The Celtics trailed the defending champion Warriors by 17 points twice but came back to win 92-88 to extend their winning streak to 14 games.
With Kyrie Irving struggling to find his game, Jaylen Brown saved the Celtics with 22 points, while Al Horford added 18.
Irving had five points until the fourth quarter, when he added another 11 down the stretch.
Much more to come after this one.
GAME: No. 16 of 82
WHO: Celtics (13-2) vs. Warriors (11-3)
WHEN: 8:00 EST
WHERE: TD Garden
RADIO: 100.7 WZLX
TV: TNT
BOX SCORE: NBA.COM
Projected Starting Lineups:
Celtics
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Marcus Morris
C: Al Horford
Warriors:
PG: Steph Curry
SG: Klay Thompson
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Draymond Green
C: Zaza Pachulia
FOURTH QUARTER THOUGHTS
10:42: Warriors can't get a bucket ... Celtics win. What?
10:38: Durant misses from the base line. Horford rebounds. Tatum fouled with 6.7 left. ... good ... good. Celtics by four.
10:35: With seven on the shot clock, Irving drives and is fouled. Shooting two ...good .... good. Celtics lead.
10:30: Smart forces one and is blocked. Warriors come back down and Thompson hits a 3 to put them up by two points.
10:27: After Smart made a very heady play to hit the ball off a Warrior, Irving was fouled on a basket off the inbounds. Celtics lead.
10:26: Green given two free throws (made one) even though he was passing on a foul.
10:24: Irving finally makes a bucket (3 of 13 shooting).
10:22: Durant hit a fadeaway, and then Curry followed with a 3 to give the Warriors a little breathing room.
10:19: After a Curry drive, Tatum is fouled shooting a 3. Brown is about to check back in. Made all three. Celtics lead by one.
10:15: Irving misses on drive but Horford is there for the slam put back. All tied up.
10:14: Tatum with a knifing drive, and then Horford missed a 3.
10:12: Irving is coming back into the game.
10:10: Celtics have missed four-straight shots here early in the fourth as there's a little too much hero ball going on, especially with Marcus Smart. Kyrie Irving has still not re-entered the game.
THIRD QUARTER THOUGHTS
- Warriors got the lead up to 66-49 midway through the third quarter before Jaylen Brown breathed some life into the C's on both ends. The hosts jumped out to a very quick 17-0 run behind 11 points from Brown in the frame, as he attacked the basket relentlessly and drilled a pair of 3-point jumpers.
- C's really benefited from getting the Warriors into the penalty early in the frame as well, as they piled up 13 free throws in the quarter.
- Big run came with Kyrie Irving sitting on the bench. He's remained in a slump, even after ditching the mix halfway through the quarter (2-of-10 shooting).
- Some very nice minutes from Aron Baynes to stabilize the Celtics backline D. He and Horford remained the best C's defensive frontcourt.
- Warriors only scored two points in the final five minutes of the quarter. NBA's best defense living up to its billing against the champs.
- Celtics start frame with bench unit plus Jayson Tatum. This is the grouping that really needs Tatum to be aggressive to keep shot attempts away from Smart/Rozier.
- Baynes with a nice jump hook in the lane over David West. He needs to remain a factor in this game on offensive glass when he's in.
- Marcus Smart once again trying to do too much with the second unit. He's 0-for-4 from the field with some bad jumpers taken early in the shot clock. Stevens pulled the plug on him early for Irving midway through the quarter.
- Some big minutes from Semi Ojeleye in the quarter to help stablize the Celtics defense. He still hasn't hit a shot (0-of-2), but is doing some nice work on the glass.
- Jaylen Brown really brought the energy on both ends as the Celtics put a dent into a double-digit deficit to five in the final few minutes of the quarter against the Warriors death lineup.
- C's are missing shots (31 percent) but so are the Warriors (40 percent). C's have benefitted from Steph Curry being ice cold (1-of-8) thus far, but they've done well to contest things in the second quarter.
- Strong offensive start for the Celtics as they went right at Pachulia early on a couple of possessions.
- Jaylen Brown continues to miss shots around the basket. His finishing has improved, but he still leaves a lot to be desired in that area.
- Jayson Tatum starts game by guarding Durant, who immediately welcomed him to the game by beating him easily on a backdoor cut. Tough assignment for the rookie.
- Warriors have missed a few open shots early from deep (1-of-5), sparring the Warriors lead from turning into a bigger hole from the Celtics.
- Marcus Morris delivering a few big midrange shots early, continuing his hot shooting early.
- Celtics offense really hit the skids late in the frame when Tatum and Horford left the floor. Zero points from the bench in 12 total minutes. With Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown also misfiring, this game will be over quickly unless someone comes alive offensively.