Golden State Warriors beat Boston Celtics 115-111 to claim 10th straight victory
Sunday 27 January 2019 07:19, UK
Golden State Warriors won the battle of the two hottest teams in the NBA as they battled to a 115-111 win over the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden.
The win was the Warriors' 10th straight overall and ninth in a row on the road, the longest run in the NBA this season.
Boston, who had won their last five games overall and their last 10 at home, saw that winning streak snapped as the Warriors showed composure befitting of the NBA champions down the stretch.
Klay Thompson broke the eighth tie of the final nine minutes, converting two free throws with 46.1 seconds remaining after Marcus Smart nailed a 3-pointer with 1:08 to play to draw the teams even at 111.
After Thompson gave the Warriors the lead, the Celtics took two shots at reclaiming the upper hand, but Smart and Al Horford both missed 3-pointers.
Draymond Green missed two free throws with 8.6 seconds remaining to allow the Celtics potentially to get one final opportunity to tie the game or win it, but typically he made up for it with his hustle and managed to grab the offensive rebound before feeding Stephen Curry, who was fouled with 6.2 seconds to go.
Curry made two free throws to ice Golden State's fourth straight win on a five-game trip that ends Monday at Indiana.
The two foul shots capped a 4-for-4 night at the line for Curry, who has made his last 46 free throws, closing in on his career-best record of 52 consecutive free throws.
Kevin Durant led the Warriors, the two-time defending champions, with 33 points and nine rebounds, while Curry finished with 24 points and Thompson 21.
DeMarcus Cousins added 15 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes in his fourth game of the season, while Green was the Warriors' leading rebounder with 11 to complement five points, eight assists and three steals.
The Celtics, who had opened a five-game homestand with wins over Miami and Cleveland, were led by Kyrie Irving who showed off his outstanding ball handling and finishing skills as recorded a 32-point, 10-assist double-double.
Horford also logged a double-double with 22 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Jayson Tatum added 20 points for the hosts.
Twelve of Irving's 32 points came on four 3-pointers as the Celtics outscored the Warriors 45-36 from beyond the arc.
The home loss was the Celtics' first since 21 December against Milwaukee, while Golden State remain unbeaten on the road since they faced Utah before Christmas.
