Final thoughts
It’s the least surprising thing in the world that the Warriors tied up the NBA Finals at 1-1 although, if you happen to be a Celtics fan, it has to be annoying that they lost what was a one-possession game at halftime in blowout fashion after committing so many lazy turnovers. You can’t do that against any team especially not Maybe The Greatest Third Quarter Team In NBA History.
The good news for Boston is that the Celtics haven’t lost two games in a row this entire postseason and they will be playing at home in Game 3. One assumes their head coach has plenty of film for them to watch and mistakes that he needs to point out. We’ll continue our coverage of the 2022 NBA Finals here at the Guardian all this upcoming week but that will do it for today’s live coverage. Thanks to all who followed along with this liveblog, particularly those who contributed. Ciao!
The Warriors win Game 2!
The Golden State Warriors have evened out the NBA Finals 1-1. The series will continue on Wednesday in Boston’s TD Garden!
You can read a full report of the game here:
Updated
Celtics 88-107 Warriors, FINAL
Celtics 88-107 Warriors, FINAL
Veteran Nik Stauskas, who nearly quit basketball, is in for the Celtics and he hits a three-pointer. It won’t affect the final outcome but it’s nice to see him get a basket in a Finals game. The Celtics’ Malik Fitts gets the final meaningless points for Boston and that will do it.
Celtics 82-107 Warriors, 1:38, fourth quarter
Luke “The Green” Kornet dunks. Poole hits a three-pointer. The clock mercifully ticks down without any whistles from the officials.
Celtics 80-104 Warriors, 2:44, fourth quarter
As expected, Kerr has called off the dogs. The ends of the benches are all out, so be prepared to see news names in the next few updates.
Aaron Nesmith makes a layup. Moses Moody gets a dunk.
Celtics 78-102 Warriors, 3:35, fourth quarter
Looney with a crowd-pleasing dunk. A lot fewer fans have left in the fourth this time around. The Warriors take a timeout. “This one feels done.” Yeah, it has for a while, ABC Broadcasting Crew.
Celtics 78-100 Warriors, 4:17, fourth quarter
The “Poole Party” continues as he splashes a three-pointer and honestly I feel ashamed at even typing that out. Somebody get Jordan Poole a less-embarrassing catchphrase.
Hey, Sam Hauser hit a three for Boston. Good for him!
Celtics 75-97 Warriors, 5:38, fourth quarter
All that the Warriors are giving up now are free throws. White is on the line and makes his free throws but, to be gentlemanly one assumes, promptly fouls Klay Thompson. Of course, he makes them.
White dunks and and that’s enough for the Warriors to take another team timeout.
Celtics 71-95 Warriors, 6:35, fourth quarter
Grant Williams gets on the free throw line after colliding with Draymond Green. He makes one of two free throws. That’s not going to move the needle, not now with basically half a quarter remaining.
Celtics 70-95 Warriors, 6:55, fourth quarter
Pritchard makes another basket. The announcers are wondering if Udoka replaced his starters en masse as sort of a “give them a different energy” here, sort of let the starters stew a little bit. I could see that as a long-term motivation thing.
Celtics 68-95 Warriors, 7:38, fourth quarter
Thompson hits a 16-footer. We’re reaching the point where we’re just getting stories from our announcers and not a lot of play-by-play. I don’t blame them.
Hey, a Boston basket! Pritchard snags a Nesmith assist for a layup. Rather smooth that.
Celtics 66-93 Warriors, 8:58, fourth quarter
And after that, Bjelica misses a layup. The Celtics defense is still playing hard, but the Celtics offense is almost nonexistent.
Can we just hit the “simulate game until end” option on this one?
Celtics 66-93 Warriors, 9:25, fourth quarter
Poole misses a layup but the Warriors get the the ball and Kerr calls a timeout, presumably to make sure they get a great shot here. Burying the C’s right here and now would be ideal. I’m sure he’d like to get his starters some rest here at some point.
