NBA News Roundup: Steph Curry breaks records in Finals Game 1, Kevin Durant lambasts TV analysts for bold opinion on Michael Jordan and Steph Curry, and more | June 3rd, 2022
The NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics are underway. Game 1 belonged to Jayson Tatum and Co as they erased a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 120-108. Veteran Al Horford led the charge for the side, bagging a team-high 26 points, with 11 of them coming in the final frame alone.
Meanwhile, Steph Curry waged a lone battle for the Warriors as he scored 34 points, five rebounds and assists each, and three steals. He started the game all guns blazing and made six of seven 3-pointers in the first quarter alone. But it was a lopsided battle in favor of the C's in the final 12 minutes ad fans can expect every match to be a close encounter from here.
Steph Curry breaks the record for making the most 3-pointers in a quarter in an NBA Finals game
Steph Curry put in a sublime performance against the Boston Celtics in Thursday's Game 1. The Dubs star scored 21 of his 34 points in the first quarter alone. The Warriors talisman shot seven of nine from the field. He made six shots from beyond the arc.
He broke the record for making the most 3-point field goals in a quarter in an NBA Finals game. Curry held the previous record along with Kenny Smith and Ray Allen, who have made five shots from the arc in a quarter during an NBA Finals game.
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6 3PM | 21 PTS Chef Curry was cooking up in Q1 👨‍🍳
🔥 6 3PM | 21 PTS 🔥
Q2 Live Now on ABC https://t.co/RthSWFC83h
Steph Curry has scored five or more 3-pointers thrice in a single quarter of an NBA Finals game.
Boston Celtics comeback to steal Game 1 against Golden State Warriors
The Boston Celtics displayed their resilience again during the Game of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Despite lacking experience of playing at this stage of the tournament, the C's maintained their composure down the stretch to seal the win. They were down 12 at the start of the final quarter. But they rallied back to win the crucial game in The Bay.
Al Horford and Jaylen Brown combined for 21 points in the 4Q.
If you took all those points off the board, the Celtics would’ve still won the quarter.
That’s how one sided it was. https://t.co/uYoU7wWsMV
Boston came out swinging in the closing 12 minutes of the match behind Jaylen Brown and Al Horford's heroic efforts. The former scored ten points on four of six shooting, while Horford scored 11, converting all four of his field-goal attempts.
Kevin Durant slams NBA TV analysts for bold claim on Michael Jordan and Steph Curry
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith made a wild claim recently, stating that Michael Jordan changed the game for the worse while Steph Curry made it better. This opinion upset many, including Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant. The former MVP has never shied away from voicing his opinion before and took to Twitter to take a dig at Smith and other TV analysts, saying:
"My theory is that guys like steve, skip and Shannon have changed the game for the worse. Playas like Stephen and Michael can only push the game forward."
My theory is that guys like steve, skip and Shannon have changed the game for the worse. Playas like Stephen and Michael can only push the game forward. twitter.com/firsttake/stat…
Stephen A. Smith was quick to hit back. He mentioned that analysts like him weren't going anywhere, and there would be several joining them along this route for years to come. KD ended that thread with a Stephen A snippet in which the ESPN presenter is heard saying, "we don't care."
Warriors Big-3 confident of bouncing back against Celtics
The Golden State Warriors' big three of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green remained confident despite their dismal loss in Game 1 against the Boston Celtics. Curry stated that the team has dealt with adversity before, and they will bounce back in Sunday's Game 2 matchup.
"It's not ideal, but we believe in who we are and how we deal with adversity," said Curry (via NBC Sports). How we've responded all year, how we respond in the playoffs after a loss. Learned a lot from that fourth quarter, obviously, they made a lot of shots."
Curry continued:
"We know they are a good team, so we've gotta respond on Sunday."
Steph is confident the Dubs will respond on Sunday https://t.co/jM2XJgeBAj
Meanwhile, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green share the same views as their co-star. Thompson believes the Warriors will be better in Game 2. He also said he "liked their chances" despite the fourth-quarter collapse in Thursday's match.
Green had a bolder opinion as he claimed the Warriors were the better team for most of the game. He said:
“We pretty much dominated the game for the first 41, 42 minutes. So, we’ll be fine.”
Celtics first team in NBA history to win a game by double digits after trailing by double digits
The Boston Celtics made history during their epic comeback win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
The Boston Celtics are the first team in NBA history to win a Finals game by double digits after trailing by double digits entering the 4th quarter.
Their win probability fell as low as 4 percent when they were down 15 near the end of the 3rd quarter. https://t.co/ce28lV5lsI
As per ESPN Stats and Info, it was the first time a team managed to win by double digits, despite trailing by double digits during a finals contest. Boston was lethal on both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter as they made nine 3-pointers while holding Golden State to only seven of 17 shooting from the field.