The Golden State Warriors have been at this stage far too many times to have the meltdown they did Friday night.
Steph Curry and Co. led the Boston Celtics by 12 heading into the fourth quarter in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. From there, the Celtics started hitting shot after shot, smacking the Warriors in the final 12 minutes to end up winning 120-108.
Jaylen Brown hit a step-back jumper and 3-pointer in the first two minutes of the frame to give the Celtics life, and after chipping away at the deficit for the first half of the quarter, the floodgates really started to open for Boston as they outscored the hosts 40-16 in the fourth. All the experience and composure the Warriors had seemed to fly out the window, and their incredulity with what was unfolding was palpable.
Veteran NBA broadcaster Doris Burke was on the radio call of the game, and appearing Friday on “The Lowe Post” podcast, she shared what she found most stunning about it.
“That fourth quarter, Jaylen Brown sort of triggering that fourth quarter, it took the complete air out of the building,” Burke said. “A loud, excited, confident crowd, just like the Golden State Warriors – I’m going to say two things – Jaylen Brown triggered it. And the most shocking thing to me, and I think I used it on the radiocast, the Golden State Warriors looked shaken for a few minute stretch of action. For the team that had the finals experience, the game experience by a wide margin, it was the Boston Celtics who responded in the fourth.”
Again, the Warriors are experienced enough to figure out how to stop the bleeding in such a moment. Any way you slice it, the fact that they couldn’t is a bad look.
But that’s in the past now, and the Warriors’ resilience will be tested again Sunday when they try to even the series in Game 2.
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