Celtics surprise Warriors in Game 1 of NBA Finals

The Boston Celtics pulled off a historic comeback to open as the 2022 NBA Finals approach. Trailing by 12 points to the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center in San Francisco at the start of the fourth quarter, the Celtics were in complete control of the game. After the final 12 minutes, the Celtics finished with a 12-point 120-108 victory to make it 1-0 in the Finals.

Boston did not fail in any aspect, led by the veteran center from the Dominican Republic, Al Horford, who scored 26 points in his first game in the Finals. The defense was more aggressive and differential with the changes designed by coach Ime Udoka and on offense they had an immeasurable success. The Chase Center witnessed a memorable fall.

El estreno ideal de @Al_Horford en #NBAFinals 🤩

26 puntos
6 rebotes
3 asistencias
6 triples #BleedGreen pic.twitter.com/qn0ewH3qdp

— NBA Latam (@NBALatam) June 3, 2022

Coming from a 12-point deficit to the 120-108 final made the +24 scoring margin the largest in history for any quarter of the Finals, according to ESPN statistics. Boston pulled out the epic to turn the game around like never before seen in the ring series.

In addition, they started the quarter with a perfect start: a 17-0 run. Specifically, that 17-0 run was signed by Al Horford (8), Marcus Smart (6) and Derrick White (3). Defense and three-pointers as an infallible formula to beat Steve Kerr's Warriors with their own weapons. The Dominican was the hero of the Celtics, but Jaylen Brown with 24 points and Jayson Tatum with a double-double of 12 points and 13 assists, acted as his teammates. Steph Curry's 34 points, 7 of them three-pointers, were of little use.

Al Horford desde Puerto Plata 🎯🇩🇴#NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/8sCtHZRmjO

— NBA Latam (@NBALatam) June 3, 2022

It's hard to imagine a more impressive start than that, and it's also hard to believe that the Warriors won't come back with extra motivation for Sunday's Game 2. This isn't going to be a sweep, that seems pretty obvious after the back-and-forth battle between these two teams this Thursday, so the series could be defined in six or seven games.

The Celtics and Warriors have met four times in the playoffs, the first three times in the Eastern Conference Finals before the Warriors moved west from Philadelphia. The Celtics won all four meetings, including 1960 and 1962, the second and fourth seasons of their eight consecutive championships.

For Steve Kerr's Golden State, this is their sixth Finals appearance in eight seasons and the dynasty is seeking its fourth Larry O'Brien trophy, a feat that could cement the team among the best of all time. But Boston wants to pull on history and as the all-time winningest team, they won't make it easy for them.