Jayson Tatum (44 Pts) & Stephen Curry (47) Have A Classic Duel As C's Outlast Warriors 119-114

 

    ABC and ESPN executives must have been doing cartwheels late last night as the shorthanded Celtics (31-26 overall, 18-10 home) and Warriors (28-29 overall, 11-19 away) staged an improbable instant classic regular season game. Down two starters (Jaylon Brown and Robert Williams) plus a top reserve (Evan Fournier), Boston won 119-114 at the TD Garden thanks to a true superstar performance by swingman Jayson Tatum (44 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals) which was just enough to survive another unforgettable outing by Warriors icon Stephen Curry (47 points, 11 3-pointers, 7 rebounds) who is the greatest shooter in NBA history. Most importantly, it was Boston's season-high sixth win in a row which vaulted them ahead of idle Atlanta (30-26) and into fourth-place in the Eastern Conference. 

    This matchup had it all, including a crazy dive into the scorer's table by Warriors small forward Juan Toscano-Anderson (6 rebounds) that resulted in a cut on his head and possible concussion while the newest Celtic Jabari Parker scored 11 points in 16 minutes off the bench. Wait what? Celts point guard Kemba Walker (26 points, 8 rebounds) was really good and guard Marcus Smart (16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) had the impossible task of slowing down a red-hot Curry. Rookie guard Payton Pritchard (11 points) also gave Boston head coach Brad Stevens some valuable minutes off the bench as well. 

    With Klay Thompson sadly out for the entire season, Golden State is left to scrap for the play-in round of the Western Conference playoffs. As you can tell by the box score, Curry does not have much help at the moment. Former No. 1 pick in 2014 (1 spot ahead of Parker!) small forward Andrew Wiggins (22 points) has never developed into the star that many thought he would be. Swingman Kent Bazemore added 16 points for the Warriors while shooting guard Jordan Poole had 12 points off the bench. Uniquely gifted power forward Draymond Green (5 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds) was held in check after he's had some monster numbers lately. 

    Golden State was hot right away as they led 33-24 after the first quarter and 66-60 at halftime. Truthfully, it felt like a gift that Boston was only down two possessions after two quarters since Tatum hit a tough jumper at the halftime buzzer. The C's made another push to tie it at 89 after three quarters before closing it out 30-25 in the fourth quarter. Boston had five more rebounds (45-40) including six more offensive boards (14-8) which led to 10 more points in the paint (48-38) and 11 more points second chance points (26-15). They also had three more steals (9-6) and eight less turnovers (17-9) than the sloppy Warriors which resulted in 15 more points off turnovers (23-8). 

    This was the start of an important three-game homestand for the Celtics as they host the Bulls (23-33 overall, 12-15 away) tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston). Brown was sick (not with Covid-19) so hopefully he can return for that one. Williams is dealing with left knee soreness so we'll see about that and Stevens already said that Fournier is out of the league's health and safety protocol but he won't be suiting up against Chicago. Milwaukee (35-21) is four and a half games ahead of Boston so realistically, the best that they can finish in the East in 2021 is in fourth. Therefore, they have to do everything they can to hold onto that spot with less than a month left to go in the regular season.

The Celtics Kick Off Their Long (5 Games) West Coast Trip With A 111-107 Win At Golden State

 

    Load up on the coffee and energy drinks (do people still buy those?) because the Celtics (11-8 overall, 6-5 away) are going to have a bunch of late nights in the next week. Boston rewarded its fans that stayed up after a long day of shoveling and snowblowing back in New England with an entertaining 111-107 victory this evening against the Warriors (11-10 overall, 8-5 home) at the Chase Center. Golden State's superstar point guard Stephen Curry (game-high 38 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals) was his usual electric self but the C's were able to limit the others around him. No doubt, they also took advantage of the fact that the Warriors are missing shooting guard Klay Thompson (torn ACL) for the season while talented rookie center James Wiseman is out with a wrist injury. 

    It's not often that you can say that the Celts' size was a main factor in a win against a quality opponent but tonight was one of those rare times. Boston owned the glass against Golden State: they had 15 more rebounds overall (51-36) including twice as many offensive boards (12-6) and nine more defensive boards (39-30). The other main reason that the Celtics prevailed was small forward Grant Williams (15 points, 2 blocks). Haha wait what? No, it's true. After being a truly awful 3-point shooter in his rookie year, he has become a legitimate threat from downtown where he is usually left wide open. He was a perfect 3-for-3 on 3-pointers against Golden State in 27 minutes off the bench. Sure, forward Jayson Tatum (team-high 27 points, 9 rebounds), shooting guard Jaylen Brown (18 points, 10 rebounds) and point guard Kemba Walker (19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) were all good but you expect that from guys of their caliber. 

    Curry couldn't say that he got the same support from his surrounding cast since the next highest scorer for the Warriors was something called Juan Toscano-Anderson (16 points), an undrafted rookie small forward out of Marquette who had a nice performance off of head coach Steve Kerr's shaky bench. Without Thompson who is perhaps the best glue guy in the NBA and a borderline Hall of Famer, Golden State is the island of misfit toys besides Curry. Small forward Andrew Wiggins' (15 points) has not taken the next step in his once promising career since coming to the Bay Area, shooting guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (12 points) is a decent role player and small forward Kent Bazemore (10 points, 2 steals) is basically a poor man's Oubre as a substitute. Oh and power forward Draymond Green (2 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 5 turnovers, 5 fouls) is still there and I love him but if possible, his shooting has gotten even worse. 

    It was a slow start for the C's as the Warriors were at their best in the first quarter (35-24). That was the only frame that Boston got outscored in though as they recovered to tie it at 52 going into halftime. Both teams were feeling it in the third quarter (34-33 Celts) and the Celtics did just enough to hang on in the fourth quarter (25-22). It was tied at 96 midway through the fourth when Boston went on a 10-0 run that gave them the small cushion to withstand everything that Golden State had left in the tank to throw at them.

    With the high-octane style that the Warriors employ, there will always be some wacky numbers when you play them. Golden State hit two more 3-pointers (15-13), scored 10 more fast break points (17-7), six more points off turnovers (18-12) and four more points in the paint (44-40) while handing out nearly twice as many assists (30-16), they had three times as many steals (9-3) and four less turnovers (15-11) than Boston. The Celtics survived by being more aggressive going to the basket, they attempted four more free throws (27-23) and hit four more of them (20-16) than the home team plus they almost doubled them in second chance points (16-9). They also shot a tiny bit better than the Warriors (46.4%-45.8%) which is notable anytime you face the greatest shooter in the history of the NBA (Curry).

    There is no rest for the Celts in the California sun as they travel to play the Kings (9-11) tomorrow night (10, NBC Sports Boston) at the Golden 1 Center. Lol, that's seriously the name of their stupid building. As usual, Sacramento is not good but their point guard De'Aaron Fox is coming off of a huge game at New Orleans on Monday where he had 38 points and 12 assists in a 118-109 win for the Kings over the lowly Pelicans (7-12). Rookie guard Tyrese Haliburton looks like a nice player for Sacramento too and shooting guard Buddy Hield is liable to go off versus the Celtics like he has before. With that said, there is no excuse; this is by far the easiest opponent on the entire road trip for the C's so they have to find a way to get it done in the second half of a back-to-back on the road despite not having Marcus Smart who sure would be helpful against all these dangerous guards on the Kings.