Game 1 of the NBA Finals did not disappoint. The Golden State Warriors jumped out to an advantage backed by a historic first quarter from Stephen Curry. But the Celtics held strong and took a lead heading into halftime. After a difficult third quarter, Boston dropped 40 points in the fourth to ultimately win 120-108. While Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and the team played extremely well, it may have been a fiery speech given from Celtics head coach Ime Udoka that propelled the come from behind victory.
“You’re getting punked out there,” Udoka shared with Yahoo Sports. “They’re punking us right now. Is this the way you want to go out? This is not us. Let’s at least give ourselves a chance.”
The speech obviously fired the team up. The Celtics outscored Golden State 40-16 in quarter 4 en route to the huge win on the road. Earning a victory in Chase Center is one of the most difficult things to do in basketball, so the Celtics have to be proud of their performance.
Celtics forward Grant Williams commented on Udoka's speech.
“For anyone, I feel like that challenges us to step up and stop being so soft, you would say. He's not afraid to say that to anybody. He was yelling at me, (Jaylen Brown) and whoever was in the game while we were running down the court, telling us to toughen the hell up. That's what you love about Ime. He tells it like it is.”
Ime Udoka and the Celtics will look to upset the odds once again in game 2 on Sunday.
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