The Boston Celtics faced their toughest test of the season when the Golden State Warriors paid a visit to TD Garden on Nov. 16. Once again, Boston found themselves in a hole (17 points) but were able to fight all the way back and somehow come out with their 14th straight victory.
Stingy defense was the key to victory, as the Celtics held the Warriors to a new season-low in points by a large margin. Prior to tonight, the lowest Golden State had scored in a game was 97 against the Miami Heat, and averaged 117 points per game coming into the contest.
Secondly, Boston was relentless in attacking the basket, and were able to make 33 of their 38 attempts from the free throw line. They also out-rebounded the defending champs by a margin of +5.
It was a rough shooting night for both teams as neither squad was either to shoot better than 40 percent from the field.
Marcus Smart went 0-7, Kyrie Irving shot 4-16, but great offense by Al Horford and Jaylen Brown outweighed the negatives which allowed Boston to sneak away with another one.
Overall, Irving was able to seal the deal when he drove to the basket, got fouled, and sunk both free throws to give the C’s a two point lead with under 30 seconds remaining. The Warriors then missed their three to take the lead, and were forced to intentionally foul Jayson Tatum. The 19-year-old rookie stayed cool, calm, and collected at the line and put the game away after knocking down his attempts.
This win put the entire league on notice, and proved that the Celtics are the real deal no matter who is injured or what team they are competing against. They will strive for 15 straight on Nov. 18 against the Atlanta Hawks in Philips Arena.
