SAN FRANCISCO — The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors in their own game.
Boston made its first seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to turn a 12-point deficit heading into the final period into a 120-108 win in Game 1, stealing an NBA Finals game at Chase Center on Thursday. .
The Celtics went 17-0 with nearly five minutes of play on 9-of-12 shooting in the fourth quarter.
Jaylen Brown finished with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the Celtics. Derrick White also had a good performance off the bench, scoring 21 points on five 3-pointers.
Al Horford, who made his first Finals appearance after 141 playoff games but didn’t make it to the final series, led the Celtics with 26 points, including six 3-pointers. The two teams combined for a Finals-record 40 3-pointers, breaking the previous record of 35 3-pointers set by the Cleveland Cavaliers and Warriors in 2017.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum struggled, finishing with 12 points and 13 assists on 3-of-17 shooting.
Stephen Curry started the 3-point barrage in the first quarter, but the Warriors couldn’t support his classic performance.
Curry scored 21 points in the first quarter, the highest score in a single quarter in the history of the finals, and made 6 of 8 three-pointers, setting a record for three-pointers in a single quarter in the finals. Of course, Curry also holds the previous Finals record of five 3-pointers made in a quarter (along with Ray Allen and Kenny Smith).
Curry had a game-high 34 points. Andrew Wiggins added 20 points for the Warriors.
Klay Thompson ranks second in playoff 3-pointers history, surpassing LeBron James. Curry is number one on that list. Thompson had 15 points and three 3-pointers on Thursday.
Warriors forwards Otto Porter Jr. (foot pain) and Andre Iguodala (neck) played after missing the first few rounds. Iguodala became the first non-Lakers or Celtics player to play in a seven-game Finals series.
Gary Payton II (broken elbow) was cleared before the game but did not play.
The loss was the Warriors’ first home game of the playoffs this season (9-1).
Game one: Celtics 120, Warriors 108 (Celtics lead 1-0)
Game two: Celtics at Warriors, Sunday, 8 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 3: Warriors at Celtics, Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 4: Warriors, Celtics, Friday, June 10 at 9 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 5: Celtics vs. Warriors, Monday, June 13 at 9 p.m. ET (ABC)*
Game 6: Warriors, Celtics, Thursday, June 16 at 9 p.m. ET (ABC)*
Game 7: Celtics vs. Warriors, Sunday, June 19 at 8 p.m. ET (ABC)*
* – if necessary