What a spectacle in Oakland! The Golden State Warriors (39-10) beat the Boston Celtics (35-14) with 109:105 (BOXSCORE). Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry play a crazy private duel when the two best teams of the NBA meet – the Splash Brother finally wins.
In the run-up to the game, there was a lot of talk about Celtics’ offensive problems. A fact that has been mentioned time and again: Boston is the Association’s worst attack in the entire month of January. However, there was no sign of this in the Oracle Arena.
Especially Kyrie Irving got an absolute creamy day. Celtics’ Point Guard literally danced through the Dubs’ defenses, leading Boston almost on its own to a 10-point lead in the first quarter. From the offensive fireworks of the number 11, the teammates were obviously also infected.
Of the 16 first litter attempts of the guests, 12 ended up in the basket, Jaylen Brown as well as Irving contributed 14 points to the excellent start of the Celts in the first section alone. Boston’s good rhythm was not interrupted until the second section, when the reservists came on the floor. Led by another very strong Stephen Curry, due Dubs returned. By the end of the first half, the match was balanced (54:50 BOS).
Shortly after the start of the third round, the Warriors took the lead in the game for the first time, after Curry scored 7 more points in just one and a half minutes. Thanks to the Warriors’ improved defence, both teams then cooled down a bit – but this did not apply to Curry. The 29-year-old turned up quite a bit and led the Dubs with 18 points in the third round alone to an 80:73 lead to the start of the final section.
However, this was not a preliminary decision. The Celtics returned – thanks to Irving, of course – and so things went smoothly in the last two minutes of the game (95:95). It was like every curry that stamped the game. First he hammered a transition trio over the outstretched arms of Al Horford through the trap, shortly afterwards he sunk a layup for the 100:95 lead. The Oracle Arena went crazy.
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The Celtics shortened to 1 point again, but the Clutch-Dreier of Terry Rozier didn’t help any more. Golden State didn’t let the free-throw line burn any more, the Warriors won with 109:105.
Best man was undoubtedly Steph Curry. The 29-year-old shot the dubs with 49 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. The Splash Brother sank 16 of his 24 throws from the field, 8 of 13 attempts at threesomes and finally 9 of his 10 free throws. In addition to curry, Kevin Durant (20 points, 9 rebounds) and Draymond Green (15 and 11) were also convincing.
On the other side Irving finished the game with 37 points (13/18 FG, 5/6 threesomes) as well as 4 assists and 2 rebounds. He was mainly supported by Jaylen Brown (20) and Al Horford (15). Daniel Theis also delivered a good performance (3 points, 3 assists (even in important minutes in the fourth quarter).
Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics: Click here for the BOXSCORE!
Stephen Curry. What a game of curry! Obviously, the Point Guard was infected by the spectacular start of Irving. Afterwards, the 29-year-old created his very own show on the floor. In the important situations, Curry took control of the action and the Warriors fans thanked him with loud “MVP”calls in the final minute.
Shane Larkin. None of the participants really deserved this award this evening. However, Larkin was unable to replace the injured Marcus Smart adequately. In increased playing time the 25-year-old had enormous problems with his throw (4 points, 2/8 FG) and could not set accents.
The Warriors defended themselves much more aggressively against Kyrie Irving, who was hot in the beginning. On the one hand, Klay Thompson has now increasingly been hired for Irving, and on the other hand, the team defense has put pressure on the Celtic point guard with traps according to Pick & Rolls or double teams. This gave Golden State Irving a better grip. On the other hand, the reigning champion knew very well how to win Stephen Curry’s free throws. The sniper often acted away from the ball and shook off his opponents with numerous screens of the other players.