Nothing to panic about, says Green

SAN FRANCISCO • Despite losing their first home game of this season's National Basketball Association play-offs after 10 played, there is no chance of the Golden State Warriors hitting the panic button.

Those were the fighting words offered by Draymond Green after the NBA Finals favourites crashed to a series-opening defeat by the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

The Warriors slumped to a stunning 120-108 loss in front of their home fans after the Celtics staged a remarkable fourth-quarter onslaught, outscoring their opponents 40-16.

With Games 3 and 4 in Boston next week, Game 2 in San Francisco tomorrow is looking like a must-win.

Green is confident the Warriors will respond to the challenge after falling behind in the best-of-seven series.

"You get a chance to do something else, do it in a different way, embrace the challenge," the forward said. "We've always embraced challenges. We'll embrace this one. It's not a hit to the confidence at all, not one bit.

"Whether you win every game at home, you still want to win one on the road. And our history, we've always won one on the road. So, it's just nothing to panic about. It's the first team to win four games, not the first to win one."

Green's comments were echoed by teammate Klay Thompson.

"It's never fun and it hurts on the biggest stage, but there's no reason to panic," the guard said. "I like our chances still, we'll go home and digest what happened. I know we'll be better Game 2. There's no reason to hold onto a loss when you have another game so soon."

The Warriors intend to approach tomorrow's game with a sense of "desperation", according to coach Steve Kerr.

"We've been in this position before, and we've won series where we've lost the first game... you always kind of assume that you're going to have to win on the road to win a play-off series," he said.

In the build-up to Game 1, all the talk was about how Warriors star Stephen Curry would match up against Celtics counterpart Jayson Tatum.

Curry led all scorers with 34 points but Tatum was a more subdued figure for his team with just 12 points.

The forward had more of a playmaking role instead, dishing out 13 assists, while Boston's unsung reserve players made up for his quiet scoring night at the Chase Centre.

Al Horford and Derrick White are well down the list of go-to offensive players for the visitors, and that perhaps was the reason the hosts seemed to lose track of the duo late on.

The Celtics trailed by 12 entering the fourth but a flurry of points, including 10 from Jaylen Brown and a combined four three-pointers from Horford and White overcame that deficit.

Horford paced his team with 26 points and White added 21 off the bench and Boston's comeback left many of their peers impressed.

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant tweeted it was "high level of basketball being displayed", while New Orleans Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum said the "fourth quarter was a masterpiece".

For veteran centre Horford, this was extra special and vindication for his hard work.

The 36-year-old has been in the league for 15 years and been an All-Star five times but this is his first trip to the Finals.

"I've been waiting for this moment," the Dominican said. "I know it's different, but I played on a similar stage in college and in those types of games, I just felt comfortable out there.

"And I wanted to project that to the group. I wanted to make sure our guys came out here and played free.

"We have a lot of great guys here, guys have really bought into what we're trying to do. It's just fun to see all that come together."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS