Klay Thompson led the way for Golden State with 28 points (Getty)
Final Score
Warriors – 29 – 26 – 31 – 18104
Celtics – 27 – 21 – 9 – 31 88
A dominant third quarter gave the Golden State Warriors the cushion they needed to win in Boston, beating the Celtics 104-88. The win pushed head coach Steve Kerr’s career regular season record to a staggering 150-26, and he’s the quickest to 150 wins in NBA history. Klay Thompson led the way offensively for Golden State, which has now won six straight games, with 28 points on 12-for-21 shooting from the field and Kevin Durant added 23 points, ten rebounds and seven assists.
Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 18 points, and his streak of consecutive games with 20 points or more came to an end at 11. The streak is something only two other Celtics, Sam Jones and Kevin McHale, had accomplished in franchise history. Avery Bradley added 17 points and ten rebounds, and his hot shooting to start the fourth quarter added a small bit of intrigue to the game. Bradley now has seven double-doubles in 12 games this season. Below are notes and some highlights from the first three quarters.
First Quarter
Boston got off to a good start, scoring eight of the game’s first ten points with Marcus Smart hitting two three-pointers. Golden State worked their way back into the game thanks to a pair of three from Klay Thompson, who scored eight points in the quarter with Kevin Durant leading all scorers with nine. Durant, who was booed by Celtics fans every time he touched the ball, shot 3-for-4 from the field. Smart led the Celtics with eight points in the quarter, with Isaiah Thomas and Amir Johnson scoring six apiece.
Stephen Curry got off to a cold start, making just one of his six shot attempts in the first quarter. Both teams moved the ball well, with ten of Golden State’s 12 field goals being assisted and Boston producing a ratio of eight assists on 11 made baskets.
Draymond finds Iguodala who slams it home on @ESPNNBA! #NBARapidReplay t.co/FGhZhC6Ow8
Second Quarter
After scoring eight points in the first quarter Thompson, who has shown signs of snapping out of his early season slump over the last five games, scored nine more in the second to tally a game-high 17 first half points. Thompson was joined in double figures by Durant, who scored six points in the second to move his total for the half to 15. Curry made two of his four field goal attempts in the second quarter, moving his point total to six in the period.
As for the Celtics, Thomas led the way offensively with 12 first half points, with Smart staying at eight and Johnson, Avery Bradley and Gerald Green finishing the half with six points apiece. Golden State shot 52.2 percent from the field in the first half, despite making just three of their 12 attempts from beyond the arc. Boston was slightly better from three (5-for-12), but they shot just 41.9 percent from the field. Golden State continued to move the ball well, assisting on eight of their 12 made field goals in the second quarter.
Third Quarter
This is where things got away from the Celtics. Golden State scored 20 of the quarter’s first 23 points, and they outscored the Celtics 31-9 in the third. Thompson scored nine more points to push his game-high total to 26, with Durant up to 19 points at the end of three quarters and Curry at 11. Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart are the lone double-digit scorers with the Celtics, with Thomas having 16 points at the end of three quarters and Smart ten.
Smart left the game late in the quarter with what was reported to be a left ankle contusion and did not return. With both teams having games Saturday, the fourth quarter should feature the reserves of both teams to close things out.
Go on with it, Zaza 😂
Check back with Heavy throughout the evening for score updates, statistics and highlights of the game.
