Game Report: Warriors hold off Celtics after strong first half

The Golden State Warriors have won their third consecutive road game, holding off the Boston Celtics after a strong first half.

Prior to the contest, the Warriors were dealt with their first covid-19 issue, at least since Andrew Wiggins’ vaccination saga during pre-season. Jordan Poole’s entry into health and safety protocols led to a first career start for rookie Moses Moody.

The Golden State Warriors managed to add to the win column once again by fending off the Boston Celtics in a 111-107 battle.

With Poole’s absence, a major loss to the Dub’s offensive arsenal, Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins went about asserting their dominance. With his rotation patterns reminiscent of previous seasons, Curry scored 16 points in the opening period as the Warriors took a 34-26 lead.

Wiggins picked up where Curry left off, reaching 21 points by just over halfway through the second as Golden State bounced out to a 20 point lead. The Celtics, missing a plethora of players through health and safety protocols, eventually began to find the form that’s alluded them for much of this season.

They had cut the margin in half when, with 0.1 seconds on the clock, Marcus Smart fouled Curry on his three-point attempt. The foul was compounded when Boston coach Ime Udoka was given a technical foul, Curry’s four made free throws a massive moment given the final result.

Despite the end to the half, Boston continued the momentum throughout the third quarter. The Warriors dreaded third quarter run wasn’t forthcoming against the Celtics, instead scoring a season low 14 points as Boston reduced the margin from 14 to one.

With the Celtics surging and even taking the lead early in the fourth, it was veteran Andre Iguodala who provided the spark off the bench. He had 12 points, four rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals on the night, including a clutch buzzer beating three and a big dunk early in the final period.

It allowed the Warriors to steady and push the margin back to ten with four minutes to play. Things got a little tight when Curry, following a 30 point game, fouled out with 10.7 seconds on the clock. Smart hit a three on the frantic next possession, reducing the Warrior lead to two with 3.9 seconds left. Fortunately, with regular elite free throw shooters in Curry and Poole not available, Damion Lee stepped up and calmly knocked down two at the line.

It gave the Warriors a 111-107 win, their record moving to 24-5 on the season. They now take on Toronto on the second night of a back-to-back, a difficult task with the already confirmed outs of Curry (rest), Wiggins (knee soreness), Iguodala (knee management), Draymond Green (hip tightness), Otto Porter Jr (foot management) and Poole (health and safety Covid protocols).