Final: Celtics 100, Warriors 88 - Defense dominates

GAME 70
Boston Celtics (41-28, 17-16 road, 5th East) vs. Golden State Warriors (47-22, 29-7 home, 3rd West)
Chase Center
10:00 PM - ESPN, NBC Sports Boston

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams

Golden State: Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Otto Porter, Jr., Kevon Looney

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Aaron Nesmith remains out with a sprained right ankle

- Nemanja Bjelica (illness), Andre Iguodala (low back tightness), Gary Payton II (left knee  soreness), Andrew Wiggins (illness) are all out. James Wiseman is out on a G League assignment.

- This begins a four-game west coast trip for Boston

“That mentality is good for us, us against the crowd,” Ime Udoka said. “I think when we really got on our run and had some of those record-breaking streaks it was because of our approach on the road. To be able to do what we did and take home crowds out of the building basically is important for us and especially in an environment like this.”

- Boston is trying to avoid its first back-to-back losses since January 19 and 21 to Charlotte and Portland. 

“Our mentality has changed,” Udoka said. “Where we used to go back and forth early in the season to some extent, we’ve bounced back and railed off about five or six here and there. So that’s who we want to be. And so it’s a good challenge for us coming off the Dallas game where we felt like we didn’t play our best. Had plenty of opportunities; offensively, weren’t as sharp. So it’s a good test coming against Golden State tonight.”

Smart says the secret to avoiding the back-to-back losses is: “short-term memory loss. Early on in the season, those losses would hit us hard, and it would linger. And then it would trail into the next game. The next game now for us is: we lost, now what can we do to prevent it from happening again and try to go out there and make sure it doesn’t? We’re not perfect. Things are gonna happen. You’re gonna win games that you’re not supposed to win; you’re gonna lose games that you’re not supposed to lose. It’s part of it, but you just try to do your best to make sure the games that you are supposed to win, make sure you do that more times than not. So for us, it’s just really short-term memory loss. Going on to the next one.

- Golden State is favored by 1.5

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

- This is a much different Warriors team. 

It’s been more than three years since Boston faced a Warriors team with Curry, Thompson and Green. Curry and Green played in the first matchup of the season, a Celtics loss, but Thompson wasn’t back yet. 

“It's really two different teams,” Udoka said. “Them having their guys back and knowing the different strengths Draymond brings to them on both ends of the court. … For us the momentum we built, the consistency with our lineups and health-wise, and then the areas we've really grown in are night and day from earlier in the season. So we've been playing much better and want to continue that against some good quality teams, Golden State being the first.”

The Warriors took a real dip losing Green for a stretch, but he’s back for his second game after dealing with a nerve issue in his back. 

“He changes lots on both ends, on both ends,” Smart said. “We know what he does on the defensive end, how he impacts the game that way. But just being a facilitator on that offensive end and making plays on the offensive end for his guys and himself. So, Draymond, he's the engine for them. They go when he goes. So he's definitely a big key part of them.”

The addition of Thompson has been a work in progress, but he just put up 38 and 20 in consecutive games. The Celtics may not be happy to play against him, but they're happy to see him back from injury. 

“In the sports world or anything, you hate to see anybody go down with any type of injury, especially going to the sidelines for a long period of time or for extended periods of time,” Smart said. “So, we're just happy to be able to go out there and share the court with him and we'll be able to compete against him. Especially being a competitor, being hurt for the amount of times that I've been, knowing that feeling of being out and not being able to help your team and in the simple fact that you just want to play basketball. So we're happy to see him out there and we're glad for him to be out there to play in this game against us tonight.” 

And of course there is Curry, who will be Smart’s primary assignment tonight. 

“Love it. I gotta get my cardio in,” Smart said. “I love it. It's a great way for me as a defender to help me in my defensive game and to play against a team of their caliber for this team is big for us.”

The Warriors have their big guns out for this one, but the Celtics have had a good history against Golden State, which Smart attributes to “our versatility on the defensive end. We’ve got multiple guys that we can send at those guys that they have and feel comfortable to be able to do that. Most teams probably only have one or two guys that they can do that with, but we have a group of guys in the starting five that we believe can guard anybody in the league. Definitely gonna take all five of us. We’re playing against a great team, great players so, we understand what we’re up against. We’ve gotta have our energy.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Jayson Tatum going off: Tatum seems to enjoy facing the Warriors, going 6-3 against them over the course of his career so far. He dropped a 44 point gem about a year ago when he and Curry went toe-to-toe. We’ll have to see what Golden State’s defensive plan is for Tatum, but playing under the bright lights of the ESPN game against an opponent he likes to see could make for a big game. 

2. Tightening up the defense: As I mentioned yesterday, through six games in March, Boston’s defensive rating is 108.9, sixth in the NBA. It's 110.3 since the All-Star break, seventh in the league. That's still good, but it’s not the same defense that currently sits at the top of the league, just ahead of Golden State. 

3. Bench production: Derrick White and Grant Williams especially need to step up. The Warriors are shorthanded but their bench will still be capable of putting a dent in the box score. Boston needs to get some support from the second unit. 

GAME THREAD

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