OAKLAND — On Saturday evening, the Warriors got another taste of a potential NBA Finals matchup with the Boston Celtics at Oracle Area and it wasn’t nearly as bad as the first entre. In fact, the Warriors (40-10) might be asking for seconds after they defeated the Celtics (35-15) 109-105 in their final matchup of the regular season.
Although the Warriors had a miserable offensive showing in their first meeting against the Celtics at TD Garden on November 13, Stephen Curry returned the favor with 12 points in the final two minutes of the game that kept Boston in a state of scuffling, having now lost five of their last six games.
The Celtics held a commanding 37-27 lead at the end of the first quarter and both teams exchanged blows in the second period to make the score 54-50 heading into halftime. Immediately after the Warriors opened up the second quarter with 10 unanswered points, which included a one-handed alley-oop by Klay Thompson, the Celtics put up eight consecutive points on Golden State to jump ahead 45-37.
.@KlayThompson throwing it down like he did during his 37-point quarter a few years back. #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/uc05EV4B4r
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 28, 2018
Then, the Warriors scored another eight consecutive points to cut Boston’s lead down to four, which is where it remained when the buzzer signaled the end of the first half.
Aside from one missed free throw, Kyrie Irving was perfect in three-pointers (3-3) and field goals (7-7) until late in the first half when he missed a 10-foot two point shot. Irving reminded perfect in five three-point attempts and he finished the game with 37 points and four assists.
Curry scored a quick seven points off a pair of field goals and a three-pointer in the opening minutes of the third quarter. His night came to an end after 37 minutes, during which time he set a new season-high with 49 points and made five assists and four rebounds. Shortly after, Kevin Durant, who scored 20 points on the night, buried a dunk that put the Warriors ahead 59-57, their first lead of the game.
From there, the Warriors withstood the Celtics with 11 points points and three three-pointers from Curry in the third , boasting an 80-73 lead heading into the final quarter. Although the Celtics temporarily took the lead, Curry deep three-pointer gave the Warriors the lead with 1:30 left in the game. He went on to make two successful free throws to put the Warriors ahead for good.
Compared to their previous game, where they had 15 turnovers against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors played much crisper against the Celtics, turning the ball over only 12 times. That’s a trend they hope to continue in their next game against the Utah Jazz on January 30.