Boston made a quick turnaround with a massive lead against the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Boston secured a 120-108 lead at Chase Center in San Francisco to lead the series 1-0.
With a 92-80 advantage after three quarters, the Warriors were in command. Eventually, Boston pushed a 40-16 run in the final quarter, shooting 9-for-12 from beyond the arc.
In Game 1, Tatum, in his first NBA Finals appearance, got a taste of the Warriors’ adaptable defence. They forced him to transfer to teammates rather than collecting a lot of points by exploiting his exceptional qualities.
The Warriors then switched their defence on Tatum in the third quarter, practically pushing him to go on an individual onslaught. Tatum faced a major problem to switch between passing and scoring nodes.
That’s why the rest of the Celtics, beginning with Jaylen Brown, must step up to fill Tatum’s shoes. Brown lacks Tatum’s rebounding skills, but he is a capable slicer on the weak side who, more significantly, won’t hesitate. In the few minutes of the fourth quarter, he had 10 points and two assists for the Boston.
Despite their victory, the Celtics’ performance in Game 1 was far from ideal. In the first quarter, the Warriors attempted to make Stephen Curry work aggressively, in contrast to their defence of Tatum. Curry retaliated by hitting 7-for-9 from the field, notably 6-for-8 from beyond the arc. He made a whole contribution of 21 points in the first quarter. By assaulting Curry, neither Tatum nor Brown gained enough.
The Warriors must be grateful for the comeback of Andre Iguodala and Otto Porter Jr., who played remarkably well on Thursday. Despite taking a head-on collision in the opening game of the series and losing home advantage as a consequence. Iguodala, who is 39 years old, had seven points and three assists after hitting a 3-pointer and completing an athletic alley-oop. Porter Jr. was 4-for-5 from three-point range and had two steals for his side.
Tatum was typically quick to come back after a poor performance, and his 3-for-17 points were never less than his best. He and Brown can have a good conversation on how to prevent on front.
Game 2 of the final series is scheduled to be played at the same venue on Sunday.
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