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Celtics Wrap: Win Streak Snapped With 115-111 Loss To Warriors

NESN by Logan Mullen on Sat, Jan 26, 2019 at 10:56PM

BOSTON — NBA fans should pray the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors meet for a seven-game series this June.

The two powerhouses clashed a TD Garden on Saturday, with the Warriors claiming the wildly entertaining affair 115-111.

Over the 48 minutes there were 21 lead changes and 14 more ties, and neither side led by double digits at any point.

Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 32 points. Al Horford (22), Jayson Tatum (20 points), Marcus Smart (12) and Jaylen Brown (10) also tallied double figures for Boston. Kevin Durant had 33 points and was one of four Warriors in double figures.

With the loss, the Celtics fall to 30-19, while the Warriors climb to 35-14 with the win.

Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING FIVE
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Marcus Morris Sr.
C: Al Horford

DUBS CLAIM FIRST
The Celtics led for most of the first quarter, but a late surge by the Warriors allowed the visitors to take a 29-26 lead into the second.

It was the back-and-forth affair it was expected to be through a good chunk of the first, but the C’s began to tip the momentum in their favor a bit on an Irving triple with 5:19 left in the period that upped their advantage to six. That ended up being the biggest lead for either side in the opening stanza, with the Warriors chipping away the remainder of the frame and grabbing the lead with just over a minute left.

Irving didn’t take long to heat up, putting together six points with one rebound and three assists in just 4:15 to begin the game. He finished the frame with a team-high 11 points, while Durant paced all players with 14.

WARRIORS EXTEND LEAD, BUT C’S FIGHT BACK
Boston’s defense began to break down in the second quarter and the Warriors made them pay. However, a late surge allowed the Celtics to outscore Golden State 33-23 in the second, although they went into the half trailing 61-59.

Just under two minutes into the frame, the Warriors began an 8-2 run that put them up three with 8:53 left. The Celtics did a pretty good job countering on the offensive end, but Stephen Curry went scorched earth from three-point territory to create some separation. Once Curry heated up, the Celtics had to guard him further out, and that allowed for some probing passes that created open looks underneath the basket.

Down by nine with less than five minutes to go, the Celtics strung together a 12-2 run to go ahead by one with less than two minutes to play. The Warriors proceeded to outscore the C’s 5-2 in the final 90 seconds.

Curry had 17 points in the second, while Irving led all players with 19 first-half points.

WARRIORS GET SOME SEPARATION
As had been the case all night, it was level-pegging in the third, with a burst from the Dubs in the back half of the stanza allowing them to outscore the C’s 29-25 and take a 90-84 lead into the fourth.

Shortly into the third the Celtics started having success from beyond the arc, and it allowed them to take the lead. Tatum hit three triples in the first five minutes of the frame, and a Morris trey with 6:51 left gave the Celtics a 77-75 advantage and forced Warriors head coach Steve Kerr into a timeout.

From there the Warriors responded nicely, taking the lead and then creating a little room thanks to an 8-0 run over 2:46, which put them up 88-81 with 2:24 left.

Tatum had 14 points in the third.

GOLDEN STATE WINS IT
It was a thrilling finish, but the Celtics were unable to earn the victory despite outscoring the Warriors 27-25 in the final 12 minutes.

Boston outscored the Warriors 12-4 in the first 3:33 of the fourth, allowing them to take a 96-94 lead.

Neither team led by more than five the rest of the way.

Down by three with 1:08 left, Smart knocked down a trey to tie the game at 111. Klay Thompson was fouled the next trip down the floor and knocked down both free throws. With 10 seconds left, Marcus Morris rung a would-be go-ahead three of the backiron, and Draymond Green was intentionally fouled after getting the rebound. Green missed both free-throw attempts, but got his on rebound on the second, fed a pass out to Curry and Curry was fouled and sent to the line with six seconds left. He knocked down both to put Golden State up 115-111.

The Celtics couldn’t convert on the final play of the game, sealing the loss.

PLAY OF THE GAME
Draymond wanted no part of that.

