The Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 103-90 on Thursday night to win their fourth NBA title in the last eight seasons, led by Stephen Curry’s 34 points.
Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green have won their fourth championship together, all under the direction of Steve Kerr. They previously won titles in 2015, 2017 and 2018. They’ve played in 21 NBA Finals games together, passing Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili (19) for the most by a trio in the last 30 years.
Curry won NBA Finals MVP for the first time in his career, crying on the court after the final whistle.
“This is what it’s all about, playing for a championship and what we’ve been through the last three years,” he said. “Beginning of the season, nobody thought we’d be here except everybody on this court right now, and it’s amazing. Very surreal, though.
“You never take this for granted because you never know when you’re going to be back here. And to get back here and get it done, it means the world ,” he said.
Kerr likened Curry to Tim Duncan, the San Antonio Spurs’ Hall of Fame centre who spent his whole career with the team. “Totally different players. But from a humanity standpoint, talent standpoint, humility, confidence, this wonderful combination that just makes everybody want to win for him ,” he said.
The Warriors had been plagued by injuries for a number of years and were finally back in the postseason for the first time since 2019.
The way Game 6 played out at TD Garden in Boston didn’t appear to be a foregone conclusion for Golden State. To begin the game, Boston was ahead 14-2. The Warriors, on the other hand, didn’t merely claw back; they pressed the pedal.
To conclude the first half, Golden State embarked on a 52-25 run. This included a 21-0 run, which was the longest scoring run in an NBA Finals game in 50 years.
The Celtics got as near as single digits to the Warriors’ lead late in the third quarter and again in the fourth quarter, but they couldn’t get any closer.
In this year’s playoff run, Boston, which reached the Finals for the first time since the 2009-10 season, had previously excelled in do-or-die games.
They were perfect in postseason games following a loss until their Game 5 loss in the Finals. They have won two win-or-go-home games against the Milwaukee Bucks and a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.
Despite this, the Celtics led the series 2-1 before losing three straight games to Golden State, including Games 4 and 6 in Boston.
After the game, Celtics head coach Ime Udoka observed, “There are a lot of guys in there, very emotional right now.”
“The message was we thanked them for the effort and the growth and everything they allowed us to do coaching-wise this year. The biggest message was ‘Learn from this, grow from it, take this experience and see there is another level to get to,'” Udoka said. “A team like Golden State who has been there, done that, it was evident in a lot of ways.”
The Warriors have won seven league titles in their history, including two as the Philadelphia Warriors in 1947 and 1956.
Due to the NBA’s health and safety rules, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who usually presents the Larry O’Brien Trophy to the NBA champion, was unable to attend Games 5 and 6.