Celtics 66-93 Warriors, 9:25, fourth quarter
Aaron Nesmith is getting minutes and considering how little Udoka likes to use him, that gives you an idea of where this one is going. It’s time to rest the starters unless there’s some sort of miracle run here.
Oh hey, Nesmith with a layup. Good for him.
Jayson Tatum now a minus-36 in this game.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) June 6, 2022
Career-worst: Minus-33 (11/24/21)
Tatum is playing a surprisingly terrible game for one in which he has scored 28 points.
Celtics 64-93 Warriors, 10:45, fourth quarter
Tatum misses, Thompson gets the rebound. Poole hits a jumper. Horford turns it over. Bjelica scores quickly and yeah that fast start by Golden State might have just ended the suspense. Boston takes a timeout.
Celtics 64-89 Warriors, 11:21, fourth quarter
And the Warriors score first. Payton makes a two-pointer to extend the lead.
Boston outscored Golden State 40-16 in the fourth quarter of Game 1.
— Morten Stig Jensen (@msjnba) June 6, 2022
If they do so again, they'll win by 1.
Yeah but they’re playing against a Warriors team that knows the Celtics are capable of doing it. I don’t think they believed in Game 1. Look for a more focused closedout here, especially since they know a Game 2 loss puts their season in serious jeopardy.
But the good news is that this is not over, so there’s reasons to continue reading this blog.
When that shot goes in, it’s not going to be your night. Sorry, Boston.
Celtics 64-87 Warriors, end of the third quarter
Tatum goes back on to the line, drawing a foul on Curry. He misses his first again but makes the second to cut the lead down to 15 points. Going to need a perfect defensive ending here…
They don’t get it, allowing a Looney layup. Then the C’s pick up their 16th turnover of the game with a shot clock violation. Poole scores with a jumper, White misses a long three and Poole, with the buzzer expiring, hits a near half court shop to top the Warriors’ perfect third.
Celtics 63-79 Warriors, 1:32, third quarter
Tatum goes to the line and makes one of two free throw. Curry goes for an early dagger three, but it’s nothing doing.
Celtics 62-79 Warriors, 1:54, third quarter
And another three-pointer from Curry to make it a 17-point Warriors lead. I don’t think the Celtics can rely on another magical fourth quarter.
Updated
Celtics 62-76 Warriors, 2:22, third quarter
And Derrick White travels right when it looks like the Celtics have the perfect chance to score. As always, whenever the Celtics have given them a free possession, they take advantage. Curry hits a three-pointer and the Warriors look as control as they have all game.
Celtics 62-73 Warriors, 3:13, third quarter
Marcus Smart picks up his fourth personal foul and Green goes to the line. He makes his first free throw while Payton Pritchard comes in to spell Smart. Green hits his second. I’d say Golden State absorbed that blow rather well.
Celtics 62-71 Warriors, 3:35, third quarter
Otto Porter Jr responds with a three of his own which is just what the Warriors needed: they want to vanquish all ghosts of their stumble towards the finish line in Game 1.
Celtics 62-68 Warriors, 4:16, third quarter
In the time it took to post that tweet I missed another Celtics turnover. The Warriors can’t convert and Grant Williams hits a three-pointer. Then Tatum does and it’s suddenly just a six-point game.
The Celtics out here with beautiful yet fruitless plays.
— Libby Crews (@libbycrews) June 6, 2022
This is an oddly poetic way to put it. There’s a beauty to this game, but of the frustrating kind.
Celtics 56-68 Warriors, 5:45, third quarter
The Warriors take a timeout. They’re up by 12-points now halfway through the third quarter: nothing can possibly go wrong from here, right?
Celtics 56-68 Warriors, 5:45, third quarter
And a technical foul on… Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. I love it when that happens, to be honest. Curry makes the technical free throw. Meanwhile, Brown misses a three-pointer on their end. Just a not-great shooting quarter for the Celtics here, credit the Warriors defense for some of that.
Celtics 56-67 Warriors, 6:51, third quarter
There’s Horford’s first basket of the game, a layup set up by Jaylen Brown. Brown gets called on a foul that the crowd wants to be a shooting foul on Curry. It is not by the letter of the rule (the announcers are complaining about the rule, but whatever). Curry’s shot isn’t good but he does get two fre throws and makes both of them.
