BOSTON (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 27 points, Buddy Hield had 16 and the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 118-112 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory.
Andrew Wiggins also added 16 points for Golden State (7-1). Curry played his second straight after missing three with an ankle injury.
Jayson Tatum led Boston (7-2) with 32 points, and Derrick White had 26 with six rebounds.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was booed by the TD Garden crowd that showed its displeasure over how he used Tatum at the Paris Olympics.
With Warriors holding a 115-112 lead, Draymond Green hit a free throw with 11 seconds left. Kyle Anderson sealed it with two free throws with 2.4 seconds to play.
Boston forward Jaylen Brown missed his third straight game with a strained left hip flexor. Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski was out with an illness.
Takeaways
Warriors: They fared a lot better than their last trip to Boston, when they were clobbered by 52 points last season. After the Celtics got off to an 11-point lead in the opening minutes, they tightened up defensively, played physical against Tatum and settled in by opening an 11-point halftime edge.
Celtics: Missing star Brown, their usually quick, ball-moving offense looked somewhat stagnant in the opening half. They picked up the pace, freeing up shots for Tatum, who scored 17 points in the third quarter.
Key moment
With their lead down to 106-104, Curry’s driving layup was partially blocked, but Kevon Looney had a put-back layup. On the other end, Tatum missed before Hield connected on a right-wing 3-pointer, giving Golden State a seven-point edge with 46.3 seconds left.
Key stat
The Warriors scored 52 points in the paint to Boston’s 36.
Up next
The Warriors are at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, and the Celtics host the Brooklyn Nets.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Ken Powtak, The Associated Press
