So close, yet so far.
On Friday night, the Golden State Warriors gave the Boston Celtics all they could handle before faltering down the stretch and dropping a tough decision, 105-100.
If there’s one lesson to take from the game for the Warriors, it’s that late-game execution is most often the difference-maker. Despite outplaying Boston for a majority of the game, the Warriors allowed the Celtics to hang around.
Draymond Green’s two free-throws with 3:13 remaining gave his club a three-point lead before a Willie Cauley-Stein dunk on the next possession gave the Dubs a five-point cushion with about 2:30 remaining.
Led by Walker, though, the Celtics responded with an 11-0 run that helped them leave Chase Center with a well-fought victory.
During the game’s final three minutes, Steve Kerr’s team shot just 2-for-7 from the field, scoring three points. That obviously wasn’t enough to get it done, despite the fact that Golden State held Boston to just 40.7 shooting from the field for the contest.
What was most remarkable about Walker’s heroics was that he scored 14 points in the game’s final frame after struggling through the game’s first three quarter.
The loss drops the Warriors to 2-11 on the regular season while the Celtics, who have now won 10 games in a row, improve to 10-1.
To make matters even worse, the bigger loss of the night for the Dubs was that of D’Angelo Russell, who left the contest early with a sprained right thumb.
In all likelihood, the Warriors will update his status on Saturday as they prepare to begin four-game road trip on Sunday when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans.
