Warriors vs. Celtics: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2016 Regular Season
A huge third quarter propelled the Golden State Warriors to a 104-88 win over the Boston Celtics in TD Garden on Friday night.
Klay Thompson led all scorers with 28 points, putting a tough Wednesday night performance against the Toronto Raptors behind him.
Kevin Durant, on the other hand, remained on fire Friday. After starting Wednesday night's game against the Toronto Raptors 7-of-12 from the field, Durant shot 10-of-13 for 23 points.
Instead of Stephen Curry, who added 16 points, providing the second big scoring option next to Durant, it was Thompson who used a hot start to put his tough performance in Toronto well behind him.
The Celtics, who were without Jae Crowder and Al Horford, relied heavily on their aggressive guards to try to keep up with the explosive Warriors offense.
Taking a page out of the Raptors' book, Avery Bradley, Isaiah Thomas and Terry Rozier attacked the basket and the core of the Warriors defense with some solid results.
It got even easier for them once they got out on the run, via the NBA:
Thomas led the Celtics with 18 points, while Bradley added 17.
The problem was that the Celtics' efficiency difficulties kept them trailing for most of the night. They shot just 31-of-83 from the floor for a 37.3 percent clip.
While these two teams don't play often, there tends to be fireworks whenever they do. As always, Draymond Green found himself in the middle of things:
The Celtics, like most teams in the league, couldn't keep up their defensive intensity for 48 minutes. At the beginning of the second half, Golden State pounced, going on a 24-3 run to open up a 28-point lead.
And the Warriors were scoring from everywhere on the floor, not just behind the three-point line:
Golden State hit 10 straight field goals in the process and ended the quarter outscoring the Celtics 31-9.
Due to the outburst, the fourth quarter was nothing more than a formality as the Warriors clinched their sixth consecutive win after a 4-2 start to the season.
It's the second time in three nights that Golden State has beaten an East team that is expected to finish within the top four of the conference, although Friday night was easier than Wednesday's game.
For the Celtics, the loss has to be taken with a grain of salt without two important forwards in Crowder and Horford. With them, they would have had a much better shot against the Warriors.
Postgame Reaction
After a resounding loss, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens wasn't too keen on facing the media, via Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com:
But he isn't panicking despite dropping to 6-6, via the Celtics:
He still offered some insight on what went wrong, via Jared Weiss of CLNS Radio:
In the opposite locker room, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believed his team was starting to get into a groove, via the team's official Twitter account:
There's not much time to enjoy the win as the Warriors are in Milwaukee to play the Bucks on Saturday night.
Don't expect to see anyone resting though, via ESPN's Chris Haynes:
A quick turnaround could ensure that the Warriors' hot hands stay hot for the rest of their road trip.
However, it will be imperative for Golden State to rest its starters when possible given the way that last season ended.
