Jaylen Brown scored 11 of his 24 points during Boston’s three double-digit scoring runs in Game 1.

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Boston’s 120-108 win over Golden State on Thursday not only gave the Celtics a 1-0 lead in the 2022 NBA Finals it also provided another example of two common traits of this year’s playoffs: teams overcoming double-digit deficits and teams going on double-digit scoring runs.

In the 2022 postseason, there have been 85 instances where a team held a double-digit lead in the second half of a game – in some cases such as Game 1 of the Finals, both teams did – which marks the most instances in any postseason of the play-by-play era (since 1996-97).

In 15 of those cases, the team that held a double-digit lead in the second half lost the game – as the Warriors did so in Game 1 – which is the second most losses since 1996-97. Only the 2003 postseason saw more with 17 such games. Game 1 was Golden State’s first time losing when they led by more than 10 points this postseason.

The Celtics faced a pair of double-digit deficits in Game 1 – they trailed by 10 points (47-37) with 7:36 to play in the second quarter before going on a 10-0 run over the next 2:33 of game time to tie the game; Boston would eventually take a two-point lead into halftime.

• 7:21 – Brown 16′ Pullup Jump Shot (BOS 39, GSW 47)

• 6:59 – Williams III 3′ Cutting Layup Shot, Tatum Assist (BOS 41, GSW 47)

• 6:19 – Smart 23′ Step Back Jump Shot, Tatum Assist (BOS 43, GSW 47)

• 5:26 – Brown 4′ Layup, Smart Assist (BOS 45, GSW 47)

• 5:03 – Brown 19′ Pullup Jump Shot (BOS 47, GSW 47)

But as they have throughout the postseason, the Warriors responded with a big third quarter, outscoring the Celtics 38-24; it was Golden State’s fifth time this postseason scoring 35 or more points in the third quarter – the other 15 teams in the playoff field have combined for only 11 such games.

On Thursday, the Warriors built a 15-point lead with just over 14 minutes left in the game following a pair of Andrew Wiggins free throws with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter. A pair of Derrick White free throws in the closing seconds that same period started an 11-0 run by the Celtics to cut the Warriors’ lead down to three with 9:22 remaining.

• 3Q, 1.6 sec – White 2 Free Throws (BOS 80, GSW 92)

• 4Q, 11:09 – Brown 17′ Step Back Jump Shot (BOS 82, GSW 92)

• 4Q, 10:01 – Brown 26′ 3PT Pullup Jump Shot (BOS 85, GSW 92)

• 4Q, 9:35 – Williams III 2′ Alley Oop Dunk (BOS 87, GSW 92)

• 4Q, 9:22 – Pritchard 4′ Running Layup (BOS 89, GSW 92)

Over the next four minutes, the teams traded baskets as neither led by more than five points. But the Celtics had one more double-digit run left in them. With 5:40 to play, White knocked down his fifth 3-pointer of the night to tie the game at 103 and ignite a game-clinching 17-0 run by Boston over the next four minutes – a run that also included a pair of 3-pointers by both Al Horford and Marcus Smart.

• 5:40 – White 27′ 3PT Jump Shot, Brown Assist (BOS 103, GSW 103)

• 5:10 – Horford 27′ 3PT Jump Shot, Pritchard Assist (BOS 106, GSW 103)

• 4:49 – Horford 25′ 3PT Jump Shot, Tatum Assist (BOS 109, GSW 103)

• 3:40 – Horford 17′ Jump Shot, Tatum Assist (BOS 111, GSW 103)

• 2:53 – Smart 3PT Jump Shot, Horford Assist (BOS 114, GSW 103)

• 1:44 – Smart 26′ 3PT Jump Shot, Tatum Assist (BOS 117, GSW 103)

“We knew we were going to have a chance to get back into the game,” said Boston’s Grant Williams. “We knew we were going to compete and play until the last whistle, and that’s something we all understood and we’ve done it.

Boston’s three double-digit runs in Game 1 brings the total across the 2022 postseason to 120, surpassing the 2019 season mark of 118 (also over 82 games) for the most on record (since 1996-97).

We have a direct comparison between 2019 and 2022 as the same total number of games were played in both postseasons – at least until Game 2 tips off on Sunday night (8 ET, ABC). Postseasons from 1997 to 2002 featured a best-of-five first round, so the total number of games played in those years is noticeably lower (an average of 71 compared to an average of 83.7 since 2003). But when we look at the number of double-digit scoring runs on a per game basis, we see a very similar trajectory.

It’s long been said that in the NBA every team is going to make a run. But right now, those runs are coming more frequently and often much faster, thanks to an increase in 3-point shooting and pace that mirrors the rise of the double-digit scoring runs.

In Game 1, Boston’s first run (10-0) was comprised of all two-point shots, with three of them assisted, including two assists by Jayson Tatum as he racked up a career-best 13 on the night – the most ever in an NBA Finals debut.

Boston’s second run (11-0) had just one 3-pointer, two shots at the rim and a pair of free throws. But it was the run that put the Warriors away that featured the 3-point shot. As Boston outscored Golden State 17-0 in 3:56 of game time, the Celtics splashed five 3-pointers – all of which were assisted – that served as the knockout blow.

So far this postseason, teams are averaging a pace of 95.98 possessions per 48 minutes, which is the fifth-highest mark of the play-by-play era. With possessions coming at a faster rate, it allows teams to strike quickly to either overcome a deficit in a short amount of time (as Boston did early) or pull away (as Boston did late).

There is good news and bad news with the frequency of so many double-digit runs. If your team is trailing, you know that you’re just a quick run away from getting back into any game. However, if you’re ahead, you know you can’t let the foot off the gas, because a run can be looming from the opposing team as well.

“You can never rest against any team in this league, but especially this one,” Williams said of the Warriors. “This team can go on runs where they’re down by 40 and next thing know you look up and they’re down by eight and that’s in a matter of eight minutes, especially with how they shoot the ball.

“We’ve learned – especially in that Miami series – where one quarter can change the entire game, where you’ve put yourself in too deep of a hole where you don’t win those games that you probably should have won when you dominate every other quarter. So, we’ve used that experience, tried to grow with it, and you have to understand that runs are going to happen, but you have to respond yourselves the same way and stay level-headed.”

Of course, there’s another aspect to any scoring run and that is preventing your opponent from scoring with strong defense, especially forcing turnovers that can lead to easy transition baskets that help close the gap more quickly.

“Our defense is what we rely on,” said Williams. “We know and understand that’s the most important thing for us. We understand that we can go from a team that may allow 20 points in a quarter to then holding a team to six. That’s where we have to hold ourselves to that standard and understanding that’s going to change the game for us more than anything else.”

As Game 2 approaches on Sunday night, will we see this trend continue and see the game turn on a massive scoring run?