Updated
Celtics 54-65 Warriors, 7:17, third quarter
Marcus Smart lands on Robert Williams. He’s a little wobbly and I don’t see how he’s still in the game. Plus, he fouls Wiggins. He misses his first free throw and Grant finally comes in for the ceremonial Changing Of The Williamses. Wiggins makes free throw number two.
Celtics 54-64 Warriors, 7:57, third quarter
Curry makes a jumper to keep pacing. Horford, also swarmed, can’t score. Thompson hits another layup and yep this is looking like another red hot Warriors third quarter.
Celtics 54-59 Warriors, 9:04, third quarter
Celtics have the ball out of the timeout. Looney gets called on a foul after Tatum gets swarmed in the paint. He goes to the line and makes two free throws.
Not sure what Robert Williams was doing there. He basically just set Jaylen Brown up for a sideline double team.
— John Karalis 🇬🇷 🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) June 6, 2022
Robert Williams is not healthy. He’s just not. I wonder if we see him shutdown shortly.
Celtics 52-59 Warriors, 9:21, third quarter
A defensive breakdown by Boston allows Looney an easy look at a dump. Brown throws another terrible pass, this time under heavy pressure, and at the other end Thompson finally hits a three and that will cause the Celtics to call a timeout. Looking like another big third quarter from the Warriors: that was a 7-0 run out of nowhere.
Celtics 52-54 Warriors, 9:54, third quarter
Al Horford attempts his first shot of the game. It’s no good, but nice to see him with the attempt. Brown and Curry attempt two not-ideal shots for no points.
Celtics 52-54 Warriors, 10:33, third quarter
Neither team can score to start their first few possessions. Rough game for Thompson, who misses a jumper. Brown hits a layup for Boston and Curry hits one to get the lead right back.
Start of the second half
Celtics 50-52 Warriors, 11:47, third quarter
And Draymond Green is the one to start the bad turnover brigade in the third quarter.
@HunterFelt I see you're doing The Guardian's Celtics coverage tonight. I don't understand basketball that much but, like the Bruins, I definitely want the Boston team to win.#GoCeltics
— Alison W (♿️⚾☕♀️🏳️🌈🇪🇺🇵🇸💙💛🌻) (@AlisonW) June 6, 2022
I’ll sum up the first half for casual fans: the Boston Celtics look like a superior team on offense an defense BUT they keep turning the ball over. The Golden State Warriors don’t look like their normal self but they are doing a fantastic job at capitalizing on the Celtics’ mistakes and thus have a two-point lead.
@HunterFelt all these turnovers are threatening to remove barn-burner status. No doubt both sets of coaching staff will use the break to stress the importance of good fundamentals when it comes to agricultural arson.
— Homelessness Advocate (@Roscommon_Cat) June 6, 2022
We’re at a virtual tie right now, two-point leads with 24 minutes to go are nothing in the NBA, so my second-half prediction is real simple: the team that takes care of the ball over the next two quarters will be the one that wins.
Sometimes it’s a simple game.
Al Horford didn't attempt a shot in the first half. The last time that happened (in a game where he played at least 12 minutes in the first half) was ... Nov. 24, 2007, the 12th game of his career. https://t.co/0RtNGjGGUB
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) June 6, 2022
Maybe get the guy who saved Game 1 going in the second half? Also: he’s really good at not turning the ball over. Just going to suggest that for the Celtics.
Barnburner definition
Don’t say that you didn’t learn anything from this liveblog. Courtesy of Merriam-Webster:
The ‘Barnburners’ were one of two competing factions in the New York State Democratic Party in the middle of the 19th century. The name was “in allusion to the story of an old Dutchman who relieved himself of rats by burning his barns which they infested.”
That sounds like what the Celtics are doing here with the turnovers.
Halftime thoughts
So, the officials just decided to reward Draymond Green for picking up a tech earlier in the game by allowing him to get away with a second.
