Kevon Looney not only lost his starting spot last season, but he also fell out of the Golden State Warriors rotation at points as huge question marks arose on his NBA future.
Fast-forward to Wednesday's blockbuster meeting with the Boston Celtics and Looney was on the floor down the stretch, making winning plays as the Warriors secured a statement-making 118-112 victory over the reigning champions.
Kevon Looney made a couple of clutch plays in the Warriors' six-point win over the Celtics
The veteran center had two huge put-back baskets in the final two minutes. The first off an airball corner three-pointer from Draymond Green, followed by a clean-up from a Stephen Curry missed layup.
Looney only played 16 minutes in Wednesday's thrilling contest, but his return to impacting late in games signified an early season renaissance for the 3x champion. He finished with six points and 10 rebounds as Golden State took a huge Boston punch and responded for their best win of the season.
Derrick White had a series of threes and 12 points in the first five minutes, helping the hosts to an early 14-3 advantage. Yet the remainder of the first-half belonged to the suffocating Warrior defense which forced turnovers and kept Boston to only 26 further points, allowing them to take an 11-point lead in what was a 22-point turnaround.
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After just 40 first-half points, the Celtics found their groove with 41 third-quarter points thanks to a dominant period from Jayson Tatum which reduced the margin to one entering the fourth. Neemias Queta then threatened to prove the unlikely hero, making plays on both ends as Boston jumped out to a seven-point lead with just over six minutes to play.
The Warriors never panicked though -- an Andrew Wiggins layup was followed by six quick points from Curry, first from a three-point shooting foul and then an open triple from some miscommunication by the Boston defense.
Wiggins made a tough step-back jump-shot over Tatum shortly after -- just the sort of one-on-one shot-making they need from him to lessen the burden on Curry. Looney made his consecutive plays to extend the lead to four, before Curry found Buddy Hield for a dagger corner three to make it seven with 46 seconds left.
Draymond Green and Wiggins then combined to go 5-of-6 from the free throw line to seal the game, succumbing the Celtics to their first home loss of the season and just their second overall.
Curry gave Boston fans a reminder of his exploits in the 2022 NBA Finals, finishing with 27 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and four steals. Wiggins had 16 points after a rough start, while Golden State also got another 16 from Hield who was 4-of-7 from three-point range and a game-high +20.
Kyle Anderson had three straight triples in the second-quarter to finish with 11, with Jonathan Kuminga also adding 10 and four rebounds off the bench. It was the Warrior defense that was the story though, having kept the Celtics to 42.7% from the floor and 35.2% from three-point range despite a much-improved second-half from the champs.
The Warriors will certainly be a talking point around the league after this victory, proving their 7-1 start is no fluke ahead of more challenging games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder to round out the five-game road-trip.