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Key Moment
When it began raining 3s Thursday night, it began pouring on the Golden State Warriors.
Boston started raining treys midway through the fourth quarter of its matchup with Golden State to turn a comfortable lead into a blowout win. The Celtics canned three of them in a span of just 75 seconds to push their lead out to 111-92, which marked their largest lead of the night.
The three 3-pointers came off the hands of Marcus Smart (two) and Daniel Theis.
Smart’s first trey of the sequence came from the right wing, after Theis freed him up with a strong screen. Smart took one dribble to his left and then let it fly before swishing one through the net.
Just 39 seconds later, after the Warriors scored two points, Smart dropped another one in amid far different circumstances. Jaylen Brown’s driving layup attempt was blocked hard off of the backboard and Smart caught the rebound out near the mid-court logo with about five seconds left on the shot clock. He pump-faked off the catch to gain an advantage on his defender, took one dribble to his right and pulled up from the right wing for another make.
Theis would complete the run after a dish from, guest who? Smart.
Smart dribbled into the top of Golden State’s 2-3 zone and drew attention from both of the wing defenders, which left Theis wide-open on the left wing. Smart dropped a bounce-pass under the outstretched arm of D’Angelo Russell, Theis caught it on the wing and released an uncontested trey that swished through the net.
Those 3-pointers didn’t decide the game, but they did deliver a knockout punch to the Warriors. Boston coasted from there on out, as all of their starters were removed from the court with nearly three minutes left on the clock. The Celtics went on to win 119-104.
Key Player
Gordon Hayward has been darn good lately, and that trend continued Thursday night.
Hayward scored a game-high 25 points against the Warriors thanks to an 8-for-15 shooting performance from the field. Hayward made three of his five 3-pointers and also made all six of his free throws.
The versatile wing got off to a great start during the first quarter that set the tone for the remainder of his night. He scored 15 points during the opening period, including all six of his free throws on the night.
Hayward also contributed a game-high eight rebounds in the game, as well as three assists, one steal and one blocked shot. He did all of this in less than 33 minutes of action.
Box Score Nuggets
- Three Celtics (Gordon Hayward, Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum) scored at least 20 points, led by Hayward's 25.
- Smart scored 21 points and shot 5-for-10 from 3-point range.
- Hayward and Daniel Theis tied for the game high in rebounds with eight apiece.
- Both teams were great at the free-throw line, with Boston shooting 20-for-22 (90.9 percent) and Golden State shooting 26-for-30 (86.7 percent).
- D'Angelo Russell led the Warriors with 22 points.
- Boston outscored Golden State 42-30 in the paint.
- Golden State outscored Boston 26-10 in fast break points.
- The C's committed a season-high 22 turnovers.
- Five Celtics finished with a plus/minus rating of at least plus-10.
- Draymond Green led the game with seven assists.
- Theis, Kemba Walker, Semi Ojeleye and Grant Williams each grabbed two steals apiece.
Quote of the Night
Brad Stevens on Jayson Tatum making the All-Star team