The Celtics are in the midst of a historic 11-game winning streak after Sunday’s blowout win over the Warriors. They have won each game in that stretch by an average of 22 points, none bigger than a 140-88 thrashing of Golden State on Sunday afternoon. After Boston’s victory, several members of the Warriors including Stephen Curry heaped praise upon Boston for the commanding win over a Golden State squad that had won eight consecutive games on the road.
“They’re the best team in the league right now, and they played like it,” Curry said. “They played their ass off and that was hard to watch from the other side.”
The Warriors attempted to execute an unorthodox defensive strategy on All-Star Jaylen Brown in the win that led to a 82-point first half for Boston. However, after the win, Draymond Green attempted to use the tactic as a sign his team was experimenting against their East rivals.
BetMGM BET $5, GET $158! BONUS BETS
STATES: MA, KY, AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org.
“We implemented the strategy like 15 minutes before we left the locker room,” Green said. “I don’t necessarily think we put together a full defensive strategy to debate on what they’re doing with their offense and how to stop it.”
Curry was willing to give far more credit to the Celtics’ for their play compared to Green for how they handld the unusual tactic.
“When you have a creative idea and it doesn’t work, you take the ball out of the basket,” Curry said. “They’re hitting 10 3s in the first quarter. That’s what we used to do to teams. It’s kind of demoralizing. Especially on the road, when a shot you’re comfortable with giving up or whatever the case is, they’re taking advantage of. Then you feel like you have to play home-run basketball and then try to make it up. That’s where the momentum shift just kept going their way and going their way. Then every little play goes their way and you look up and you’re down 4o. So just one of those nights.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr also tried to downplay the struggles as a one-off for his team that was missing two starters at the end of a long trip.
“This is flush it down the toilet,” Steve Kerr said. “We had a great road trip, 3-1. We’ve had a million games. Boston was amazing. We weren’t beating them today. So, we head home and get ready for Wednesday.”
The Celtics will look to continue their momentum on the road starting on Tuesday night as they begin a five-game road trip in Cleveland.
- Highly anticipated sportsbooks like BetMGM Massachusetts, along with Caesars Sportsbook Massachusetts have been live since Spring of 2023. New players can use promo codes like the FanDuel Massachusetts promo code and the DraftKings Massachusetts promo.
