Following a 103-90 victory against the Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors teammates Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green seemed to be having a great time celebrating their fourth championship on Thursday night in Boston. 

After all, this was their fourth title together since Golden State signed head coach Steve Kerr in 2014. 

However, the Warriors’ win on Thursday represented not only their seventh league title but also a significant turnabout from 2019, when many were writing the epitaph on their dynasty for a squad that had just been in the NBA cellar for two years. 

In 2019, the Warriors suffered their first-ever career-threatening injury to Thompson, they lost to the Toronto Raptors in the Finals, and superstar Kevin Durant signed a free agent contract. Golden State thus missed the playoffs in 2021 and finished last in 2020. 

But it was all a distant memory on Thursday in Boston.  

Now that he’s back to full health, Thompson only managed 12 points in Game 6, but his developing younger teammates, including Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins, made up for it with a combined 32 points against the Celtics. 

Curry took care of the rest, going 34 points deep and shooting 6 of 11 from three after Game 5 on Monday night saw him miss his first-ever 3-pointer in the playoffs. 

After seeing Durant and current colleague Andre Iguodala receive the honor in prior championship seasons, Curry was recognized for his efforts with his first NBA Finals MVP. 

“We hear all the noise, I hear all the talks, but at the end of the day, it’s about what we do on the floor,” Curry remarked after the event. “You just need to go do it; you don’t need to talk about it.” And that’s the main point of this.

During the post-game celebration in the locker room, Warriors teammates made fun of Celtics supporters who had been taunting the Warriors star with similar chants for most of the series. They said things like “f*** Draymond.” 

Rather of retaliating against the Boston supporters, though, Green used Thursday’s occasion to reflect on his illustrious collaboration with Curry, Thompson, and Iguodala. 

Regarding his four championships, Green said, “This journey wouldn’t be the same without those two guys, and Andre, as well.” Andre has also accompanied us on our journey for the most part of it. I can’t fathom taking anybody else on this trip with me. 

We created something from the ground up, and when you create anything from the ground up, it becomes your baby. In our case, we all value one another and recognize the contributions that each of us makes. It encompasses far more than what we have achieved on the basketball floor. 

“You’re talking about bonds, and those bonds are permanent.” We will always be linked and interconnected.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was still a part of the league’s health and safety procedures regarding the virus, hence he was unable to attend the game. Rather than the original golden memento awarded to the NBA champions, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum gave the Warriors the revised Larry O’Brien Trophy.

After falling down by as much as 22 points, Boston rallied for a 16–4 third quarter to start the fourth quarter down 76–66.

With 5:33 remaining, Jaylen Brown’s 3-pointer put the Warriors up 86-78, a lead they would never let go.

The noise level at TD Garden peaked when Jayson Tatum hit back-to-back baskets to end a Boston blitz in the first quarter.

It was quiet for a while after that.

Also, Tatum did.

The Celtics collapsed in the final rounds of the NBA Finals after becoming victorious in the Eastern Conference. After winning the last three games, the Golden State Warriors won Game 6 on Thursday night, 103-90, to win the championship.

The Celtics had not lost three straight games since December, when they were a struggling, sub-.500 club that didn’t seem like a contender.

Instead, they rose to the top of the league, thanks in part to Tatum’s genius, who was selected for the first time as a first-team All-NBA player.

However, in Game 6, he only managed to score 13 points on 6-for-18 shooting, including just one basket in the second half.