BOSTON – Stephen Curry continued his offensive explosion, recording a game-high 47 points for his seventh 40-point game of the season. But it was not enough as the Warriors saw their season-high four-game winning streak come to an end in a 119-114 loss to the Boston Celtics tonight in primetime.
Not to be overshadowed by Curry, Jayson Tatum could not be contained as he poured in 44 points for Boston, who won their sixth straight game and improved to 8-1 in the month of April. The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown, who missed tonight’s game with an illness that is non COVID-19 related.
As the race to the playoffs hits the home stretch, tonight’s game felt more like a playoff game as both teams played with great intensity and competitiveness.
“This was a real NBA game,” said Golden State’s head coach Steve Kerr. “I told them how proud I was, the level of competition and the battle, it was phenomenal to watch.”
Curry shot 15-of-27 from the floor, including 11-of-19 on three-pointers. It was the third time this week that Curry knocked down 10-plus three-pointers in a game and the fifth time this season. The entire NBA has four games of 10-plus made three-pointers this season. Curry has 20 games with 10-plus made three pointers spanning over his entire career.
“Obviously a tough loss,” Curry said. “It was just one of those situations where they had enough life at the end and made one more play than we did and took away a hard-fought win. We can’t hang our heads because we fought to the end.”
It was the 10th straight game that Curry scored 30-plus points in a game, tying with the late Kobe Bryant for most in NBA history by a player age 33 or older.
Curry scored eight straight points. He made a desperation lefty hook shot for a three-pointer off one foot while drawing a foul to help the Warriors build a 65-50 lead with 2 minutes left in the second quarter.
Andrew Wiggins added 22 points and Kent Bazemore scored 16 points and four rebounds for the Golden State, who allowed the Celtics to go on a 28-5 run that saw Boston take a lead in the third quarter.
“Those are the shots that keep you coming back,” said Bazemore. “Being out on that floor and seeing a master at work. I haven’t seen him practice that shot. Now you know he’s got it in his bag, watch out.”
The Celtics held a 78-71 lead late in the third quarter before the Warriors scored nine straight points, with back-to-back three-pointers from Curry giving the Warriors a brief lead before heading into the fourth quarter tied, 89-89.
Jordan Poole finished in double figures for the third straight game off the bench with 12 points and Draymond Green added 10 assists.
Golden State took a 109-103 lead behind back-to-back three-pointers from Green and Curry in the closing minutes of the game. It looked like the Warriors would hang on for their sixth win in seven games but that was not the case.
Kemba Walker had 26 points and eight rebounds. He swished in a pair of free throws and Tatum drilled a three-pointer from the right corner that cut Golden State’s lead to 109-108.
The Warriors played stellar defense on Boston’s next two possessions before Marcus Smart nailed the go-ahead 3 giving the Celtics a 111-109 lead.
After Kevon Looney’s putback tied the game, Tatum’s layup with 48 seconds left gave Boston the lead for good. Curry’s 11th three-pointer of the game cut the Celtics’ lead to 116-114 before Tatum planted a pair of free throws to ice the game.
Golden State fans across the world cringed when Curry went down by turning his left ankle midway through the fourth quarter. He fell to the floor clutching the basketball before Tatum forced a jump ball. Curry did return to his feet under his own power but was noticeably limping the remainder of the game.
Shortly after Curry’s scare, Juan Toscano-Anderson was injured after flying over the scorer’s table saving a loose ball. As Toscano-Anderson laid on the TD Bank Garden floor being attended by officials, Curry drained a deep three-pointer giving the Warriors a 103-101 lead.
Toscano-Anderson was helped back to the locker room. He was holding a towel on the right side of his head and did not return to the game. After he received stitches to close the gash on his head and was diagnosed with a concussion. The team announced after the game that per NBA rules, Toscano-Anderson will enter the league’s concussion protocol.
“That’s a competitor,” Kerr said. “Juan is a guy… you want that guy on your team. That’s all.”
Following an off day on Sunday, Golden State will head to the City of Brotherly Love to face the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Photo by Warriors/Twitter