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BOSTON – Somehow, the streak continues. The Warriors came to the Garden without Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes, facing an intense effort from the Celtics. But the longest streak to open a season in American sports history could not be stopped, despite the Celtics taking them down to the wire in two overtimes.
Although they barely got a breather over the last 20 minutes of play, Steph Curry and Draymond Green were incredible forces. Curry finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists while playing the stretch with four fouls. Green kept pace with MVP, putting up the league's first 5x5 (At least 5 points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) in three years.
Green had 24 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks. The only other players to get a 5x5 with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds were Hakeem Olajuwon and Derrick Coleman, per the Washington Post's Tim Bontemps.
The Celtics could not have defended Curry better. Avery Bradley made his life hell for the first 3 quarters. With foul trouble sending both players to the bench for different stretches, Evan Turner and Isaiah Thomas were called upon to take on the MVP. They did an admirable job, especially with Turner rejecting a pair of shots by Curry in the middle of the fourth quarter.
But with Bradley fouling out in overtime, Turner and Thomas tried their best to corral Curry, with frequent double teams forcing Green and others to make plays. Curry survived though and scored 18 points in 18:53 over the course of the fourth quarter and the two overtimes.
In case you hadn’t noticed, Draymond Green is an absolute star. His dominance on both ends of the floor proved crucial as Steph Curry missed much of the second half with foul trouble. Curry was mistakenly called for his fourth foul early in the third quarter while standing eight feet away from the play. The refs deliberated, but in the end did not reverse the call.
With Curry out, the Warriors held firm to finish the third with a seven-point lead. But then David Lee changed everything. The Celtics went on an 11-1 run in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. Olynyk scored 5 points in that run, but it was David Lee’s six points in a row that catalyzed the playoff atmosphere in the Garden.
Curry came back into the game, but the Celtics’ intensity held up. With Bradley being held out of the game, possibly due to a thumb injury, Isaiah Thomas had the matchup on Curry. With help from Evan Turner and Jae Crowder, the Celtics were able to handle most of what Curry threw at them.
But as crunch time approached, Curry caught fire. Once overtime hit, he and Green took over the game.
The Celtics attempted 114 field goals Friday, the second time they surpassed 110 attempts in the previous 30 years. It was also just the fourth time an NBA team attempted at least 110 field goals and 30 three-pointers in a game in that timespan.
Poll
Are the Warriors the greatest team of all time?
This poll is closed
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41%
They're undefeated. Duh
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30%
They looked it Friday night, but still too soon
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13%
'08 Celtics 4eva
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14%
There have been better
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0%
Sound off in the comments!