(San Francisco) “There is nothing to panic about. It’s the first team with four wins, not the first with one,” said Draymond Green after Golden State’s loss to Boston (120-108) at the opening of the NBA Finals on Thursday night in San Francisco.
Posted at 9:44 a.m.
The Warriors, who led by 15 points in the third quarter, suffered lightning in the last twelve minutes (40-16), notably conceding nine three-point baskets against the Celtics on fire.
They are already under pressure before the second game of the series scheduled for Sunday, still at home.
“You have the chance to do something different, to do it in a different way, to rise to the challenge,” Green said in a postgame press conference.
“We have always risen to challenges. We’ll pick this one up. Our confidence is not damaged at all. You always have to win one on the road. And in our history, we always have,” he added.
Klay Thompson agreed with his teammate. “It’s never fun to lose input and it hurts, of course, but there’s no reason to panic.”
The Warriors saw their invincibility at home end on this tenth reception since the start of the playoffs.
“We will digest what happened. I know we will be better in the second game. There’s no reason to bemoan a loss when another game is coming fast,” he added.
His coach Steve Kerr nevertheless called on his players to approach Sunday’s meeting with “the energy of despair”.
“When you win the first game at home, there’s a sense of comfort, and you kind of have an idea of what your opponent is up against, so you make your adjustments,” he explained.
“There, it’s a different feeling that crosses us. But we’ve been in this position before and we’ve won series after losing from the start… You have to win on the road anyway to win a series of playoffs, ”he concluded.
