Celtics come back, but still lose to Warriors 114-111

This was a tall order tonight for the Celtics. Golden State came in undefeated against the East, and 20-1 at home. Boston needed a huge effort and a letdown performance by the Warriors.

This was yet another game where Boston suffered through poor shooting in the first quarter. Avery Bradley had an especially rough start, missing 5 of his first 6 shots. Golden State had a varied offensive attack, as eight different players scored for them in the first 12 minutes. They shot 55%, and the Celtics were just barely hanging around in the first quarter.

The second quarter started with an all bench matchup between the two teams. Both teams shot poorly, and the lead remained mostly unchanged until the 6 minute mark. Tyler Zeller hit two consecutive jumpers to pull the Celtics within one score. Golden State went back to its starters, but James Young tied it on the next possession. At the end of the half, the Celtics were only down four when they "fouled" Steph Curry on a halfcourt shot. Tommy Heinsohn was out, so Gorman and Scal gave their best efforts at incredulity. The Celtics played much better defense in the quarter, but it didn't show on the scoreboard.

Jared Sullinger had a nice first half. He faced off against a dominant defender in Andrew Bogut, but came away with 11 points. Tyler Zeller was right behind him with 10 points of his own. Apart from them, Boston really struggled on offense. The rest of the team could only muster 30% shooting in the half.

After a quiet first half, Stephen Curry came alive in the third. He scored five points and dished out three assists in the first six minutes alone. Draymond Green threw in five points during this period, and the Warriors built a 10 point lead halfway through the quarter. It seemed like every time the Celtics cut the lead down, Curry or Thompson hit a shot to keep them away. Klay Thompson was an afterthought for the first six minutes, then scored seven points alarmingly quick. Boston made it close again, but then Curry actually dunked and followed that up with a flashy assist to ignite the crowd as the quarter ended.

Facing a 12 point deficit, the Celtics sent out the bench to start the fourth. This unit couldn't put a dent in the lead. The Warriors are lucky enough to have Andre Iguodala and David Lee come off the bench, so this was tough matchup for Boston. The Celtic starters, with James Young subbed for Jae Crowder, came back in still down by double digits. They managed to fight back a bit, but never really threatened the warriors. Until the last minute that is. Boston hit two quick threes and forced some turnovers to come within just three points. There would be no late game heroics tonight unfortunately, as Golden State closed it out.

Sully was the best player for Boston tonight. He probably took too many threes (he was 1/5), but was really effective outside of that. He finished with 24 points and 9 rebounds.

Trying to Contain the Splash Brothers.

Klay Thompson was coming off a generational performance. Evan Turner was the lucky one guarding him most of tonight. Thompson wasn't 37 points in a quarter good, but he still put up huge numbers tonight. He really starred in the 4th quarter. He scored 11 of his 31 points in the last period to close the game out for the Warriors. Despite a game winner a year back, Stephen Curry hasn't really torched the Celtics historically. His average PPG against Boston is actually lower than any other team. Curry didn't shoot that well, but he still made an impact. He requires so much attention on the offensive end, which opens things up for everyone else. He finished with 22 points and 11 assists.

Golden State leads the league in FG%, opponent FG%, and their point differential is the best since the 96 Bulls. The point being, this team is worlds better than Boston is. That being said, the Celtics fought back hard to make this a competitive game.