– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BOSTON — Steph Curry making clutch shots and other game-deciding plays inside TD Garden in primetime? Definitely not a new development.
Andrew Wiggins picking up some of Curry’s slack on both ends of the floor against the Celtics? Been there, done that.
Kevon Looney coming off the bench and making himself a nuisance on the offensive glass against Jayson Tatum and Co.? Like the preceding scenarios, we’ve definitely read that script, too.
But, unlike the 2022 NBA Finals, the Warriors have added a Buddy to help them win in Beantown, and he’s also continued to play a big role in Golden State’s resurgence and hot start to the new campaign.
Hield nailed a clutch three-pointer with 47 seconds remaining, off a pass from Curry, as the Warriors held off the Celtics 118-112 in a matchup between two of the top teams in their respective conferences to start the season. Curry stuffed the stat sheet with 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals, while Hield and Wiggins added 16 points to lead the Warriors to their fifth straight win and improve to 7-1.
The sight of Curry and lightning rod Draymond Green, the subject of vulgar chants from the Boston crowd during those Finals from two years ago, is more than enough to get Celtics fans riled up, yet they reserved most of their vitriol tonight for Golden State head coach Steve Kerr, who also led the gold-medal-winning Team USA basketball team that featured Curry and Tatum, the latter being seldom used by the Warriors skipper during their time in Paris.
Tatum led all scorers tonight with 32 points, picking up the slack for another Team USA slight, Jaylen Brown, who missed his third straight game with a hip flexor. But, like in the City of Light, Curry shined brightest late in tonight’s game, scoring 21 of his points in the second half.
Boston led 95-88 before the Warriors went on a 16-4 run to take the lead for good, with all 10 of Curry’s fourth-quarter points coming in that stretch. Wiggins made two shots from inside the arc, both a jumper and a layup while being defended by Tatum, while Looney had put-back layups off offensive rebounds just before and after the aforementioned run.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Wednesday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Erica Denhoff. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 47 pictures in total.
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