Warriors at Celtics
The Boston Celtics finally appear to be getting things in order on the defensive end, just in time to welcome the highest-scoring team in the NBA to town. The Celtics will try to earn a fourth win in five games and slow down an offensive juggernaut when they host the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
Boston surrendered an average of 123 points during a three-game slide but cut that number down to 93.8 in the last four contests, capped by a 90-83 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. Celtics coach Brad Stevens and All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas were regularly questioning the team's effort during the losing streak, but that effort appeared on Wednesday in the form of a 53-32 advantage on boards. The Warriors were outrebounded 46-35 on Wednesday at Toronto but erased the deficit by hitting 50.6 percent from the field and burying 13 3-pointers. Golden State is averaging 123.4 points during a five-game winning streak and handed out 30 or more assists in each of the five contests.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (9-2): Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry scored 30 or more points in the same game for the first time as teammates in Wednesday's 127-121 triumph but the best player on the floor may have been Draymond Green. The All-Star forward collected 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals in the win and leads the team in rebounding (9.8), assists (6.9), steals (2.3) and blocks (1.7). "He was great, but he’s been great all year,” Durant told reporters of Green after Wednesday's win. "He’s just a basketball player. You can’t label him as one thing because he does it all."
ABOUT THE CELTICS (6-5): Avery Bradley does it all for Boston, and the 6-2 guard grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds on Wednesday. "I think he’s made it a point of emphasis to just get [in] there," Thomas told reporters of Bradley’s improvement on the glass. "He’s very athletic. He’s a strong guard. Most of the time on his rebounds he’s really going to get (it), they’re not just falling in his hands, and that says a lot about who he is as a player." Bradley posted a points-rebounds double-double in three of the last four games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Celtics C Al Horford (concussion) missed the last eight games and there is still no timetable for his return.
2. The Warriors are the first team since the 1990 Chicago Bulls to hand out 30 or more assists and shoot 50 percent or better from the field in five straight games.
3. Golden State earned a 124-119 double-overtime victory in Boston last season to improve to 24-0 before suffering its first loss the next night in Milwaukee.