UP NEXT
The Celtics will remain at home for a tilt with the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. Tip-off from TD Garden is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Here is the game flow:



The score was very close for most of the game. It could have gone either way at the end.

We'll get them next time!!

The most important thing about this game is that Boston could have won.  There were countless lead changes throughout and many spectacular plays from both teams.

This turned into a mere 4 point loss.  A peak at the team stats reveals no team had an over-whelming advantage.  There were however two elements to this game that you can point to as a reason for the loss.  They went 29-34 from the line and the Celtics went 14-15.  They also doubled our fast break points 22-11.  

A few weeks back Brad Stevens when asked about free throw shooting said he was not concerned about free throw shooting.  I have concluded that he is either stupid or he is lying.  Getting to the line is often the difference between winning a close game or coming out on the short end.

The Celtics are scoring more fast break points this year but this team does not know how to run a fast break.  They continue to use a Speedy Gonzales approach where whoever gets the rebound dribbles the ball up the court.  That is not fast break basketball.  Too many times those opportunities descend into ISO plays that come up empty.  Last night too many guys were getting caught not getting back in a timely fashion.  Defending against the fast break is just as important as scoring off of them.

The Celtics wasted a great game by Al Horford last night.  He went for 22 points and grabbed a season high 13 rebounds.  The only downside were his 5 brain-fart inspired turnovers.  Kyrie was unstoppable except when he stopped himself with 4 turnovers as his mind was racing away faster than his body could keep up.

Tatum dropped 20 and Brown led the bench with 10 points but he only played 22 minutes and was a non-factor in the 2nd half.  Morris has come back down to earth the last 3 games which should be expected and Marcus scored 12 but shot poorly.  He made a huge three late in the game to give us hope.

If there was one thing about this game that ticked me off it was a series of cuts to the baskets for easy layups that the Celtics surrenders to GS.  Uncovered guys with a clean cut to the rack.  It looked like a clinic.

GH if you did not notice, has become our 6th man.  He is the first guy off the bench.  That role does not fit him.  Digging into history a bit, Boston invented the 6th man.  It worked because that player could come in the game and immediately impact what was going on.  The energy level was high.  Gordon has no energy.  He looks like an old car that needs to idle for 5 minutes before he warms up.  It is a bad role for him.  Based on what I am seeing the 6th man role needs to go to Jaylen Brown.

How this team bounces back from this loss will help to define their character.  The Celtics have played much better over the course of the last two weeks but you can see that they still lack championship level discipline to execute on the court.

Turnovers

When they happen in the last minutes are killers and KI had 2 in the last minute.

Although we never had much of a lead anytime there were s couple times GS looked like they were on the verge of pulling away shooting out to a 9-10 point lead but we reeled them back in.

Tough loss yeah but it was a winnable game.

beat

dboss, I agree with all you wrote. The game was winnable, another way to say the Celtics have the talent to compete with the best. IMO, Hayward's 2 points in 22 minutes and lackluster defense, coupled with too many minutes for Horford and Irving, not enough for Baynes or even a minute for Williams, doomed a good effort. Unused depth is useless. When the other team is driving and scoring, you need a rim protector. We have been saying this for so many years that it's ridiculous and another wing is not going to cure the defect. I find this more frustrating now than ever because we have the players, but apparently not the will to deploy them. Just a fan here, but to this fan, it seems minutes are not earned when it comes to certain high-priced players who are inserted into the lineup in the vain hope they will produce at a level closer to their salaries than their current abilities. On the bright side, we have a team that can beat anyone. Hawk

Dboss, re free throws, the only excuse I can give for Brad's answer is that maybe he was thinking the question was about our frito %, not overall # of fritos. Otherwise, no excuse.

Bob, you are probably right. Danny is not going to initiate a big trade. You are also right about Gordon, the little engine that couldn't. "I think I can't. I think I can't." He's not getting over that hill this year. Zero for five in a clutch game in 22 minutes? No way should he be taking minutes away from Jaylen at this point. Let Gordon sort it out over the summer. Play our best players now. And give Jayson more shots in the 4th Q for goodness sakes.

