Celtics use huge fourth quarter to roar past Warriors in NBA finals opener

Once Boston’s balanced roster of NBA finals first-timers found a groove from long range, the determined Celtics delivered a memorable comeback and rallied past Stephen Curry and the Golden State old guard.

Jaylen Brown fueled the late charge and scored 24 points, Al Horford hit six three-pointers and the Celtics rode the most lopsided fourth quarter in NBA finals history to a 120-108 victory over the Warriors in Game 1 on Thursday night.  

Horford finished with 26 points and the Celtics outscored the Warriors 40-16 in the final 12 minutes after trailing by 15 points late in the third quarter. The 15th-year big man, who turns 36 Friday, played in 141 previous postseason games, most ever before playing in the NBA Finals.

“I felt like the guys kept finding me time after time. Also Derrick White hit some tough shots there, too,” Horford said. “I was just getting the looks, knocking them down. That’s that.”

Boston made their first seven tries from long distance in the fourth and wound up 9 of 12 beyond the arc in the period as almost everybody got involved in the three-point flurry. Jayson Tatum was the lone Celtics regular who struggled offensively, finishing 3 for 17, though he did have 13 assists.

Curry scored 34 points in his return to the NBA’s big stage for the first time in three years, but the Warriors couldn’t sustain momentum from a 38-point third quarter that put them ahead 92-80 going into the final 12 minutes.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling just to be here and competing at this level against such a dynamic franchise the last couple years,” Boston guard Payton Pritchard said. “I think we’re all just looking forward to the challenge to go through the series and try to get it done.”

The Celtics were the first team to trail a finals game by 10 or more points after three quarters and win by 10 or more, according to Sportradar,

Derrick White’s three-pointer over Curry with 5:40 remaining tied the game at 103, then Horford hit from deep the next time down as the Celtics took their first lead since halftime.

“They stayed in striking distance and made shots late,” Golden State’s Draymond Green said.