The Golden State Warriors clinched their seventh NBA title and fourth in eight years with a 103-90 success over the Boston Celtics in game six of the Finals on Thursday night.
The Celtics had edged ahead 1-0 and 2-1 in the series before Steve Kerr's side moved into a 3-2 lead in game five, and the Eastern Conference champions were unable to build on a fast start at their TD Garden headquarters.
The Warriors were 2-14 down in the opening exchanges before the Celtics could only manage one basket in the final 210 seconds of the first quarter, and a Steph Curry-inspired Warriors opened up a healthy gap in the second with a 27-17 advantage.
Curry ended the title-winning game with 34 points on his way to the Finals MVP award as the Warriors won their first NBA title since the 2017-18 season, denying the Celtics a record-tying 18th in the process.
Draymond Green led the Warriors in rebounds and assists with 12 and eight respectively, while Jaylen Brown's 34 points for the Celtics were ultimately in vain.
The Warriors memorably posted a league-low 15-50 record in the 2019-20 season, and Kerr has helped his side become the first team to go from having the NBA's worst record to winning the title in a three-season span.
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"I'm so proud of our group. I thank god that I get to play this game at the highest level with some amazing people," Curry told ESPN after the game.
"This is what it's all about, playing for a Championship after what we've been through the past three years. Nobody thought we'd be here expect everybody on this court right now. It's amazing. Very surreal.
"We were so far away from it. We were here for five straight years and won three of them. We hit rock bottom with injuries and had a long road of work ahead, trying to fill in the right pieces with the right guys.
"You can never take this for granted because you never know when you'll be back here. To get back here and get it done means the world."
The Warriors' triumph at TD Garden sees them add to their NBA title wins in 1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022, while Kerr won his fourth Championship as a coach and his ninth overall.
The 56-year-old, who has been with the Warriors since 2014, added: "The guy who put this group together did an amazing job. I'd like to recognise Bob Myers, he never gets enough credit.
"This might be the most unlikely one of all. I've just been blessed, I hang around superstars. When you hang around superstars good things happen."
Kerr has now become just the sixth coach in history to capture four Championships, joining Gregg Popovich, Pat Riley, John Kundla, Red Auerbach and 11-time winner Phil Jackson.
Ben Knapton
