BOSTON — Jayson Tatum scored 34 points with a career-high 19 rebounds after Al Horford went into overtime with a 3-point rebound of his own Thursday night to help the Celtics pull away from Golden State in an NBA Finals rematch and beating the Warriors 121-118.
Jaylen Brown added 16 points and nine rebounds and made a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining on rule to send the game into overtime. Horford had 20 points, 10 boards and three blocked shots for the Celtics, who lost to the Warriors in six games in the NBA Finals and then lost a fourth straight game to them in their first regular-season matchup in December.
Stephen Curry scored 29 points, Jordan Poole had 24 and Klay Thompson also had 24 before fouling in overtime for the defending champions who fell to 5-18 away this season.
The Celtics led by as much as 10 points in the first half but fell behind the entire second half before Brown made a 3-pointer to equalize at 106. Boston scored the first four points of overtime, but Draymond Green hit two free throws and Curry pocketed a 3-pointer to give the Warriors the lead.
Brown made a floater to make it 112-111 Boston, then Horford hit a 3-pointer and Tatum made his to play the Celtics 1:26 to give a 118-111 lead. Boston got sloppy on the stretch to give Golden State a shot at the buzzer, but Poole’s halffield shot wasn’t close.
The Warriors won the finals in Game 6 in Boston and then won the first rematch of the regular season on December 10 in San Francisco. Despite the Celtics having the best record in the NBA this season, they still fret over the losses to Golden State.
LONG SHOT
Curry wowed the Celtics crowd at the end of the first half a buzzer-beater officially listed as 50 feet.
The Warriors had the ball timed out, but Malcolm Brogdon stole it from Thompson and took it to Tatum. Curry took it from him and lined up a 3-pointer from the other side of the half-field circle.
It shot through the net and gave the Warriors a 55-54 lead.
REGULATION
Boston scored 12 of the first 14 points in the second quarter to convert a one-point deficit to a 10-point lead, but the Warriors quickly reclaimed the lead and made it to 11, 85-74 with two minutes remaining in the third .
After the Celtics leveled it with Brown’s 3, the Warriors opted not to take a timeout and Curry dribbled out the clock before throwing a 3-point try that popped off the front of the rim. (The Celtics managed to get a timeout with 0.5 seconds left but couldn’t get a shot.)
COMEBACKS
Brown was back for Boston after missing three games with a groin injury. Celtics center Robert Williams III missed the December 10 game between the teams, missing the first 29 games of the season while recovering from left knee surgery.
After Curry returned on Jan. 10 after an 11-game absence (partially dislocated left shoulder) and Wiggins returned earlier in the month after missing 15 games (muscle strain in right leg; non-COVID illness), both teams were relatively healthy.
TIP INS
Horford had 10 points, five rebounds and a chase-down block in the first quarter. … Thompson recorded his fifth foul and went on the bench in the fourth with eight minutes left. … Wiggins scored 20. Green had 11 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. … Williams had 14 points and 11 boards. Smart score 18.
NEXT
Warrior: Visit Cleveland on Friday.
Celtics: Visit Toronto on Saturday.
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