Golden State Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry has predicted who will be the protagonists in the NBA Finals this season, and it's not LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In an interview with Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, Curry said the Warriors may face the Boston Celtics for the title. “It's looking very, very likely right now,” Curry said after their 92-88 loss to the Celtics Thursday (Nov. 16) at TD Garden. In the past three seasons, the Warriors squared off with the Cavaliers for the title, winning twice. The Celtics are currently leading the Eastern Conference with an NBA-best 14-2 mark after winning their 14th straight game.
The Warriors slipped to 11-4, second in the Western Conference, behind the Houston Rockets (12-4), who crushed the Phoenix Suns, 142-116.
Shooting woes doomed Warriors
After averaging a combined 45.8 points heading into their contest against the Celtics, Curry and Klay Thompson were limited to a total of 22 points on 8-of-32 shooting from the floor. Thompson had 13 points, Curry added nine, and Kevin Durant led the way with 24 points for the Warriors, who saw the end of their seven-game winning streak. Draymond Green chipped in 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting while the Warriors made just 40.2 percent of their shots from the floor.
Kyrie Irving, who wore a clear mask to protect his facial injury but removed it in the third period after struggling with his shooting, scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth period to lead the Celtics to their longest winning streak since 2009.
Second-year player Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics with 22 points, Al Horford tallied 18 points and 11 boards while rookie Jayson Tatum and Marcus Morris added 12 points each for the Celtics, who won despite making just 26-of-79 shots from the field.
Warriors lost 17-point lead
It was a sorry loss for the Warriors, who led by as many as 17 points in the second and third quarters.
However, Irving and Brown keyed a 19-0 run in the third, erasing a 66-49 deficit, and momentarily taking a 68-66 lead before the Warriors tied the count heading into the fourth. After the game, the Warriors criticized the officiating late in the game, with coach Steve Kerr saying that the late foul called on Green with the game tied was a tough call.
Irving made the two foul shots from Green’s foul, giving the Celtics a 90-88 lead with 14 seconds left. The Warriors had a chance to tie the game, but Durant missed a baseline jumper. Tatum made two foul shots to seal the victory.
