‘Feels like a playoff game’

BOSTON — The golden empire warriors back here on Thursday night for the first time since they beat Celtics in Game 6 to win the NBA championship in 2022.

For most of the 53 minutes of basketball that followed, it felt like a repeat of that game: lots of Celtics ugly passes, especially by Jayson Tatumaccompanied by poor shooting and sluggish attack.

However, on a night where the home team didn’t have much of an advantage, the Celtics did what they ultimately couldn’t do in last year’s Finals: find a way to win. And, thanks to a Brown Jaylen 3 pointers with 18 seconds to go by regulation and they survived a frantic finish to extra time, Boston managed to escape with a win 121-118.

“It felt like a knockout,” said Brown, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in 41 minutes in his first game back after an adductor strain kept him out. played last week.

“Their intensity, their force where they come from, it’s a game that I’m sure they want to win. We lost, what, five to seven [points] in the fourth, four, five minutes left. To be ready to fight again, that shows a lot of maturity. We’re taking steps in the right direction.”

It looks like the Celtics won’t be able to say anything about whether this game was a step in a positive direction for much of the night. After a tense first half that ended with the Warriors leading by one point after the first half thanks to Stephen’s Curry Stealing the ball from Tatum and delivering a half-court shot to the whistle, Boston was 11 points ahead in the second half.

But a strong push back into the proceedings in the 4th half saw Boston take the lead down to 3 and then equalize when Brown hit a 3-pointer after a misinformation. of the Golden State. Doing so helped Tatum avoid some particularly gruesome turns in the final 90 seconds of the regulation that, for a moment, seemed to give the Warriors victory.

However, despite their struggles – shooting under 40% from the field and making 17 spins became 24 Warriors – the Celtics point to how they recovered after that as a sign that things have turned out differently. with when they failed to do so last June in the Finals.

“For us, we talked about poise and physicality,” said Celtics interim coach Joe Mazzulla. “People ask, what have we learned [from losing in the Finals]? What have we learned? And I think what we’ve learned is that it takes a mindset to be successful. And it takes mindset to be a really, really good team in the NBA. And you can’t contradict that.

I think even though you played very, very well and we won, we will still have some moments like that. Yeah, we had some spins, we had some sort of play like, ‘That shouldn’t have happened.’ But it will happen.

“It’s just about the habits we’re developing to the mindset, the poise, the physicality, the execution, the ability to handle the chaos of an NBA game.”

That could also be questioned when, after an 8-point lead with 38 seconds remaining in extra time, Boston continued: foul Andrew Wiggins on a pointer 3; sales commitment; give up pointers 3 extensively; and nearly broke 24 seconds.

All that gave Jordan Poole a chance to land a half-court strike to equalize – but, unlike Curry’s late in the first half, it didn’t go as planned and the Celtics were able to survive. While the win didn’t make up for their defeat last June, it did help them avenge a heavy loss to the Warriors earlier in the season.

“I really feel like this year we’ve taken a step forward as a team, a little more mature in handling situations, good or bad,” said Al-Horford, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes. “Just kept playing and it showed tonight, because we made some big mistakes in the extended period, the end of regulation and injury time, and to be able to get through. that and get on with the game, don’t put yourself down and just think about what comes next, that’s what we did.

“I was encouraged to see that from our team, but I feel like we did much better this year.”

What is undisputed is the amount of energy and attention that has poured into this game from the participants. The crowd was excited from the start and focused on every moment throughout the action. Both coaches put their top players in the heavy minutes; Tatum played 48 minutes and did not feature after the first half, while Brown played 40 minutes in his first game back.

Meanwhile, Golden State have played Curry, Wiggins and Jordan Poole for at least 40 minutes each even though they have a game on Friday in Cleveland. Steve Kerr replaces Kevon Looney in the starting lineup with Poole, a change he says will continue to move forward.

In the end, however, Boston found a way to rise to the top. And, while the Celtics can’t do anything about what happened last summer, they believe they are capable of producing a different result in the knockout stages this time around.

“You’re going to need games like this,” Tatum said. “There are going to be some knockouts where you don’t necessarily have to be a good shot, maybe even on the go – under 40%, 73% from the free-throw line, 17 turns – and still find a way to win.

“I think it just shows the depth of our team, that on a night below average for us we can still find a way to win. That’s what matters at the end of the night. . Do you win or lose?”