The two best teams in the National Basketball Association faced off in Boston on Thursday night in what was one of the best games in the young season thus far. I will break down all the best plays, heroics and takeaways from what was a thriller of a matchup.
The Celtics came into the game with the most stifling defense in the NBA, while the Warriors have been raining molten fire upon the league with their scoring in recent weeks.
The game featured two of the NBA’s greatest dribbling wizards in Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving, who once again donned the mask (to protect his face, not for fashion).
Their matchup history is well documented, having played each other in three consecutive NBA Finals. Despite the intensity of their on court battles, they have a great respect for one another off the floor.
Boston came into this game riding a red hot 13 game win streak, with the Dubs hot on their heels with a 7 game run of their own. With both teams playing terrific basketball, the game had all the ingredients for a thriller. Let's get right to the action.
First Quarter
Golden State came out of the gates with a balanced team attack; Durant led the team in scoring with 8 points, as he had no trouble getting the shots he wanted in the pick and roll and driving to the rim. The man known to many as Swaggy P, Nick Young, is proving consistently to be a major spark off the bench for the Dubs, as he poured in two quick triples to give his team some separation from the men in green.
The Celtics found themselves unable to hit from three point range early, and their lack of trips to the free throw line meant that they had some trouble converting their offensive possessions into points. They did have their moments, though, of note was a monster breakaway jam from emerging Celtics youngster Jaylen Brown, whose hammer dunk was LeBron-esque.
Marcus Smart, who has become renowned for his defensive prowess, also made a monster block on Warriors big man Zaza Pachulia. But the Warriors appeared to be too much for the Celtics early, as Golden State held a 10 point lead at the end of one, 28-18.
Second Quarter
The Warriors were able to maintain their advantage early in the second quarter thanks to some solid play from their veteran role players Andre Iguodala and David West, who combined for ten quick points early in the frame. ‘Iggy’ took flight and threw down a flashback dunk over a helpless Celtic defender.
The Celtics struggled their way through the majority of the quarter, as the Warriors stifling defense made it tough for them to get the open shots they were searching for. The Warriors extended their lead to as many as 17 before the Celtics finally started to get to the rim and draw foul calls. The Celtics closed the quarter on a 15-3 run to close the gap to 5 points at the end of the first half; 47-42 the Dubs led. The Warriors three point shooting went absent in the period, as they did not sink a single shot from beyond the arc.
Jaylen Brown stood out for the Celtics at the break with 11 points and some great defensive plays (2 blocks and a steal). Kyrie Irving struggled to get anything going with just 5 points and 3 assists; so too did his superstar matchup in Stephen Curry, who shot just 1-8 from the field for 4 points. Kevin Durant led the Dubs at the break with 12 points.
Third Quarter
The Warriors were able to capitalize on some sloppy Celtics play and regain a double digit lead early in the period. After not hitting a single triple in the second, Kevin Durant buried two and Draymond Green made a third, which maintained a comfortable lead for the Dubs.
Kevin Durant was the man in the third, making those two aforementioned three pointers plus a nasty crossover pullup jumpshot over Celtics big man Al Horford.
Kyrie Irving didn’t appear to be feeling the superhero aesthetic, and elected to remove his mask as it seemed to affect his vision on the court.
The Warriors opened up their lead to 16 points at 66-50, but the Celtics with their renowned grit were able to scrap their way back into the game. They went on an absolute tear in the last portion of the quarter, going on an impressive 18-0 run to take their first lead of the game since early in the first quarter. This was sparked primarily by the awesome play of Jaylen Brown, who was seemingly everywhere on the court, disrupting the Warriors attack and being a force on the fastbreak; he poured in 10 points in the period, with two huge triples.
Tie game at the end of three, 68-68. The anticipation was immense for a colossal fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Both teams opened slow in the beginning of the quarter, and baskets were few and far between.
Al Horford converted a ferocious putback slam over the outstretched arms of Draymond Green to tie the game at 74 midway through the period, which got the Celtics faithful off their seats.
Stephen Curry finally made his presence known offensively in the fourth quarter; a layup in traffic got him going, and then he hit a trademark three to put the Dubs up 4 with 4 and a half minutes remaining.
But Kyrie wasn’t about to see this game slip away from Boston. He made a tough layup in traffic and drew a foul on the following possession to tie the game back up at 81. After trading scores, Kevin Durant made a huge three pointer to give the Warriors a two point lead, 85-83 but Irving answered with a huge 3 point play; 86-85, Celtics.
After a barrage of missed shots from both teams, the Warriors were able to leak out in transition where they are so deadly following a Celtics turnover, and Curry was able to find his fellow Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, open on the wing, and he buried a huge 3. 88-86, Dubs, 1:21 to go.
Kyrie responded by getting back to the rim with some wizardry, drawing the foul and tying the game once again, 88 a piece. The ensuing Warriors possession, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson both had decent looks at three pointers, but no cigar. The game remained tied, Celtics ball, with 20 seconds remaining.
Of course, the ball would find itself to be in Kyrie’s grasp with the game on the line, and he delivered, with a silky drive to draw the foul. He made both free throws, 90-88, Celtics.
Kevin Durant found himself free on the baseline after a nice out of bounds set from the Warriors, but his pullup J over Al Horford missed by mere inches and the Celtics secured the rebound. Rookie Jayson Tatum for the Celtics was cool and collected at the free throw line, burying both shots to make it a two possession game, 92-88.
Curry missed a quick three, and the game was over. The Celtics kept their win streak alive at 14, while the Warriors tasted their first defeat since October 31st.
Takeaways From This Game
This is a huge statement game from Boston, as they have toppled the NBA’s best team, and in doing so have separated themselves as early frontrunners for the NBA’s best record. While the Warriors appeared to be getting whatever they wanted offensively for stretches of the game, the Celtic defense was tremendous from the middle of the third quarter onwards, allowing the Warrior’s devastating offense to score a measly 22 points in the last 17 minutes of the game.
Both teams shot poorly from the floor: 40% shooting for Golden State, and just 33% shooting for the Celtics. The key was that the Celtics were able to draw significantly more whistles than the Dubs, as they shot 38 total free throws to the 19 of the Warriors.
Kevin Durant was the best Warrior on the night by a long shot, managing 24 points on a respectable 9-18 from the field. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson struggled against the Celtics’ stingy perimeter defense, shooting just 8-32 combined, for a grand total of 22 points for the Splash Brothers.
For the Celtics, Al Horford (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals) were standout performers. And Uncle Drew, despite struggling throughout the game, made some enormous plays down the stretch to seal the victory for the C’s.
The Warriors look to bounce back on Saturday night against Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers, while the Celtics on the same night aim to extend their impressive run to 15 against the Hawks in Atlanta.
Thank you for reading. I will post game stories such as these throughout the NBA season, so if you liked what you read, please give me a follow. If you’re an avid NBA fan like myself, then I very well may follow you back. Ball is life!
If anyone knows how to embed tweets in a Steemit post correctly, your help would be greatly appreciated :)