Despite D’Angelo Russell spraining right thumb, Dubs bring Friday night’s game down to the wire before falling late in 105-100 defeat.
The Boston Celtics entered Friday night’s matchup as the best team in the NBA according winning percentage at .900 (9-1), and the Warriors hung with them until the very end of the game before ultimately falling short in the final moments in a 105-100 loss on Friday night at Chase Center.
Despite more Dubs getting injured, including D’Angelo Russell leaving the game due to a sprained right thumb with 5:33 left in the third quarter, the remaining Warriors stepped up to the challenge.
The Celtics were up 76-69 with 1:12 left in the third, yet the Dubs went on a 7-0 run to tie the game with 10 minutes left in the fourth. Alec Burks, who was already active on offense, had 10 points in the final quarter to keep the game close while Ky Bowman was was aggressive on both sides of the court with four points, one assist, and a steal in the final 12 minutes.
But the game came down to one critical play: with 1:39 remaining in the game, there was a jump ball at mid-court where, though the Dubs won the jump, Boston’s Jayson Tatum was aware of where the ball would be headed; Tatum cut-off the pass to take the ball down court for a dunk to put the Celtics up 98-97.
The Dubs were unable to tie or regain the lead from that point on.
TEAM LEADERS
| GSW
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Burks – 20 | Green – 11 | Russell – 7 |
| Paschall – 16 | 3 Tied – 8 | Green – 4 |
| Russell – 12 | Poole – 6 | Cauley-Stein – 2 |
| BOS
|
||
| Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Tatum – 24 | Tatum / Brown – 8 | Walker – 5 |
| Brown – 22 | Theis – 7 | Smart – 4 |
| Walker – 20 | 3 Tied – 5 | 3 Tied – 3 |
Burks finished with 20 points off the bench on the night and Eric Paschall added 16 points and eight rebounds in the defeat. Draymond Green was also everywhere on the court and in the stat box, posting 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block for a double-double.
Also of note was the team’s collective effort on the glass: the Dubs grabbed 55 rebounds compared to the Celtics’ 47 with each Warrior collecting two-or-more boards in the game.
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More Notables …
- Golden State fell to 2-11 overall and 1-6 at home… The Warriors lost their sixth-straight game, marking the franchise’s longest losing streak since they lost six consecutive games from Feb. 6, to Feb. 19, 2013.
- Tonight marked the first time in 49 years the Warriors and Celtics played a game in San Francisco… The teams last played in SF prior to tonight on February 21, 1970 at the Civic Auditorium, a 116-111 Warriors victory.
- Golden State deployed its ninth unique starting lineup this season… Paschall, Green, Cauley-Stein, Robinson lll, Russell.
- The Warriors committed a season-high 20 turnovers.
- Boston has won 10-consecutive games… Per STATS, the Celtics are the second team in NBA history to lose their season-opener and then win their next 10-consecutive games (1979-80 Milwaukee Bucks).
- The Celtics are now 3-0 vs. the Western Conference.
- Tonight marked the Warriors’ 350th consecutive sellout, the fourth-longest active sellout streak in the league.
- Alec Burks led the Warriors in scoring with 20 points off the bench, marking his third 20-plus point outing of the season… He went 11-of-12 from the free throw line (both season-highs)… This is the second game he has led the team in scoring this season… The last time a Warriors reserve made 11-plus free throws was Nate Robinson on Jan. 10, 2012 vs. Miami (14-of-14 FT).
- D’Angelo Russell posted 12 points before leaving the game with a right thumb sprain with 5:33 left in the third quarter, snapping his streak of five-straight games scoring 20-or-more points… He added a game-high seven assists… He committed a career-high nine turnovers (previous: eight, three times).
- Draymond Green recorded 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, marking his second double-double of the season.
- Eric Paschall tallied 16 points, his ninth double-digit scoring output this season… He added eight rebounds.
- Willie Cauley-Stein contributed 10 points and eight rebounds… He has scored 10-or-more points in three out of the Warriors’ last four games.
- Omari Spellman grabbed a career-high seven offensive rebounds (season-high tying eight total boards)… The last Warriors reserve to grab seven-plus offensive rebounds in a game was Andris Biedrins (seven offenseive rebounds at Denver on Nov. 24, 2006).
- Jaylen Brown posted 22 points and has now scored 20-plus points in a career-best four-straight games.
- Kemba Walker posted 20 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter (5-of-8 FG), marking the most points scored by a Celtic in the fourth quarter this season… He added five rebounds and five assists.
