a shot clock violation. Then Brown gets called for traveling. The last thing the Celtics need to do here is commit unforced turnovers.
Celtics 47-49 Warriors, 4:15, second quarter
Boston’s defense has started to get stops and that’s been the key to this turnaround. Unfortunately for them, Kevon Looney immediately breaks the stalemate with a made basket.
Celtics 47-47 Warriors, 5:01, second quarter
And Brown makes it a one possession game! And then ties it with a jumper! Back-to-back baskets for Brown and the Warriors take THEIR timeout! Let’s start over!
Celtics 43-47 Warriors, 5:58, second quarter
Marcus Smart cuts the lead to four with a long-two, hit while falling.
The “dying by the three” is the normal consequence of this strategy.
So the Celtics plan is to make more 3s than the warriors?
— Eddie Gonzalez (@bansky) June 3, 2022
But also shoot a hunch of contested 3s…
But also let the warriors get a few wide open ones along the way?
Not sure I’m on board with this philosophy
Celtics 41-47 Warriors, 6:59, second quarter
Golden State’s double-digit lead doesn’t last: Brown hits a pull-up jumper and the Time Lord Robert Williams forces a timeout with a dunk that cuts the Warriors’ lead to six points.
Celtics 37-47 Warriors, 7:36, second quarter
After the timeout, Jordan Poole picks up his first foul. Not a lot of those so far, although maybe I just jinxed it. Brown attempts a three on Boston’s possession, and it’s no good. Then—of course—White picks up his second foul. Warriors can’t convert either.
Tatum: no go. Finally, Thompson hits a huge three.
Celtics are 8 for 17 from beyond the three-point line. Warriors are 9 for 17, and six of those are courtesy of Steph Curry.
Celtics 37-44 Warriors, 8:37, second quarter
Boston living by the three, even Daniel Theis has hit one now but inbetween the first points from Andre Iguodala and Jordan Poole to keep the Warriors just ahead.
However one more Porter triple forces Boston into their second timeout.
Celtics 34-37 Warriors, 10:44, second quarter
Otto Porter Jr hits the first shot of the second quarter from Golden State, a three. Payton Pritchard answers for Boston. Green answers with a two and White one-ups him with a three. Still little defense here.
Updated
@HunterFelt https://t.co/z9ZsXafilf
— The Lesser Known Ides of May (@Roscommon_Cat) June 3, 2022
Any signs of Draymond's 'unique' defense as yet?
This has been more of an offensive game early on.
Celtics 28-32 Warriors, end of the first quarter
White has been a monster for the Celtics during this postseason and he continues to help the Celtics with a three-pointer they desperately needed. Meanwhile, Tatum gets fouled on a made basket for an old school three-point play that he finishes on the free throw line. After all that, it’s a one-point game.
Oh but Curry does his Curry thing and hits his sixth three of the first quarter. Wow, Boston has not seen an offense like this in ages (and that’s just Steph).
Celtics 22-29 Warriors, 1:43, first quarter
A lot of bench players here at the end of the first quarter. Not coincidentally, we get a few bricks before Curry hit his FIFTH three-pointer. He already has 18 points!
This has not been a defensive clinic, which favors Golden State a lot.
Celtics 22-26 Warriors, 2:36, first quarter
But the Warriors continue to maintain separation. Thompson scores immediately. Luckily, old man Al Horford is there to respond. Grant Williams, in to spell Robert, fouls Curry who makes one of two free throws. After a few rare scoreless possessions, the Warriors take their first timeout.
Celtics 20-23 Warriors, 4:03, first quarter
Brown scores out of the timeout but Curry hits yet another three but Brown and Derrick White (now in the game) score. They are getting closer.
Celtics 14-20 Warriors, 5:55, first quarter
Okay a lot happens before the Celtics take their first timeout. Tatum misses two free throws. The Celtics resort to trading baskets while behind and then a Curry triple forces our first break in the action.
Updated
Celtics 9-12 Warriors, 8:08, first quarter
And now both offenses have heated up. Thompson hits a three. Curry and Wiggins score layups, with a Smart three in between.
Celtics 6-5 Warriors, 9:50, first quarter
Tatum ties it with a three, Wiggins makes a layup and Smart adds a three his own.
Celtics 0-3 Warriors, 10:50 first quarter
Warriors score first on a Steph Curry three. Seen that before.
Updated
Opening Tip
Warriors 0-0 Celtics, 11:21, first quarter
And we’re off! Celtics win the opening tip but can’t score on their first possession.
I got this reference.
boston is gonna strike back with augustana for game 3
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) June 3, 2022
National Anthem
Alright, pregame announcements time! It’s getting close.
Neal Schon plays an instrumental version of “The Star Spangled Banner”: ALWAYS THE SUPERIOR OPTION. (8/10)
Boston Celtics starting lineup
Jayson Tatum, G/F
Jaylen Brown, G/F
Al Horford, F
Marcus Smart, G
Robert Williams III, C
Golden State Warriors starting lineup
Steph Curry, G
Klay Thompson, G/F
Draymond Green, F/C
Andrew Wiggins, F
Kevon Looney, C
The pregame predictions are in from our experts. Clean sweep for the Warriors. What, you were expecting Magic Johnson to go with Boston?
The Boston Celtics’ biggest strength and biggest weakness
On one hand the Celtics have had the best defense in the NBA in the regular season and the postseason, which should make this a challenge for Golden State. However, there’s one trick that the Warriors could exploit: their propensity for turnovers.
As Zach Kram in The Ringer has pointed out: “The Celtics are allowing an extra 3.6 points per 100 possessions in transition in the postseason, per Cleaning the Glass—the worst mark for any team that reached the second round.”