This officiating crew has been utterly incoherent but Boston’s problems are almost entirely their own. It feels like could either be up 10 points if they stopped with the turnovers or down 10 points if the Warriors’ offense was firing like usual (other than the one 10-0 run).
Celtics 50-52 Warriors, end of the first half
Celtics 50-52 Warriors, end of the first half
Because the officials don’t want to kick Green out of a playoff game, they don’t call a double tech. Which is cowardly, kind of, but I get it!
Brown is on the line for three free throws. He misses the first, to the delight of the Warriors faithful. He makes the second and the third. The game is briefly tied, but once again the Celtics let the Warriors score close to the end of the quarter, this would be Wiggins with the basket. Celtics can’t answer in the few seconds remaining to them.
That could have gone better for both teams.
Updated
Celtics 48-50 Warriors, 54.3, second quarter
Green picks up another foul, his second personal. And we get a review on the altercation here between Green and Brown.
If this is a double tech, Draymond is out of here.
Celtics 48-50 Warriors, 55.0, second quarter
And now a foul on Smart, but it doesn’t put anybody on the line. Warriors can’t score on the possession and the Celtics throw it way again. (Heard that before?) Of course, the Warriors respond with an unforced turnover of their own.
Messy game still!
The Celtics can’t get anything going on the offense here. Wiggins, however, can with a layup.
Celtics 48-48 Warriors, 2:18, second quarter
Brown throws the ball away again and then Green makes them pay with a jumper of his own. Tatum, shooting much better than in Game 2, hits a shot to give the Celtics a lead. Briefly.
However, a Horford foul puts Green on the line. He misses the first but ties up the game with his second.
Celtics 46-45 Warriors, 3:16, second quarter
Derrick White is wide open for a three and he hits it! What would the Celtics be doing without him?
Celtics 43-45 Warriors, 4:02, second quarter
Celtics get the ball back out of the timeout and hits a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game.
Al has yet to take a shot & it’s almost halftime… would probably be good to try to get him involved on offense.
— Anna Horford (@AnnaHorford) June 6, 2022
The source is not unbiased but also not wrong.
Email from Jonathan Eastwood:
I’m listening on the radio while waiting to be seen at A&E, this sounds such a messy game. Golden State need a run with Steph back in the game as Boston won’t keep giving the ball away. Boston have come to play again.
No I think they can, in fact, keep giving the ball away is the thing, but you are spot on about the messiness of this game.
Celtics 40-45 Warriors, 4:52, second quarter
Again: this feels like one of those games that is immensely winnable for Boston, but they refuse to make things easy for themselves. Warriors cap off a 7-0 run with a jumper and then make it a 10-point lead with a Wiggins three.
The Celtics take a timeout for them to try to figure out why they keep doing this to themselves.
Celtics 40-40 Warriors, 5:48, second quarter
Out of the timeout, Curry settles things with a jumper and then snatches another bad Celtics pass that seemed to be thrown right towards him. He hits another three pointer after that, just to make sure that they are made to learn from their mistakes. You can’t do that and expect to win this game.
@HunterFelt for your international readers, can we just clarify that a 'barn-burner' is a good thing? Because it doesn't sound like a good thing...
— Homelessness Advocate (@Roscommon_Cat) June 6, 2022
It’s a very good thing. It means an exciting contest. I always assumed that it had to do with musical events in the country that got so wild that they metaphorically “burn down the house” (in this case a barn) but this might be folk etymology.
Celtics 40-35 Warriors, 6:57, second quarter
White with a pull-up jumper. And then a three-pointer and that’s going to be enough for the Warriors, who looked lost on that last defensive possession, to call their own timeout.
Celtics 35-35 Warriors, 8:11, second quarter
Bjelica, who had a cameo in the closing seconds of Game 1, has another layup to tie up the game. We might have a barn-burner brewing here.
Celtics 35-33 Warriors, 9:09, second quarter
Nemanja Bjelica is in the game and he scores to tie the game, briefly, but Robert “Time Lord” Williams, back in the game, hits a layup to put the Celtics back on top.
