SAN FRANCISCO — Andre Iguodala's corner 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in the third quarter gave the Golden State Warriors what appeared to be a commanding 92-78 lead over the Boston Celtics. And then things quickly turned, with Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Jayson Tatum leading a furious comeback to upend Stephen Curry and the Dubs in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals.

The Celtics outscored the Warriors 40-16 in the fourth quarter, including a 17-0 run over a five-minute span, to take the championship round's opening matchup at Chase Center. Horford poured in 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, while Brown scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth. Derrick White also played 32 minutes off the Celtics' bench, scoring 21 points and making five 3-pointers. Jayson Tatum, who shot just 3-of-17 from the field, finished with a career-high 13 assists, which directly resulted in 35 points for Boston.

“We're battle-tested,” Jaylen Brown said of his team's comeback. “We've been through a lot. We've been through a lot of experiences, a lot of losses. We know what it takes to win. I give credit to every guy in that locker room from top to bottom. We got a great, resilient group.”

The Warriors opened up a 15-point lead in the third and took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter. They became the first team in NBA Finals history to lead a game by 10+ points entering the fourth quarter and then lose the same game by 10+ points.

Golden State's scoring drought of 4:58 saw them go from up three to down 14. The drought ended with 1:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, but by that time, the Celtics had the game wrapped up.

“Obviously, they made a lot of shots,” Stephen Curry said after watching his team's collapse. “Seemed like, I don’t think they missed until deep in the fourth. When you have a team that just finds a little bit of momentum like they did and they keep making shots, so it's tough to kind of regain that momentum. And the guys are making shots, obviously, Al, Marcus, Derrick White, Jaylen early in the fourth. They played well.

“We know they are a good team. So are we. We have to respond on Sunday.”

The Warriors led for most of the first half, but were never able to really break open for a big lead. The third quarter saw Golden State outscore Boston 38-24, which had many feeling like this NBA Finals Game 1 was in their control.

“We talked about it at halftime,” Jaylen Brown added of the Warriors' third-quarter prominence. “We knew they were going to come out in the third quarter, and they did. They came out great. In those moments, once you realize that you allowed somebody to do something that you didn't want them to, once you realize that, you either can go two ways: you can let it snowball or you can play to the next play, figure things out.”

The Celtics didn't dwell on it and finished with a fiery answer in the form of a 40-16 fourth quarter.

“We just kept playing, kept figuring it out. We kept playing basketball and we found a way to win.”

Stephen Curry, for one, is already looking ahead to Game 2.

“It's about winning four games by any means necessary, and for 42 minutes, we did enough to win a game tonight, and that's not how basketball works,” Curry explained. “I think everything starts to come on the table when you look at trying to get ourselves back in the series on Sunday and taking it from there.”

Al Horford, who shot the lights out of the Chase Center, credited Jaylen Brown with sparking the Celtics' run.

“Golden State really did a good job in the third. They're known for coming out in the third and being very aggressive. I think that for us the key was Jaylen Brown, start of the fourth quarter, with the way he came out and played, with his energy and scoring, but also then Rob Williams gets a lob dunk. I just think that that was the start for us of something there.”

Boston's length was a clear problem for Golden State, especially in the fourth quarter. Robert Williams finished with four blocked shots, but the Celtics' altered a lot of shots with double-teams and great defensive rotations. Some of the Warriors' fourth quarter shooting struggles were simply open missed shots, but Boston forced turnovers and enough contested, late-shot clock looks that put Golden State in tough situations.

Stephen Curry believes the defense was the biggest issue in Game 1, but the offense also played a role in this NBA Finals meltdown.

“We got a little rushed. And I don't think we were smart enough in some of those situations to try to find the right matchups and try to create the right shots.

“We obviously scored enough to win. It's just they make 21 3s, and some guys who had career nights shooting the ball, that was really the difference, based on how it felt on the court. Obviously, we'll watch film and see where some of those offensive mistakes or droughts happened.”

To many people's surprise, Draymond Green was surprisingly dismissive of the Warriors' fourth quarter collapse, saying his team dominated most of the game.

“I think they stayed within striking distance, and they made shots late,” Green said. “So we'll be fine. We'll figure out the ways we can stop them from getting those 3s and take them away. But no, I don't think it was a rhythm thing. We pretty much dominated the game for the first 41, 42 minutes. So we'll be fine.”

Jayson Tatum, who scored the opening bucket for the Celtics but finished just 3-of-17 from the field on the night, didn't care about his bad shooting as long as it resulted in a win.

“I had a bad shooting night. I just tried to impact the game in other ways. We're in the championship. We're in the Finals. All I was worried about was trying to get a win, and we did. That's all that matters at this point. I don't expect to shoot that bad again. But if it means we keep winning, I'll take it.”

If anyone thinks the young Celtics are allowing themselves to start celebrating, think again. Jaylen Brown and company are locked in to Game 2.

“Our last two series, we lost Game 1,” Tatum added. “This time of the season, you feel great after you win. You feel terrible after you lose. You got to just be able to stay mellow, stay balanced, especially this early.

“It's far from over, right? It's just one game. And we got to be ready for them to respond as if we would if we lost the first game. They're going to come out, they're going to make adjustments and things like that. So we have to be prepared and just approach it one game at a time.”

Game 2 will take place Sunday night back at the Chase Center before the scene shifts to Boston for Games 3 and 4.

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NBA Finals Game 1 notes:

• Teams that win Game 1 of the NBA Finals have gone on to win the series 70.7% of the time (53-22).
• Boston improved to 8-2 on the road in the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
• Golden State lost at home for the first time in the 2022 NBA Playoffs (9-1).
• The Celtics outscored the Warriors by 24 points (40-16) in the fourth quarter, tying the record for largest point differential in any quarter of an NBA Finals game.
• Golden State's Stephen Curry made six 3-pointers in the first quarter, the most by a player in any quarter of an NBA Finals game. The previous record was five, shared by Curry, Ray Allen and Kenny Smith.
• Stephen Curry scored 21 points in the first quarter. It's the most points by a player in the first quarter of an NBA Finals game over the last 50 years.
• Boston's Al Horford made six 3-pointers, the most for a player in his NBA Finals debut. Horford (26 points) is also the second-oldest player to score at least 25 points in his NBA Finals debut, behind Chris Paul (32 points on July 7, 2021, at age 36). Horford turns 36 years old on Friday.
• Boston's Jayson Tatum had 13 assists. It's the most assists by a player in his NBA Finals debut.