Tatum assures that he will “accept” to continue throwing badly if it implies that Boston wins
Green refuses to ‘panic’ as Kerr praises Celtics
the dominican Al Horford, who led the Boston Celtics on Thursday with 26 points and a marvelous fourth period in the 120-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors in the opening of the NBA Finals, assured that the greatest merit of his team was to “keep fighting” despite not having a particularly bright night. “We keep playing, they are a great team and for us it wasn’t the best game, but we keep fighting and find a way to win,” said Horford, the first Dominican to play in the NBA Finals, at a press conference after the game. from San Francisco.
“I am grateful for this opportunity. I am excited, delighted to share this with our group of boys,” he acknowledged. Horford, who will turn 36 this Friday, appeared at the press conference accompanied by his son: “She was with me all day, I asked if he wanted to come and here he is.”
Despite a tremendous start by Steph Curry, with 21 points in the first quarter, and trailing by 15 points in the third, the Celtics reacted with a tremendous last quarter, winning 40-16. Al Horford contributed 26 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, with a fantastic 6 of 8 in triples. “Golden State did a great job in the third quarter. For us the key was Brown because of how he started the fourth quarter and that was the start of something for us. That gave us confidence and we continued to grow,” he said.
He also showed his total confidence in Jayson Tatum, who this Thursday did not exceed 12 points, with 3 of 17 shots. “Those guys are expected to score, create play, pass the ball. Tonight, despite not being able to score much, he freed up his teammates and that shows his growth. He is the type of player who is always going to get results,” he said. .
Horford’s tremendous performance this season, and even more so in the playoffs, has made him one of the most beloved elements of the Celtics’ locker room, and Marcus Smart gave him heartfelt praise at the end of the Chase Center game. “No one deserves to be here more than him, because of how he takes care of him, because of his professionalism. He continues to string together great games, that’s what he does for us,” said Smart, one of the great leaders of the template.
Tatum: “If I keep shooting so badly and we keep winning, I accept it”
Jayson Tatum, leader of the Boston Celtics, assured this Thursday that he would accept to continue shooting with little success as long as his team continues to win. “I just tried to have an impact in other ways. Winning the game was the only thing I was worried about and we did it, it’s the only thing that counts. I don’t expect to keep throwing that badly, but if we keep winning, I accept it,” Tatum said at the wheel. San Francisco postgame press release.
“We’ve been in tough situations before and we’ve gotten out,” recalled Tatum, whose team will play Game 2 of the Finals this Sunday, again at the Chase Center. “In the last two series we lost the first game. At this point, you feel great when you win and fatal when you lose. You have to have balance, and more so now,” he said. Despite his shooting troubles, Tatum finished the game with a double-double of 12 points and 13 assists.
Jaylen Brown insisted at the end of the game on the resilience shown by his team this season, which saw him occupy the 11th position in the East until last January, before having a vertical growth. “We’ve been through a lot of times, through a lot of losses. Now we know what we need to win. It’s to the credit of our group, we’re resilient,” he said. “We all come to work every day, not only the players but also the coaches, the doctors… They all make an effort and do their job in the best way”.
Draymond Green: “There is nothing to panic about”
Draymond Green admitted Thursday that the Boston Celtics were the fair winners, but pointed out that the Golden State Warriors They shouldn’t lose their nerves or their north after this defeat at home that leaves them without home court factor. “Whether you win at home or not, you still want to win one away. And our history says we always win one away. So, you know, there’s nothing to panic about. This is about the first team to win four games, not the first to win one”, he pointed out to the media after the match.
Green had an unlucky night and finished the game with 4 points (2 of 12 shooting, 0 of 4 3-pointers), 11 rebounds and 5 assists. “My triples felt good and I will continue to be aggressive. They will end up going in, but today they didn’t,” he assumed, conceding that he has to “play better” and shoot more accurately in the next duels.
A devastating 16-40 run in the fourth quarter was the key for the Celtics to take the victory, but Green insisted that the Warriors will know how to come out ahead. “We mostly dominated the first 41 or 42 minutes of the game, so we’ll be fine,” he said.
Asked if they now have “no room for error” compared to their previous series against the Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks, Green said there is no room for error in the Finals. “I don’t think in the Finals you’re going to have room for error. That’s something this team has to understand. When you get to this point in the season, at this level, there’s no room for error. We’re two great teams and the The team that makes fewer mistakes is going to win the game and they did that,” he said.
Like Green, Klay Thompson didn’t have his night either (15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, 2 rebounds and 3 assists) and the forward pointed out that it was a loss as painful as it was strange for the Warriors. “It was a tough loss, especially the way we lost, blowing a 15-point lead (in the third quarter). Very, very rare for us,” he said.
Thompson followed Green’s example and pointed out that there is no reason for the Warriors to despair after losing this opener. “Best of all, we have another chance on Sunday (Game 2, also in San Francisco). We’re going home now and digest what happened. I know we’ll be better in Game 2,” he said.
For his part, and without making excuses for the defeat, Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors, praised the Boston Celtics. “You have to give them credit. I mean, they made 21 three-pointers (of 41 in the whole game). They moved the ball really well (…). They gave a good push in the beginning of the fourth quarter and kept that momentum,” he pointed out to the media after the match. “It’s going to be tough to beat Boston if they make 21 3-pointers and they have 11 of them between Al Horford (6-for-8) and Derrick White (5-for-8). Those guys, give them credit … Boston played a brilliant fourth quarter They came and won the victory,” he added.
The Warriors collapsed in a ruinous fourth quarter for San Francisco (16-40) and Kerr pointed out that the Celtics knew how to “take advantage of every opportunity”, every turnover and every bad possession of their team in the outcome. “We had a few poor offensive possessions, that led to transition shots for them and that changed the game,” he described. “If you give up 40 points in the fourth quarter and the other team makes 21 three-pointers total, it’s going to be tough to win,” he insisted.
In another sense, Kerr underscored the Celtics’ “size and athleticism” on defense. “They put a lot of pressure on you. But I think we had some really good times. We had 38 in the third quarter (24 for the Celtics). We had a good run there,” he said.
Kerr admitted it’s a painful loss for the Warriors, especially after “taking a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter.” “But it’s a seven-game series for a reason… Tomorrow we’ll review the game and see where we can improve. It’s just one game and you’re on to the next one,” he explained.