The Boston Celtics snapped out of their recent funk with a marquee win Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena.
Boston held the Warriors to a season-low 86 points in a 99-86 victory that showcased the Celtics’ defensive grit.
The game was tight until midway through the fourth quarter when the Celtics’ defense sparked a 15-0 run to blow the game open.
All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas led the C’s with 25 points, while Kelly Olynyk added 17 off the bench. Klay Thompson scored 25 points for the Warriors and Stephen Curry chipped in with 23, but the electric backcourt didn’t get enough help to overcome Boston’s suffocating defense, which held the Warriors to 12 fourth-quarter points and allowed them to shoot only 20 percent from 3-point range for the game.
The Celtics improved to 41-24 with the win, while the Warriors fell to 52-12.
Here’s how it all went down.
STARTING FIVE
Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Al Horford
IT VS. STEPH
The duel between the two All-Star points started from the opening tip. Curry poured in 10 first-quarter points as the Warriors got out to an early eight-point lead. Thomas wouldn’t be outdone, however, as he scored 11 of his own during the period to cut the deficit to three after the first quarter.
QUARTER OF RUNS
After the Warriors stretched the lead to seven to open the second quarter, Boston answered with a 15-4 run to take a four-point lead. Olynyk scored nine points off the pine and Terry Rozier added five, as the Celtics assisted on 15 of their 18 field goals during the first half.
Golden State responded, however, finishing the quarter on a 10-1 run to take a four-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Thompson led all scorers with 13 at the break, while his backcourt mate, Curry, had 12.
BACK AND FORTH
Boston was able to withstand a third-quarter barrage from Thompson, who scored 12 straight points, to take a one-point lead toward the end of the period. But, a Curry buzzer-beating trey gave the Warriors a two-point lead after three. And Curry let rookie Jaylen Brown, who was guarding him on the final possession of the quarter, hear it after the shot went in.
CELTICS PUT IT AWAY
The Warriors held a one-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining when the Celtics made their move. After an Olynyk dunk gave Boston the lead, Crowder canned back-to-back 3-pointers. Then, the Celtics got two easy buckets off of turnovers and the lead had swelled to 11.
After a Golden State timeout, Thomas buried a trey to cap a 15-0 Boston run and that was all she wrote.
PLAY OF THE GAME
How?
UP NEXT
The Celtics complete their West Coast swing Friday when they take on the Denver Nuggets. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Kelley L Cox/USA TODAY Sports Images