This is something that anybody watched Boston’s hot-and-cold performances in the last two series could probably have assumed. The Warriors, who have a superior defense, could easily make this a short series if that trend continues.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum wearing one of those outfits you can only get away with if your team wins the game.
Look who raided Harvey Dent's closet. https://t.co/6ftsOgtxck
— Hunter Felt (@HunterFelt) June 2, 2022
Prediction
Rest vs Rust is one of the oldest arguments in sports: is it better for a team to get extended time off or does that lead to complacency? The answer, I think, depends on the team and in this case, it feels quite obvious that the Warriors have too much Finals experience to be caught unaware here. The Celtics have barely had time to catch a break and it’s not certain how healthy Smart or Williams are.
I feel like this is a mostly comfortable Golden State win. The Celtics will win at least one road game in this series, they have been the best road team in the league this season, but I don’t think this is the one. I’m guessing Warriors 110-98 Celtics.
I could be wrong! Certainly everyone here in MA is hoping I am. Your thoughts? Once again, you can email them to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or Tweet them to @HunterFelt and we’ll include them here in the early goings of this game.
Draymond Green, who annoyed the Miami Heat (and possibly extended the Eastern Conference Finals) by saying they were going to face Boston in the Finals gives some love to the Celtics. A lot of respect between these two franchises who have a lot of winning in their past.
In fact, the Celtics are the only team to have a winning record against the Warriors in the Steve Kerr era. Key stat or useless trivia? We’ll see.
“Your Musical Guest…”
I prefer to think of Neal Schon as a Santana guitarist rather than a Journey one, but that’s still a cool National Anthem performer. San Francisco always has the cooler musicians it seems and I take no pleasure in saying that at as a Bostonian (albeit via Florida).
The NBA has released the following list of celebrities at tonight's Finals opener.
— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) June 3, 2022
The challenge is on for Boston when the series shifts east for Game 3. Gotta be a two Wahlberg minimum at the Garden. And a Tacko sighting would clinch the W. pic.twitter.com/sRYtXUaCsE
Lack Of Injury Report
Good news for the Celtics, center Robert Williams is scheduled to start today, although he may be playing limited minutes. Ime Udoka has said to expect him to play around 20 minutes.
Meanwhile on the Warriors’ side: Gary Payton II, Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter Jr are all cleared. That’s right: a totally clean injury report for the first time all postseason.
Ime Udoka said Robert Williams will start tonight. He can play however minutes are necessary, but that the Celtics will try to keep his minutes down to keep him around 20 minutes for his best impact.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 2, 2022
Preamble
If you had the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors as the last two teams standing at the start of the season, something which last happened in the 1964 NBA Finals well… I really hope you bought lotto tickets.
Nobody knew exactly what the Warriors would look like after missing Klay Thompson for such a long stretch of time. Meanwhile, the last time the Celtics were in the NBA Finals was 2010 where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. They had a rough regular season as well, having to adjust to a new head coach in Ime Udoka and were working without an All-Star point guard.
Yet here they both are. The Warriors look a lot like their older selves and the Celtics have taken their long-awaited next step after they installed Marcus Smart at the point guard position. In the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors took care of the Dallas Mavericks in five games while, in the East, the Celtics struggled to put away the Miami Heat, needing the full seven games. Smart and starting center Robert Williams are banged up and the team has not had the benefit of an entire week’s off like the Warriors.
Steph Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green aren’t quite their old selves, but they look much closer to them than anybody would have expected. The Warriors have also benefited from an infusion of young talent, most notably Jordan Poole, and have rejuvenated the career of Andrew Wiggins after rescuing him from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It’s hard not to think that Golden State—who will have home court advantage in the Finals—has the upper hand, but Boston (who began the season struggling to stay at .500) has beat all sorts of overwhelming odds this year. Just ask the Milwaukee Bucks who dropped a 3-2 series lead against them earlier this postseason. They have won 26 of their final 35 games and have yet to drop two straight in the playoffs. They are poised to give Golden State a run for their money.
As always, we want to hear from you throughout this liveblog. If you have questions, comments, predictions or random wisecracks, you can send them to us either via email (to Hunter.Felt.Freelance@theguardian.com) or via Twitter (to @HunterFelt). We’ll include them throughout today’s game. It’s Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics vs the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Opening tip is scheduled at 9:00 pm EST, and almost certainly will be later than that, but we’ll be back well before then.
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how our panel see the series going:
Warriors 4-2 Celtics. There is plenty of nuance in predicting who hoists the Larry O’Brien trophy. But let’s keep it simple: We’ve lived through too many years of basketball to bet against a healthy Stephen Curry, who is still the greatest shooter the NBA has ever seen. Claire de Lune
Warriors 4-2 Celtics. Let’s focus on coaching and experience. Or, in Boston’s case, the lack thereof. Ime Udoka has done an outstanding job reaching the finals in his first season as head coach but he made some questionable decisions at the end of the season. Steve Kerr and his core have been here many times before: that experience could prove crucial under the bright lights of the finals. Tyrell Feaster
Warriors 4-2 Celtics. These Celtics could pull off the upset: while they had a rocky start to the season, struggling to maintain a .500 record while rookie head coach Ime Udoka adjusted to his new role, Boston ended up being the best team in the NBA since the start of 2022. However, their inexperience forced them to play more games in the postseason than they probably should have. Look for them to score a big road win before the Warriors take control of the series. Hunter Felt
Celtics 4-3 Warriors. It’s conventional to side with Golden State, who have the edge in experience and the home-court advantage. However, this Celtics team appears predestined. They decimated a Nets team led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving; they bottled up Giannis Antetokoumpo just enough to eliminate the defending champs; they outlasted a top-seeded Heat side. It’s a team that will not be denied, even against the more proven Warriors squad. AR Shaw
