Apparently when it comes to the Celtics and Warriors, history does repeat itself.
Similar to last season, when the Celtics came into Oracle Arena and snapped the Warriors 36-game home win streak, Boston defeated Golden State 99-86 on their home court on Wednesday. That’s right — the Celtics held the high-scoring Warriors offense to just 86 points.
Despite the double-digit victory for the Celtics, the game was close throughout. There were nine lead changes and the game was tied eight times. But after Stephen Curry taunted Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown with a third quarter buzzer beating 3-pointer, Boston came out on a mission in the fourth and went on a 15-0 run which was the key to their win.
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This a big win for the Celtics. Even though the Warriors didn’t have Kevin Durant, they are still an amazing team and Boston went into their home arena and won. This is the second big win in recent weeks for the Celtics as they also defeated the Cavs on Mar. 1. And sure, Cleveland was also undermanned without Kevin Love and J.R. Smith but with their wins over the Cavs and Warriors, the Celtics are showing that they have the makings of a legitimate contender.
Takeaways
A fourth quarter tale: Heading into the fourth, the Warriors had a 74-72 lead and the momentum as Curry had just cooked Brown right at the buzzer. Undaunted, the Celtics simply took over right at the start of the fourth quarter.
Jae Crowder hit two big 3-pointers and Boston’s defense clamped down on Golden State, which was a big part of Boston’s 15-0 run. The Warriors just couldn’t score on the Celtics’ staunch defense and Golden State’s sloppiness and carelessness with the ball doomed them. In the fourth, the Warriors scored just 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting and they turned the ball over eight times, which led to nine Boston points.
Some of this could be attributed to Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s rotation decisions as he opted to play Patrick McCaw, Ian Clark and James McAdoo in a stretch that resulted in Boston’s big run. Kerr likely didn’t want to play Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Stephen Curry heavy minutes on purpose but he may have left Golden State’s bench in for a bit too long in the fourth.
Also Kerr’s rotation decisions in the fourth are a direct result of Kevin Durant being injured. Instead of staggering Golden State’s key players, the Warriors now have less freedom when it comes to rotations. Durant is such a big part of Golden State this season and although they still have superstar talent with Curry, Green and Thompson, this game showed how much they need. From an offensive standpoint especially as both Curry and Thompson went ice cold in the fourth (just one point combined).
Olynyk Clinic: A well rounded team, the Celtics got great efforts from Isaiah Thomas (25 points), Al Horford (10 points, team-high 6 assists and 6 rebounds), Avery Bradley (12 points and 6 rebounds) and Jae Crowder (9 points and 10 rebounds) but the play of Kelly Olynk really made a difference for the Celtics.
Coming off the bench, Olynyk finished the game with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in 26 minutes. He shot an incredible 78 percent from the field (7-of-9) and even knocked down a 3-pointer.
Olynyk has had an up and down season, partly due to injury, but if he keeps playing like this, the Celtics become an even stronger team.
Playoff picture: Again this was a big win for the Celtics as they are now just two games behind the Cavs for the No. 1 seed in the East. If they are able to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, having homecourt advantage in a possible matchup against the Cavs would be crucial to their success. The Cavs are still the Cavs though so the chances of them sliding down in the standings is quite slim, yet Boston is definitely putting some pressure on Cleveland.
A similar situation is happening out West. The Spurs picked up another win so they are now just 1.5 games behind the Warriors for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Golden State wants to keep their hold on the No. 1 seed but with the season winding down, health becomes a factor. So it wouldn’t be surprising if Kerr rests his star players, which is what he hinted at after the game.
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But the Warriors also have two big games left against the Spurs, where the winner would take control of the tiebreaker. All of this is making the end of the season quite intriguing, as what many expected to be a ho hum story for the No. 1 seed in both conferences now has some exciting drama.