The Boston Celtics have shocked just about everybody with their play this season. They have been in the hunt and a dangerous team to play since the New Year. However, nobody would have thought this Celtics team was capable of the feat they achieved on April Fools’ Day. Entering April 1, the Golden State Warriors had won 54 consecutive home games, the longest consecutive home winning streak in NBA history. Overall, Golden State only had seven losses on the season, obviously all of those coming on the road. Every win would have to be crucial for the Warriors as they look to pass the 96 Chicago Bulls for best single season win-loss record. However, Boston had different plans for the defending NBA Champs.
The Celtics and Warriors were no strangers to one another, as they met earlier in the season for a double OT thriller in Boston where the Warriors came out on top. The Celtics had already proven that they could keep up with Golden State, and on this night they showed that they could finish the job. Boston entered Oracle arena with the goal of ending the streak and throwing a wrench in the plans for the greatest season in NBA history. The Celtics took the game 109-106 in regulation, with MVP candidate Stephen Curry leading the scoring with 29 points. Boston’s Isaiah Thomas was the second highest scorer with 22 points.
The most important take away from this game is the message the Celtics are able to send. For anyone that still had doubts that the Celtics couldn’t make some noise in the playoffs (including myself) now has those doubts shattered. The fact has to be now that this Celtics team is one that can provide a threat to any team based on their team play and grit alone; that threat becomes even greater over the course of a seven game series, where Boston has the chance to wear a team down. A win of this magnitude is something that could make a team a deadly opponent in the playoffs. Not only does this cause NBA fans and opposing teams to take the Celtics seriously, they now are beginning to take themselves seriously. The Celtics should now be unilaterally viewed as the potential playoff game changer they truly are.