Celtics 33-31 Warriors, 10:00, second quarter
Wiggins misses a point-blank layup. Thompson blocks White. Anybody want to score here? Thompson misses a jumper. Finally, finally, Tatum hits a three to put Boston back up and he’s got 16 points now.
Celtics 30-31 Warriors, 11:06, second quarter
I guess they’re calling Poole for trying to trip White. It doesn’t seem like an intentional act to me though. They’re reviewing it and say he was just protecting himself. Probably the right call. After all that, Brown just misses his shot. They should have just let that play continue.
Celtics 30-31 Warriors, 11:28, second quarter
And another Celtics turnover. Luckily, White blocks Poole’s layup. Poole does something that gets him called for a technical foul which I can’t see here to be honest.
Once the Celtics decide to stop turning the ball over, they’ll runaway with this.
— Dante Turo (@DanteOnDeck) June 6, 2022
If. But I agree with this tweet, I like the Celtics chances if they play with a little more focus. Sometimes, however, they don’t do that until the game’s nearly out of reach.
Celtics 30-31 Warriors, end of the first quarter
Oh this looks more like Game 1. Tatum hits a three that’s immediately answered by Payton II. Tatum shrugs it off and hits a three-pointer of his own. Oh and now it’s a contest, one which Poole is prepared to play. He hits one.
Looney strips Tatum but Curry ends up being the one who misses the first three-pointer. The bad start with Boston ends with them losing the lead: Otto Porter Jr. steals a Derrick White post and gets the ball to Curry who scores.
Unacceptable lack of composure from Boston to end the quarter: they should be up by 7-8 points and not down by one here.
Celtics 24-23 Warriors, 1:33, first quarter
Curry misses his first free throw, Golden State leaving a lot of points on the board early, but makes the second. Guess what happens next? Another Boston turnover: he loses control of the ball, Jordan Poole steal and Curry makes it a one-point game with a killer three-pointer.
Celtics 24-19 Warriors, 2:34, first quarter
Tatum, fouled by Payton, makes both free throws.
Theis gets a key rebound and then just throws it away. This is exactly what they can’t be doing.
And now Jayson Tatum picks up his second foul, putting Curry on the line.
Celtics are playing better than the Warriors but are also making a lot of poor on-the-fly decisions, feel like the Warriors are about to take a lead if this continues. I’m sure that’s partly what Boston head coach Ime Udoka is telling them now.
Celtics 22-19 Warriors, 2:47, first quarter
Looney with a dunk makes it a three-point game, they’ve crawled their way back into this and the Celtics take a full timeout, their first of the game.
Celtics 22-17 Warriors, 3:20, first quarter
And now Grant Williams gets called for a “common foul” which always sounded snobby to me. Curry goes to the line where he makes both of his free throws.
Celtics 22-15 Warriors, 3:37, first quarter
A foul on White puts Green on the line, where he goes 2-for-2.
Brown gets called for a second foul that puts Gary Payton II on the line after he misses the layup. Feels a bit ticky-tacky, but it’s been like that all game. Payton II misses the first free throw and the second free throw.
Ball don’t lie? Ball Don’t Lie.
Celtics 22-13 Warriors, 4:13, first quarter
Brown makes the tech free throw. Curry misses on his end and Brown hits a three-pointer. 13 points from him already.
Celtics 18-13 Warriors, 4:47, first quarter
Gary Payton II makes his long-awaited return to the lineup to applause from the home crowd. Meanwhile, Grant Williams makes a layup and then commits a foul, according to our officials at least.
Oh and Draymond gets call for a tech.
Celtics 16-13 Warriors, 5:21, first quarter
Thompson, out of the timeout, absolutely airmails a three-pointer. It’s okay, Brown misses the three-pointer just as badly. Oh here comes the bad turnovers for Boston, this one’s on Marcus Smart. The two sides start bring in their bench right around here: Grant Williams and Derrick White are in the game now.
Thompson finally hits a key basket here to make it a three-point game.
