Steph Curry Reveals Honest Thoughts About Losing Game 1

Stephen Curry opened up about his headspace following a Game 1 collapse against the Boston Celtics in Game 1.

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Game 1 has been at the forefront of Stephen Curry's mind.

Despite taking a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter, the Golden State Warriors fell apart at the seams late in the opening game of the 2022 NBA Finals. Curry took reporters through his thoughts about the loss as the Warriors look to bounce back against Boston in Game 2 Sunday night.

“If you’re not down about it and you’re not in your feelings then that’s a problem.”

Steph on how Warriors should process emotions after a tough loss pic.twitter.com/T2ApBaENLU

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) June 4, 2022

"If you're not down about it, you're not in your feelings then that's a problem because it doesn't matter," Curry said. "You have to feel it. How much it lingers, that's the test to how you bounce back."

For Curry, a 34-point night that saw the two-time MVP stripe seven of the 14 three-pointers he attempted simply wasn't enough to snuff out the Celtics, who outscored Golden State 40-16 in the final frame of Game 1.

Instead, his mind has been on the mistakes he made to the tune of two turnovers, which contributed to 14 total giveaways for the Warriors Thursday. 

"You go home after the game, you're probably thinking about every play that happened, what you could have done differently," Curry said. "Was it a defensive rotation, a shot that would have went in, a decision you made. Whatever it is, those things kind of circle in your head and you probably lose a little bit of sleep that first night."

Before Game 1, the Warriors hadn't lost a single home game in the 2022 postseason. In fact, they were 9-0 at Chase Center in the playoffs. Losing 120-108 to Boston, though, Golden State will now have to win at least one game at TD Garden in order to capture its fourth championship in eight years.

The first order of business is to reclaim dominance at Chase Center, which Curry and the Warriors have their focus dialed in toward. 

"You come back the next day and realize you have an opportunity to protect your home court again on Sunday and just keep things moving. Get yourself back into the series," Curry said. "The locker room after the game was rough. We all know the opportunity that we let slip in terms of that fourth quarter. But that doesn't kill your confidence that you can't come out Sunday and win that game. That's what we're going to do."

The Warriors, who allowed the Celtics to go on a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter and knock down nine three pointers, will tip off against Boston at 5 p.m. PST Sunday night before heading to the east coast for Games 3 and 4 next week. 

To Curry and the rest of Golden State, Game 2 now feels like a must-win.

"Not much has changed from the last, 2018 or any of those Finals appearances and really in terms of me, personally, how I've evolved," Curry said. "It's just continue to play at a high level, understand the game, understand the things that can happen in a playoff series and in the Finals and adjust accordingly as you go through it."