Draymond Green assured the Golden State Warriors have nothing to worry about after the Boston Celtics secured victory in Games 1 of the NBA Finals.
The Warriors were in the ascendancy for large parts of the game, leading 32-28 after the first quarter, with Stephen Curry hitting a Finals record six threes in a quarter from eight attempts.
The Celtics responded to take a slender 56-54 half-time lead, but Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole starred to send Golden State into the final quarter 92-80 up.
However, there was to be another twist as Boston went on a rampant 40-16 fourth-quarter run to snatch a 120-108 road win at Chase Center.
Al Horford hit a career-high eight threes on his way to 26 points, while Derrick White set a new season-high from deep, hitting five-of-eight for his crucial 21 points off the bench.
Experienced campaigner Green pinpointed the pair, along with Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, as he called for calm from the Warriors in the seven-game series.
“They stayed within striking distance and they made shots late,” Green told reporters after the loss.
“They hit 21 threes and Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Derrick White combined for 15. Those guys are good shooters, but they combined for what… 15-for-23, from those guys. We’ll be fine.
“We’ll be fine. We’ll figure out the ways we can stop them from getting those threes and take them away. 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.”