How Jaylen got no playing time at crunch time is beyond me...??? if GH didn’t play and we gave those minutes to Jaylen and Semi we would have won. Morris was in at crunch time in 4th and didn’t do much of anything. GH blew the easiest finish all year, all he had to do was dunk point blank at the rim and he couldn’t even do that. After 12 minutes of him doing nothing, I would have sat him.....

+1 Cow

cowens/oldschool wrote:How Jaylen got no playing time at crunch time is beyond me...??? if GH didn’t play and we gave those minutes to Jaylen and Semi we would have won. Morris was in at crunch time in 4th and didn’t do much of anything. GH blew the easiest finish all year, all he had to do was dunk point blank at the rim and he couldn’t even do that. After 12 minutes of him doing nothing, I would have sat him.....

Cow

Brad Stevens is trying to find a role for GH.  He tried starting him and that did not work.  He brought him off the bench and now he has the 6th man role. The player that has been hurt most by this tomfoolery is Jaylen Brown.  As you mentioned yesterday, Jaylen has played well against GS.  Splitting 44 minutes between the two of them is not ideal.  If a guy is not playing well you have to pair down his minutes.  Jaylen struggled right out the gate this season and people seem to overlook the fact that he did not all of a sudden forget how to play.

I knew Jaylen would improve as the season went on.  In 13 games in January he is second on the team in 3 point accuracy at .429%.  Kyrie is at 431%.  At a time when a player is trending well and I think 13 games is a credible sample size, you have to get him more minutes.

As I have repeatedly surmised, GH may be of little use to the team this year.  He may need a full year to regain his former swag.  He has zero confidence, looks slow, looks indecisive.  Last night he did not look like he belonged on the court.  Other games he seems to have a bit more pep in his step but overall he is having a bad year.  Injuries like the one he suffered will do that to you.

Right dboss and he was 2-3 from 3 last night, limiting his minutes killed us last night, you don’t limit a talented Dominique/Bernard King stud like that, I’d get him on the fuckin floor.....

The line up of Kyrie Smart Jaylen Tatum Horford gave us the lead in the 2nd quarter and looked/played great. I never saw them together in the 2nd half, why I can see this line up was working and BS couldn’t figure that out is beyond me....????

Morris really at crunch time? he actually played okay, just missed too many of his go to moves.

The rumors of Al Horford's death have been greatly exaggerated! Nice, nice game Al!

dboss, all of your points right on. My only issue is over the free throws. When the discrepancy is so great, it is the result of only one thing...too many missed 3's. They missed 19 and made 12. We missed 25 and made 15. We picked up 9 more points on the made threes. The fact that we missed that many means we weren't going to the hoop for layups, fouls, And 1's, i.e. normal ways to get free throws. Our approach at times is backwards from the established working formula of Inside-Out. Football has the same with establish the running game first, then pass.

We like the three ball and we don't really suck at it. As long as it's a net gain when checked against the free throw difference, we're ok. This game it was not a net gain. Add 9 points to the made free throws and you have 23 points. Game difference was 4, makes 27. GSW had 29 made free throws. I don't know where to get the other two points to tie the score but if every other stat both teams were pretty much equal, that's where we came up short. Another drive to the hoop or a couple more threes made would have been the difference. That is fixable and certainly nothing to pull up the carpet about for this team. My money is on Danny standing pat. This team can fix/tweak all that.

The risk is if we're off on three ball shooting. Then not only are we losing the 3-ball stat but the free throw stat. Then we really lose big. It's a risky strategy but it works for us.

Glad everyone else lost around us, IND, PHI, TOR to tread water. TOR and MIL at it again tonight in separate games and then play each other later in the week. It would be nice to see TOR lose again. Time for our run to 2nd place. Unless the Freak goes down, 2nd is about the best we are going to get at this point.

db

Bob that’s not my point and he does have moves similar to those HoFers that most players do not. You limit his minutes, you limit his production and what he can do, every game you can wait for it and sooner or later he does some Jaylen like things, similar to what Tatum did in the 3rd. You screw him out of minutes your giving him less time to do those things.