The good news it that I’ll be able to provide speedier score updates with the free time. The bad news is that I’m going to be on duty for like 30-45 minutes longer than on Thursday.
The officials weren’t involved in Game 1. That was a good time.
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) June 6, 2022
Celtics 16-11 Warriors, 6:47, first quarter
Tatum and Brown get called for back-to-back fouls. We’ll see if those end up affecting the rest of the game. The Warriors, meanwhile, take a timeout to plan what they’ll do with the ball on their next possession.
Celtics 16-11 Warriors, 7:01, first quarter
The Celtics make Curry work but he still gets close to the basket and hits the floater. Tatum hits a three-pointer that the Warriors would love to answer: And Draymond does! He makes a layup and draws a Horford foul, but can’t connect on his freebie (which ain’t always free).
Celtics 13-7 Warriors, 8:18, first quarter
Smart attempts a three that would have forced a Warriors timeout had it gone in. It doesn’t however and Looney cuts the lead to six-points on the other end.
Celtics 13-5 Warriors, 9:06, first quarter
Brown tries one from the same spot and hits it but Looney dunks to end the Celtics run. Tatum then scores his first points of the game. Brown then drives to the basket, making the shot plus drawing a foul on Wiggins. He makes his free throw.
Celtics 5-3 Warriors, 10:26, first quarter
The Celtics get the ball again but the Warriors force Robert Williams out of bound. Wiggins scores first for the Warriors but Jaylen Brown responds with a three pointer. Smart then adds to the Celtics early lead with a jumper.
Opening Tip
Celtics 0-0 Warriors, 11:45, first quarter
And we’re off! Celtics win the opening tip, and get the ball to Marcus Smart, who is immediately tied up by Draymond Green for another jump ball.
Posting this tweet is all I will say on the this, because I want to focus on basketball.
https://twitter.com/_brandoc/status/1533600167223508993
National anthem
Cee-Lo Green is performing the National Anthem. So much for “cancel culture.”
I am not going to grade this.
The pregame montage is on the Warriors: the narrative has shifted to them as the ones whose series is on the line. The Celtics have, in a way, done their job in guaranteeing a road split, so the pressure’s all on the Warriors.
Oddly enough, this is why I have Golden State, I don’t trust Boston when they start feeling good about themselves, that’s when they start committing unforced errors and... wait, am I describing myself here as well?
Hopefully, I recover from this accidental personal insight in time for Opening Tip, which is coming soon.
A note, the shirts that the Celtics and Warriors were wearing while warming up weren’t just platitudes, they included links to relevant organizations.
These are the shirts that Steve Kerr and Ime Udoka were wearing before the game. All the information currently on the Jumbotron here at Chase… pic.twitter.com/xCQ1kYpxPT
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) June 5, 2022
Golden State Warriors starting lineup
Steph Curry, G
Klay Thompson, G/F
Draymond Green, F/C
Kevon Looney, C
Andrew Wiggins, F
Boston Celtics starting lineup
Jayson Tatum, G/F
Jaylen Brown, G/F
Marcus Smart, G
Al Horford, F/C
Robert Williams III, F/C
Stephen A. Smith got beeped! That is your news about this pregame show.
A quick bit of “around the league” news: Quin Snyder has stepped down as coach of the Utah Jazz, citing the team’s need for new blood. He’s probably right, given that the team is perhaps overdue an overhaul.
It’s amusing that he waited until the Los Angeles Lakers hired their own head coach before making the announcement. Certainly, they would have at least wanted an interview.
Predictions
I had the Celtics winning one of two on the road to start this series, so ultimately, I think I’m going to be right here in a more general sense. Of course, I had them winning this game originally, not Game 1. So, in a more accurate sense of the term, I was wr- wr- wrong the first time. Whatever it all will come out in the wash.
So to make my broader prediction true, I must predict the Warriors winning today to even out the series. Maybe Warriors 101-98 Boston Celtics. Yes, I have this one coming down to the wire.
