How Did The Boston Celtics Beat The Golden State Warriors?
The Boston Celtics were without Jae Crowder, but the team still somehow found a way to end the Golden State Warriors’ 54-game home win streak due to an all-around team effort.
Going into Friday night’s game, the Boston Celtics were 43-32 and the Golden State Warriors were 68-7. The Warriors hadn’t lost a home game since Jan. 27, 2015, but Golden State’s home winning streak came to an unexpected end on Friday due to the great team play from the Celtics.
Boston was without Jae Crowder last night, which is why almost no one thought they could pull off the improbable upset, but the team got contributions from just about everyone that stepped on the floor.
Every starter for the Celtics had a positive plus/minus and Boston played incredible defense against the best team in the NBA. The Warriors did not really play like themselves last night by turning the ball over 22 times, and neither did Stephen Curry, who had nine turnovers.
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Curry still shot 8-for-14 from deep and he put up 29 points, but the Celtics did a really good job on the defensive end. Boston also shot pretty well from the field Friday night (47.1 percent), but they did not shoot particularly well from deep (34.8 percent). The Celtics just hit the big shots when they needed to and got the big stop when they needed to.
Every player on the Celtics made a pretty big contribution on both ends of the floor, but the two players that stepped up really big were Jared Sullinger and Evan Turner. Sullinger had 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Turner had 21 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals. Boston out-rebounded the Warriors 44-41, but the biggest reason the Celtics won this game last night was because they did not let the Warriors’ scoring runs get to them.
The Warriors can put up points very fast and Curry had a huge third quarter last night by making all six of his three-point shots. The Celtics weathered the storm and did not let the Dubs’ offense get to them; they kept coming back and making shots on the other end of the floor. Thomas scored 18 points in the third quarter last night, which was huge for Boston.
The Celtics led going into the fourth quarter and they fought throughout the final period, which eventually led to Boston coming out on top after Curry missed a game-tying three-pointer on the last possession. This was definitely the biggest win of the Celtics’ season and they won this game because they believed they could win. Every player knew their role last night and the team locked up on defense when they needed to and hit big shots when they needed to.
Overall
Yes, 22 turnovers from the Warriors certainly did help the Celtics win this game, but that does not mean the Celtics did not deserve to win. Boston was without arguably their best player in Jae Crowder, and the team still pulled off the amazing upset.
The Warriors lost at home for the first time since January of 2015 and Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green all played. This might be the best win of the season for any team due to the fact that the Warriors are almost impossible to beat at home and because the Celtics were not even at full strength.