Nitpick time: Stevens has publicly stated that he wants guys going to the basket more. That , in itself would lead to more free throws. I interpret his remarks about free throws differently. I think his meaning was two- fold. First , that the team needs to worry more about taking care of business, and less about how the games are reffed and second, the  free  throw shooting hasn't been  bad. I think dboss's point about them diving to the basket for easy hoops is a good one, and , I think it emphasizes the other side of the coin. Guys like Brown and Tatum should do it far more often for our side. Tony Allen couldn't shoot a lick, but he got his points doing just that. I known it's the least of the tragedy involving Jabari Bird, but in the preseason that certainly looked like something he was exceptionally good at. As for the Gordon Hayward conundrum , I think Stevens iis trying to get him back to where he can be a major contributor by the time the post-season rolls around, and doesn't want to bury him on the end of the bench , even if it costs a few games.Whether  that is the right approach, or even a reasonable possibility, is anybody's guess. Bottom line; we lost to the team that I still believe to be the class of the association,because of some miscommunications down the stretch, between Irving and Horford, because we missed some open looks, because Smart fell down, when he was supposed to block out Green, on a missed free throw , and because those sobs can shoot the lights out , even when closely guarded. Hayward, btw, did pull down 7 rebounds in 22 minutes , which works out to 11 or 12 per 36. It's not like he's not trying out there.

dboss wrote:

The Celtics are scoring more fast break points this year but this team does not know how to run a fast break.  They continue to use a Speedy Gonzales approach where whoever gets the rebound dribbles the ball up the court.  That is not fast break basketball.  Too many times those opportunities descend into ISO plays that come up empty.  Last night too many guys were getting caught not getting back in a timely fashion.  Defending against the fast break is just as important as scoring off of them.

If there was one thing about this game that ticked me off it was a series of cuts to the baskets for easy layups that the Celtics surrenders to GS.  Uncovered guys with a clean cut to the rack.  It looked like a clinic.

Our pathetic attempts to run the fast break have driven me mad all season. Can't Danny find some old tape of the Russell/Havlicek teams, sit the young guys down and show them how to properly execute? Same goes for defending the fast break. It's not rocket science for Pete's sake.

Berlin-T

Dboss, pretty good breakdown of the game. The free throws were huge in their favor for a close game.

another point was their top 4 players not counting cousins played 12 minutes more than our top 4 players. When Durant and Curry and company are getting basically one more quarter that is hard.

This game we needed more of Smart, more of Brown, more of Tatum. All three are young and can play 37 o 40 minutes when you are playing a good team like the Warriors. I am not saying this for every game, I am saying it for important games against good teams. Their top players played 39, 38, 35, and 34. The Warriors wanted this game and they played it like a playoff game.

Our bench game us nothing other than Brown with 22 minutes. R U kidding me? He needs 30 minutes at least a game. Brad's will not vary from his rotation.

I do believe Hayward will be better after the all star break and he gets some rest. Maybe he needs to start again and get the instant offense of Morris off the bench along with Brown. I don't like Tatum being stuck in the corner about half the game. We have a guys that go a long time without touching the ball at times.

I looked up Kyrie's assists last night. 10 which is good but half of them were to Horford. Its probably close to that for the year. Kyrie has got to get more guys involved. At the end of game even though he has had some success that is not a key to a winning team. Not one guy going 1 on 5.

Its just a lot of little things that kill us like their layups, our lack of rebounding, and free throw difference. The same things all year long. I think we are 3rd from the last in free throw attempts. In the playoffs that will kill us. I think maybe Brad has mentioned this to Tatum because he has been trying to go to the hole the last 4 or 5 games. If everyone starts going there more often we will start getting some calls.

I believe we also gave up 9 free throws on fouling a 3 point shooter. Of course one of them called for Durant was bogus at the end of game.

JMO

Losses never sit well.

How the team responds is the most important thing.

They have two remaining games this month both at home with Brooklyn and Charlotte.  February presents it's own set of challengers with road games at Philly, Bucks and Raptors.  Home games with OKC, both LA teams, Detroit and Portland will all be very competitive.  