Yep, this is how my brain works. Nope, I have no real basketball argument to back that statement up other than “vibes” (and the fact that the Celtics have had a problem with, uh, not riding momentum after big wins this postseason). This just feels like a long, chaotic series so why not guess on whatever result ruins as many narratives as possible. That’s just my own prediction, you can either email hunter.felt.freelance@theguardia.com or tweet @HunterFelt with a prediction of your own and we’ll include it here as we make our way to Opening Tip.
Pregame Wear
Both the Celtics and Warriors wore orange shirts before the game with “End Gun Violence” messages. A nice gesture and it’s always nice to see two teams come together shortly before they dedicate the next few hours to destroying each other.
“Awareness and change needs to happen,” says Celtics coach Ime Udoka, commenting on both teams wearing the “End Gun Violence” shirt. #nbafinals pic.twitter.com/Bw4BDO1G6L
— Alisha Miller (@alisha_m_miller) June 5, 2022
There is a show called “The Final Straw” that ABC is doing now (produced by Peyton Manning) and... this is just Jenga: The Television Show?
Injury report
Potentially bad news for Golden State. Game 1 featured a clean injury slate (even Boston’s Sam Hauser ended up playing, albeit when the benches were emptied), but Game 2 will not. A few hours ago it was announced that veteran Andre Iguodala would be out with knee swelling. He’s really been more of a part-time player for the Warriors, but he’s still been a capable contributor and the Warriors would rather have him available than not.
The good news however far outweighs the bad. After being available in an emergency capacity for Game 1, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has said that Gary Payton II should be available to play off the bench tonight. The son of defensive whiz Gary “The Glove” Payton (in case you wanted to feel old), Payton II (who has been nicknamed “The Mitten”) has been a key part of the Warriors’ resurgence this season.
Preamble
You can’t predict basketball. When the Golden State Warriors built up a 12-point fourth-quarter lead on the Boston Celtics, I predicted thusly: “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.”
Well, I was half right. The Celtics did indeed have to play flawless defense, holding the most potent offense in the Western Conference to a mere 16 points, but Tatum didn’t score a single point from there on out. In fact, he only scored 12 points on Thursday, the same amount of assists that he dished out (credit Tatum for not letting an off shooting night from preventing him from helping out his team in other ways).
So, the Warriors lost a double-digit lead late, at home, on a day where they had done all they could do to contain their opponent’s best player. Now they’re down 0-1 in an NBA Finals where nearly everybody (including this writer) had them as favorites. That means today’s Game 2 is the biggest game they’ve had to play since Kevin Durant was still in the lineup.
So, do they come back tonight with a huge win or do the Celtics ride the momentum of their shocking Game 1 win and take a stranglehold on the 2022 NBA season. I have my own predictions, but I’ll wait and let you guess what they could be. Let me just say that this postseason is like the final season of “Better Call Saul.” It’s not going to go the way any of us think.
What you can predict is that we’ll use your thoughts, questions and/or concerns throughout this liveblog. You can email them to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or tweet them to @HunterFelt and we’ll post them throughout today’s game. It’s Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors at San Francisco’s Chase Center. Opening tip is scheduled at sometime after 8:00 pm EST but we’ll be back well before then with further updates, predictions and an occasional amusing timewaster.
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, here are a few thoughts on Game 1:
Sometimes it’s hard to find the right words, whether competing in the National Spelling Bee or Thursday night’s other high-profile, high-pressure contest, the first game of the NBA finals.
Al Horford kept it simple. No fancy phraseology, no straining for meaning. “My guys found me tonight and I knocked ‘em down,” Horford said on ABC after his central role in the Boston Celtics’ stunning and strange 120-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors. “A lot of fun.”
A contest that began with the Stephen Curry three-point production line working overtime ended with the much less predictable spectacle of Horford scoring from distance and inspiring his teammates to do the same as they overturned a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
A 15-year NBA veteran making his first finals appearance a day before his 36th birthday, Horford top-scored for the Celtics with 26 points, including a career-high six three-pointers. In the joint-most dominant quarter in NBA finals history, the Celtics were rampant towards the end, sinking seven three-pointers in succession on the way to going nine for 12.
You can read the full report below:
