Warriors stay perfect, escape 2OT affair with gritty Celtics
The Boston Celtics pushed them to the limit in double overtime, but the Golden State Warriors managed to stay perfect with a 124-119 win at the TD Garden on Friday.
Stephen Curry led the way with 38 points and 11 rebounds, while Draymond Green filled the boxscore with 24 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, five steals, and five blocks for a rare five-by-five line.
The Warriors are now 24-0.
Behind an incredible defensive effort from Avery Bradley and Evan Turner, the Celtics gave the defending champions their biggest scare of the season by shutting down the Warriors at the point of attack.
Curry hardly ever found space to operate, which led to an uncharacteristic 9-of-27 shooting performance from the field along with eight turnovers in 47 pressure-packed minutes.
It also didn't help that both Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes were out with ankle injuries. That allowed the Celtics to freely trap Curry while fill-in starters Brandon Rush and Ian Clark proved utterly ineffectual. They combined for a paltry 10 points before being benched in favor of Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston in crunch time.
Neither team managed to establish a substantial lead. The Warriors opened up a 10-point edge midway through the third, but the Celtics came roaring back. Boston even grabbed a five-point lead with two minutes to go before Curry erased that with two free throws, and a dagger three.
Related - VIDEO: Steph Curry hits monster trey late in 4th quarter
The contest devolved into a slugfest in overtime. Neither team generated anything close to their normal offense, as the Warriors relied on free throws and haphazard transition plays, while the Celtics were buoyed by two unlikely heroes in Turner, and Kelly Olynyk.
Green, who posted the league's first five-by-five game since 2012, provided the back-breaker with under a minute left in double overtime. Green drove the length of the court against the Celtics' exhausted offense to put in a layup which bumped Golden State's lead to three.
Related - VIDEO: Draymond Green has zero chill, taunts Thomas, Sullinger
Curry then went on to close out the game with four free throws to seal the exhausting victory.
Credit should go to the Warriors for pulling through, but the Celtics were unlucky to not come away with the win. They had the ball with the game tied to end both regulation and the first overtime, but each time they came up short. Both times, 5-foot-9 guard Isaiah Thomas was entrusted with the ball in isolation, and both times he failed to score against the 6-foot-7 Livingston.
Stevens on potential game-winners: "Both times I wanted us to come in & slip out of a p&roll & just to play." Says GS’s length was difficult
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 12, 2015
The aftermath of Friday's win leaves the Warriors with a tricky conundrum. Green, Curry, and Iguodala logged 50, 47, and 44 minutes apiece; with another road game coming up against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, some serious consideration must be given to resting their star players in their continued pursuit of perfection.
The Celtics were led in scoring by Olynyk, who had 28 points off the bench along with six rebounds, and three steals. Bradley managed 19 points (including 15 in the first), but fouled out in 34 minutes.
The win extends Golden State's win streak to 28 games (including four games to end the 2014-15 regular season), which pushes them one ahead of the 2012-13 Miami Heat for second behind the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers' 33-game streak.