The Celtics disappointing season has been highlighted by a surprisingly poor road record and a poor record against teams plying .500 and above (8-11),  22 of their 30 wins came against teams at or below .500  

It is way past the time for them to get busy with winning.

More Brown and Tatum, both of whom drive to the basket. Less Me ball and Hayward.

tardust wrote:Dboss,  pretty good breakdown of the game.  The free throws were huge in their favor for a close game.  

another point was their top 4 players not counting cousins played 12 minutes more than our top 4 players.  When Durant and Curry and company are getting basically one more quarter that is hard.

This game we needed more of Smart,  more of Brown,  more of Tatum.  All three are young and can play 37 o 40 minutes when you are playing a good team like the Warriors.  I am not saying this for every game,  I am saying it for important games against good teams. Their top players played 39, 38, 35, and 34.  The Warriors wanted this game and they played it like a playoff game.

Our bench game us nothing other than Brown with 22 minutes.  R U kidding me?   He needs 30 minutes at least a game.  Brad's will not vary from his rotation.

I do believe Hayward will be better after the all star break and he gets some rest.  Maybe he needs to start again and get the instant offense of Morris off the bench along with Brown.  I don't like Tatum being stuck in the corner about half the game.  We have a guys that go a long time without touching the ball at times.

I looked up Kyrie's assists last night. 10 which is good but half of them were to Horford.  Its probably close to that for the year.  Kyrie has got to get more guys involved.  At the end of game even though he has had some success that is not a key to a winning team.  Not one guy going 1 on 5.  

Its just a lot of little things that kill us like their layups, our lack of rebounding,  and free throw difference. The same things all year long.  I think we are 3rd from the last in free throw attempts.  In the playoffs that will kill us. I think maybe Brad has mentioned this to Tatum because he has been trying to go to the hole the last 4 or 5 games.  If everyone starts going there more often we will start getting some calls.

I believe we also gave up 9 free throws on fouling a 3 point shooter.  Of course one of them called for Durant was bogus at the end of game.

JMO

Tardust

I am glad that you highlighted the minutes played by their top guys. That is a big problem because the Celtics deep rotation prevents it.

Brown should not be buried on the bench. He played poorly earlier in the season but I think he has hit full stride. You play him more minutes in the second half of last night's game not because he had 10 points off the bench in the first half. You do it because he has been playing his best stretch of basketball since last year's playoffs.

I really do not know what they should do with GH. I wish I could say there was a time certain when he would be ready to consistently play well. The reality may be hard to digest but Gordon was never a high end athlete but he was definitely athletic enough to create some separation from defenders to get shots and he could get to the rim reasonable well. Physically he just does not look that good. He appears indecisive and very unsure of himself. But the time for experimentation is just about over. Let's see if he gets better through the end of February and if not they should limit his minutes and give them to someone else that is ready to play. I still think it will be next year before we see him reclaim his basketball prowess.

Kyrie plays the two man game with Horford. That pick and pop action is a staple of our offense. I would like to see them run that same action with some other players.

Those 3 fouls on three point attempts did not help one bit. But Boston seems to make that bone head play at least once every game. One of the 10 commandments of basketball is to never foul a jump shooter.

Al Horford had one of his best games of the year with 13 rebounds and he scored the ball very well and had 2 blocks and a steal in 35 minutes. His 5 turnovers were pretty horrible but I think he gets the game ball. If anyone thinks this means that AH will be fine, don't bet on it. He had 5 days off and that rejuvenated him greatly. Al Horford has a history of wearing down as the season goes on. When the playoffs begin they will be playing every other day and get 3 days off when changing locations. I think that Aron Baynes if used properly can take on some of the physical pounding that Al cannot handle.

worcester wrote:More Brown and Tatum, both of whom drive to the basket. Less Me ball and Hayward.

Brown and Tatum were keys to getting this team to the 7th game of the ECF last year.

Was a fun game from beginning to end.

Against the champions - with a lot of unfortunate turnovers, poor play from Hayward, Morris and Rozier, and a 34 to 15 FT shooting discrepancy - they were still it it with a chance to win with 20 seconds in the game.

