The Golden State Warriors continue to cruise regardless of competition, earning a 115-111 road win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
A pair of Klay Thompson free throws helped the Warriors take a two-point lead in the final minute, and Stephen Curry sealed the win with two more at the line.
Kevin Durant scored 33 points with nine rebounds at TD Garden, while Curry added 24 points. The Warriors (35-14) extended their winning streak to 10 games, their longest of the season, with seven of those wins coming on the road.
The Celtics (30-19) snapped their five-game winning streak despite 32 from Kyrie Irving.
Celtics Must Free Young Stars to Reach Potential
Irving has been playing at an MVP level, but he needs help if the Celtics are going to contend for a championship.
The good news is there is help to be found on the roster; the team just needs to unleash it.
With Irving out during last year's playoff run, young stars Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier carried the load while showing they can compete with anyone. Unfortunately, each has taken a step back during the regular season.
Tatum finally exploded with 20 points, including 14 points in the third quarter.
He also had a lot of confidence with the ball:
NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBAOKAY TATUM 😮 (📍 @autozone) https://t.co/cscmvXhOnP
Boston Celtics @celticsTatum kisses it high off the glass for two! https://t.co/6GGSl3npVS
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBATatum is stepping up. This is great to see for Boston.
The second-year player has the talent to have this type of production every night, but he has a tendency to fade if he struggles early. He also disappeared in crunch time against the Warriors with zero points in the fourth quarter and barely got noticed.
The Celtics need him to play like he did in the third quarter much more often.
Boston must also let Brown and Rozier get into more of a rhythm so they can make the type of impact they had last postseason.
Rozier scored 26 points Wednesday with Irving out, and while no one is suggesting he should play over the All-Star, he still needs more minutes to make the type of big plays we are used to seeing.
Brown had a strong first half and finished with 10, although it's clear he is capable of more.
And while Gordon Hayward has had flashes of strong play this season, he hasn't been the player he was before his ankle injury. Head coach Brad Stevens needs to limit his minutes in important games until he proves he can make a bigger impact.
We have seen what the young core can do; the Celtics just need to let them reach their potential to help the playoff push.
DeMarcus Cousins Fits Perfectly with Warriors Despite Foul Trouble
In his fourth game back from an Achilles injury that cost him a year of action, DeMarcus Cousins looks far from the player who was selected to the last four All-Star Games. But despite the rust, his addition is still scary for opponents.
The center finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes, adding three steals and one block.
Just as importantly, he looked like a Warriors player on the court, including a perfectly run fast break with an assist to Durant:
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportBoogie running the break with a no-look to KD (via @NBA) https://t.co/jueyXC91n3
He also knocked down a three-point shot, as he now sits 6-of-9 from behind the arc so far this season.
Cousins was also in key position to make plays down the stretch, showing the type of trust the coaching staff already has in him.
Of course, there were plenty of complaints on the defensive end. He got into foul trouble early and spent nearly the entire fourth quarter with five fouls, limiting his aggressiveness defensively.
The Celtics also took advantage of his slow movement defending pick-and-rolls, which he will need to improve.
But there are more reasons to be encouraged for a player coming off major surgery. As he gets more into playing shape, Cousins will make Golden State even tougher to defend.
Boston Shows It's a Championship-Level Team with Effort
The Celtics came into the season as the favorite to win the Eastern Conference, but a slow start caused some doubts to arise. They were just 10-10 to begin the year and 25-18 after three straight losses a couple of weeks ago.
However, this is the team many expected to see all year long.
While there were some bad opponents during the recent winning streak, Boston has stepped up against top competition, including the win over the Toronto Raptors. However, the performance against the Warriors—even in a loss—is what really should send a message that this squad is a legitimate contender.
Irving showed he can carry the team for stretches if needed, scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter, including some difficult shots:
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportKyrie is RIDICULOUS. (via @Celtics) https://t.co/aQKNTG4BEl
The Warriors double-teamed him in the final few possessions to prevent the upset.
There were strong performances from both the veterans and the young players, while a lot of the potential remains untapped.
If the Celtics play at this level every night, they can beat any team in the NBA.
Though not every team that plays Golden State close is a contender, this was a game that could have easily been played in June as part of the NBA Finals. The product on the court Saturday finally matched what we were expecting on paper.
Not everyone loves moral victories in a loss, but the Celtics can build off this defeat and turn it into a dominant run against the Eastern Conference.
What's Next?
Golden State will finish its road trip Monday against an Indiana Pacers team trying to recover from the loss of Victor Oladipo. Boston will remain home for a battle against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.
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