These two sides have a rich history against each other, even in the NBA finals in 2022. However this Warriors team is very different to those of seasons past, Klay Thompson had departed for Dallas, and they had signed former 76ers and Kings guard Buddy Hield to replace him. Since then, GSW have started the season brilliantly and they bolster a 6-1 record, on the other hand the returning champs Boston Celtics are 7-1 and looking to continue their impressive start. The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown, and it showed as despite having a lead in the fourth Golden State came away with a huge win.
Boston has been the best first quarter offense over the last two seasons, but their offense looked slightly stagnant to begin this game. Without Brown the Celtics have been operating with two big men in the lineup, it was Neemias Queta who got the start with Al Horford. Horford struggled in the early exchanges as the Warriors drew as many switches as possible, especially with Steph Curry. But neither team really got going and the Celtics clawed a five-point lead into the second quarter.
With both teams struggling to find rhythm you can imagine it was Curry who got his team going. Curry and Hield combined for eight three-point makes which resulted in the Warriors opening up a comfortable lead in the second quarter. Boston really struggled to get their drive and kick offense going and as a result only managed to score 16 points in the second quarter.
As Boston has done throughout the early stages of this season, they bounced back in the second half and established a lead of their own. It was the turn of Boston’s star, and early MVP candidate, Jayson Tatum to takeover, he rapidly scored 17 points in the third quarter as his team retook the lead.
Heading into the fourth quarter Boston continued to score at will and even managed to open up a six-point lead with just 6:30 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, this was where the Warriors regained control of the game; Curry scored 10 points in the remaining six minutes to drive GSW back into the lead. The final touch on the win was when Curry drove the ball into the paint and dished out a superb pass to Buddy Hield who drained his shot from beyond the arc to give the Warriors a massive win 118-112.
Boston now heads on the road to face Milwaukee on the road in the early tipoff on Sunday.
By Will C
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