Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — The game was billed as a preview of a possible NBA Finals series between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics.

The Warriors lost to the Celtics by four points last November and Golden State knew that they would be in a dogfight against Boston Saturday evening. The Celtics came into Oracle Arena with a lot of confidence as they beat the Warriors in Oakland the past two seasons. Celtics coach Brad Stevens had his team playing great defense, and they are ranked No. 1 in that department in the NBA. The Warriors, however, are not too shabby in that department. They also knew how to play defense, showing their abilities it in the second and third quarters of the game. It was touch and go all night long, but the Warriors came up with the clutch plays when needed, and they beat the Celtics 109-105.

The Celtics–behind a strong offensive performance by Kyrie Irving–outscored the Warriors 37-27 in the first 12 minutes of play. Irving scored 14 points in just nine minutes of action. He was 5-for-5 from the floor, and he knocked down two 3-point shots. The Warriors tied the game at 10, but the Celtics went on an 8-0 run and kept the Warriors at bay.  Former Cal standout, Jaylen Brown, scored 14 in the quarter. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 13.

The Warriors played defense in the second period as they held the Celtics to just 17 points. The Warriors tallied 23 and cut the deficit to four as they trailed 54-50 at the end of the first half. Curry led the Warriors with 16, and Kevin Durant scored 11. Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 19.

The Warriors got it going in the third quarter as they have done so many times this year. They continued to play great defense, and the offense perked up as they outscored Boston 30-19 and finished the period leading 80-73.

The Celtics, the best team in the Eastern Conference, showed the Warriors and the fans in Oracle Arena why they are the best in the East. Irving made a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game (90-89). Curry made a bucket, but the Celtics took the lead (93-92). The game was tied at 95 with just 2:36 to play. Steph hit a three and followed with a layup with 1:08 left to put the Warriors up by five. The Celtics’ Terry Rozier hit a trey to make it 105-104 with 7.7 seconds left on the clock. The Celtics fouled Curry, and he hit two free throws. The Celtics could not convert, so they fouled Curry again, and he iced the game by making the two free throws. The Warriors won 109-105 over a very tough and determined Celtics team.

Game Notes and Stats: Curry was the star of the game. He scored 49 points, and the fans were chanting “MVP, MVP” many times throughout the game. He scored 13 points in the last 1:32 of the game.

Draymond Green had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Also, he blocked three shots.

Durant had 20.

Klay Thompson scored just seven points, but he played a fantastic game on defense. The Warriors shot 45.2% from the floor, and they were 10-for-27 from three-point range. They also had six steals and nine blocks on defense.

Boston was led by Kyrie Irving’s 37 points. Jaylen Brown recorded 20 and Marcus Morris–coming off the bench–scored 12.

With the win, the Warriors are now 40-10 for the season, and Boston drops to 35-15.

Up Next: The Warriors will take on the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City Tuesday night.