Patience.

Add fundamental coaching errors to that list as well...and we were still thisclose.

dboss wrote:

tardust wrote:Dboss,  pretty good breakdown of the game.  The free throws were huge in their favor for a close game.  

another point was their top 4 players not counting cousins played 12 minutes more than our top 4 players.  When Durant and Curry and company are getting basically one more quarter that is hard.

This game we needed more of Smart,  more of Brown,  more of Tatum.  All three are young and can play 37 o 40 minutes when you are playing a good team like the Warriors.  I am not saying this for every game,  I am saying it for important games against good teams. Their top players played 39, 38, 35, and 34.  The Warriors wanted this game and they played it like a playoff game.

Our bench game us nothing other than Brown with 22 minutes.  R U kidding me?   He needs 30 minutes at least a game.  Brad's will not vary from his rotation.

I do believe Hayward will be better after the all star break and he gets some rest.  Maybe he needs to start again and get the instant offense of Morris off the bench along with Brown.  I don't like Tatum being stuck in the corner about half the game.  We have a guys that go a long time without touching the ball at times.

I looked up Kyrie's assists last night. 10 which is good but half of them were to Horford.  Its probably close to that for the year.  Kyrie has got to get more guys involved.  At the end of game even though he has had some success that is not a key to a winning team.  Not one guy going 1 on 5.  

Its just a lot of little things that kill us like their layups, our lack of rebounding,  and free throw difference. The same things all year long.  I think we are 3rd from the last in free throw attempts.  In the playoffs that will kill us. I think maybe Brad has mentioned this to Tatum because he has been trying to go to the hole the last 4 or 5 games.  If everyone starts going there more often we will start getting some calls.

I believe we also gave up 9 free throws on fouling a 3 point shooter.  Of course one of them called for Durant was bogus at the end of game.

JMO

Tardust

I am glad that you highlighted the minutes played by their top guys.  That is a big problem because the Celtics deep rotation prevents it.

Brown should not be buried on the bench.  He played poorly earlier in the season but I think he has hit full stride.  You play him more minutes in the second half of last night's game not because he had 10 points off the bench in the first half.  You do it because he has been playing his best stretch of basketball since last year's playoffs.  

I really do not know what they should  do with GH.  I wish I could say there was a time certain when he would be ready to consistently play well.  The reality may be hard to digest but Gordon was never a high end athlete but he was definitely athletic enough to create some separation from defenders to get shots and he could get to the rim reasonable well.  Physically he just does not look that good.  He appears indecisive and very unsure of himself.  But the time for experimentation is just about over.  Let's see if he gets better through the end of February and if not they should  limit his minutes and give them to someone else that is ready to play.  I still think it will be next year before we see him reclaim his basketball prowess.  

Kyrie plays the two man game with Horford.  That pick and pop action is a staple of our offense.  I would like to see them run that same action with some other players.

Those 3 fouls on three point attempts did not help one bit.  But Boston seems to make that bone head play at least once every game.  One of the 10 commandments of basketball is to never foul a jump shooter.  

Al Horford had one of his best games of the year with 13 rebounds and he scored the ball very well and had 2 blocks and a steal in 35 minutes.  His 5 turnovers were pretty horrible but I think he gets the game ball.  If anyone thinks this means that AH will be fine, don't bet on it.  He had 5 days off and that rejuvenated him greatly.  Al Horford has a history of wearing down as the season goes on.  When the playoffs begin they will be playing every other day and get 3 days off when changing locations.  I think that Aron Baynes if used properly can take on some of the physical pounding that Al cannot handle.

I would definitely keep Horfords minutes down most games. Sure with Williams got 10 minutes a game. More and more teams are getting these shot blocking athletes that can run and dunk. Funny I say old Celtic Nader foul on a three pointer today for OKC. I watched players similar to Williams give the Greek Freak all sorts of problems today. Freak had his shot blocked 7 times. Think about how many dunks he gets on us. I like Theis but I think you have to give Williams the time.