Shorthanded Celtics drop close game to Warriors at TD Garden
The Boston Celtics took the court Friday night after having five players enter the NBA’s Health & Safety protocols in a 24-hour span. Significantly shorthanded against the best team in the NBA, the Celtics kept things close but ultimately fell to the Golden State Warriors 111-107 at TD Garden.
Golden State opened up with a 16-5 run, which the Celtics answered by going on a 9-0 stretch of their own. The first quarter was really a story of the point guards with Marcus Smart going shot for shot with Steph Curry. Curry led all scorers with 16 first quarter points, while Smart led the Celtics with seven on 3-of-3 shooting. After one, the Warriors led 34-26.
Spurred by their second uint, the Celtics started closing the gap in the second quarter. Jason Richardson scored nine points in the frame, and it looked like the C’s would close the quarter with a 15-5 run.
However, things were somewhat undone in the final second before halftime. The officials ruled Smart fouled Curry as he was attempting a half court heave at the buzzer. Smart protested the call, saying he was jumped into, with head coach Ime Udoka coming to his defense. Udoka ended up drawing a technical foul, and Curry was awarded and made four free throws with 0.1 left on the clock. After trimming the deficit to 10 points, the Celtics ended up going into halftime down 68-54.
The Celtics would make up for that misuse, opening the third quarter on a 10-2 run. Golden State stabilized a bit, maintaining a one-point 82-81 lead heading into the fourth.
Boston briefly took the lead to start the fourth quarter, but a 7-0 run by the Warriors put them back on top. Despite a 9-2 run from the Celtics in the final minutes that got them back within one possession, they never regained the lead.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in scoring, dropping 27 points with eight rebounds and six assists. Jaylen Brown added 20 and nine boards, while Marcus Smart finished with 19 points and eight assists. Jason Richardson had 15 points off the bench, Aaron Nesmith 11.
Steph Curry proved to be too much for the Celtics defense. He finished with 30 points, and shot 5-of-14 from deep. Andrew Wiggings had 27, and was 5-of-7 from three.
With the loss, the Celtics fall back under .500 to 14-15 overall. They’re 3-5 in the month of December.
With the first half of this back-to-back out of the way, the Celtics now turn their attention to the New York Knicks, who come to town on Saturday. That game is set to tip off at 7 p.m., with coverage beginning at 6:30 on 105.7 WROR and the Celtics Radio Network.
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Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.