WHO: Celtics (30-26) vs. Warriors (28-28)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden
RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub
TV: ABC
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
Celtics
G: Kemba Walker
G: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Grant Williams
C: Tristan Thompson
Warriors
G: Steph Curry
G: Andrew Wiggins
SF: Kent Bazemore
PF: Draymond Green
C: Kevon Looney
LIVE COVERAGE, by John Karalis
Fourth quarter
- Again, the non-Curry minutes are costly for the Celtics as the Warriors come out to a 7-2 run
- Jabari Parker is actually making an impact offensively helping the Celtics come back and retake the lead
- Juan Toscano-Anderson took a wicked fall behind the scorer's table. He walked off on his own, but this is a big loss off the bench for the Warriors.
- Steph Curry turned his left ankle but stayed in the game and now has hit two more big 3-pointers to give the Warriors a 6 point lead.
- The Celtics got a couple of stops and Tatum cashed in on a 3, he's up to 40 points to challenge Curry's 44
- A Marcus Smart 3 caps an 8-0 run for the Celtics
- Kemba Walker drilled a stepback 3 to put Boston up 5.
- The Celtics have a little more energy in this quarter, and they've come out to an 8-2 run to tie the game
- Kemba Walker has made three 3-pointers in this run. The third pushes it to 11-2 and a 3-point lead
- The C's have pushed the run to 18-5 to start the quarter and 28-5 since the run to end the quarter.
- Back-to-back 3-pointers by Steph Curry puts Golden State back on top after a 9-0 run
- Non-Tatum minutes have been an adventure for the Celtics. Marcus Smart has been pulling the trigger on shots and misfiring a lot.
- Curry, meanwhile, is hitting shots all over the place and the Warriors have erased most of the the third quarter advantage Boston has held
- Tatum and Curry are in a flat-out duel and the game is tied heading into the fourth
- Jayson Tatum, Jabari Parker, Romeo Langford, Luke Kornet, Payton Pritchard start the second quarter, if you needed to know how shorthanded the C's are
- Tatum is unsurprisingly the only one in this group making any noise. The Celtics are losing the non-Curry minutes, which is a recipe for disaster. Andrew Wiggins is carrying the Warriors right now
- Payton Pritchard hit a super-deep 3, but Boston is now just trading baskets with the Warriors. They don't look nearly as lively as they have recently.
- Steph Curry is making some insane shots. He just hit a left hook shot after getting fouled at the 3-point line.
- Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum are carrying the C's back into this. Tatum's buzzer beater caps a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 6. Boston does not deserve to be down just 6 at this point, but Tatum has 23 at the half
- Steph Curry hit a ridiculous contested shot. C's need to withstand this and try to make a run while he's on the bench
- Kemba Walker had his best drive/finish of the season. He's slowly getting better over time
- Marcus Smart drew a second foul on Steph Curry with 6:14 to go in the first, which is obviously huge. Steve Kerr is keeping Curry in the game. If he draws a third, Warriors are in trouble
- Jabari Parker made his debut... and turned it over twice. His defense is also not good.
- Boston has gone cold while the Warriors, and Curry, went on a 12-0 run to take a 14 point lead.
- Jayson Tatum has 13 to nearly match Curry's 14 and keep this from getting too far out of reach
"We’re looking mostly at him as a guy that can pay some 4 for us, but also maybe some small-ball 5 in some lineups," Brad Stevens said befor the game. "Especially around some of our better players as a ball-mover, as a passer, as a playmaker, as a driver, as a guy that can put the ball in the basket and is a real threat to put the ball in the basket. Obviously there will be some size challenges with that, but right now—it hasn’t always been the case this year—but right now we can put a pretty versatile, long group on that floor. And just having more options, depending on who we’re playing, as we move forward this year, and then also next year, we thought that was a really good thing for our team."
The Celtics signed Parker to a two year deal, and they seem to be planning on giving him an extended look.
"Jabari’s been a good player in this league for a few years now and he’s obviously had a rough couple of last stops," Stevens said. "This is a plan beyond this year and we’re going to be patient in bringing him along."
It might be hard to believe that Parker is still only 26 years old. He's shown promise in the past but has also had plenty of difficulties. Stevens has had some success with reclamation projects before, so the Celtics are hoping that continues.
"Hopefully this is a place where he can re-find his groove," Stevens said. "I think that’s important and we’re going to work hard to help him."
EVAN FOURNIER PROGRESSING
Fournier is now out of quarantine.
"I’m guessing that he’ll be in the gym tonight. I don’t know if he’ll be out on the court," Stevens said. "But I saw him this morning and he seemed really happy just to be around people and see others. But he still has a few days to go before he goes through all his tests and all that stuff. So it’s going to be certainly not today, certainly not Monday, and then we’ll go from there."
Fournier has played four games for the Celtics. Sitting out tonight and Monday will make 10 days in the Health and Safety Protocol for Fournier.
ROBERT WILLIAMS KNEE PROGRESSING
It does not appear Robert Williams will be out long.
"Rob just still has got that small bit of swelling on the back of his knee, but he's getting better," Stevens said. "He's feeling better today. Again, I don't know what Monday will look like, but he's right around the corner from playing. So they re-evaluated him when he got back, and he did some things this morning."
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- Celtics vs. Warriors spread: Celtics -3.5
- Celtics vs. Warriors over-under: 227.5 points
- Celtics vs. Warriors money line: Celtics -170, Warriors +150