Celtics lose late lead, fall to Warriors in overtime

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry let fly a high-arcing 3-pointer just like those he practices time and again during his extensive pre-game routine, and swished it through the net right in front of his wild, celebratory Warriors teammates on the bench.

Night-night, indeed, just as the superstar signaled with both hands at the side of his cheek as he took off running the other way.

“It was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” said rookie Tracye Jackson-Davis, who delivered a key block against Boston star Jaylen Brown in OT and notched his first double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds as the Warriors rallied past the Celtics 132-126 on Tuesday night.

Curry caught a skip pass from Chris Paul, who had corralled an offensive rebound, and connected on that 3 with 12 seconds left in overtime on the way to scoring 33 points, and Golden State made enough timely plays and stops to snap Boston’s five-game winning streak.

“Nothing shocks me with Steph, that shot was insane, the catch-and-shoot, the arc,” coach Steve Kerr said, “but I fully expected it to go in, and I think all of our fans did, too. The guy’s magical. I can’t explain it. That’s just the kind of stuff he does.”

Jonathan Kuminga made a steal and uncontested dunk to put the Warriors ahead in overtime then grabbed a key rebound on the other end that led to another scoring play, and Boston missed key chance after chance when it mattered most.

Klay Thompson hit a tying 3-pointer with 2:18 remaining in regulation then Derrick White answered from deep before Curry connected from the top to even it up again at 121. The Celtics then missed four shots on their next possession and again before the buzzer sounded for regulation.

Other key opportunities were wasted in the final minute of OT.

Brown finished with 28 points while White scored 30 in just the second loss over the last 10 for Boston (20-6).

Jayson Tatum added 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Celtics began a four-game trip in California.

Boston’s star forward limped to the locker room favoring his left ankle at the 7:45 mark of the first, returned to the bench about four minutes later then was back on the floor to start the second quarter. That was a positive on a night Celtics 7-foot-3 big man Kristaps Porzingis was out to rest his strained left calf.

Thompson scored 24 points and knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:56 left in the fourth that pulled the Warriors within 114-110. He has gone 36 of 71 over his past four games since being held to seven points on 2-for-10 shooting on Dec. 12 at Phoenix.

“He’s changed our team with his shot selection the last four or five games, whatever it’s been,” Kerr said.

With his 2,291st career 3 made — at the 4:46 mark of the first — Thompson passed Vince Carter for eighth place on the NBA’s all-time list.

Curry shot 11 for 21 with six 3s in a foul-filled night for the two-time NBA MVP, whose record streak of consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer ended at 268 on Sunday in Portland.

The Warriors played without rookie guard Brandin Podziemski in the second half because of a strained lower back.

Paul had nine points, 12 assists and seven rebounds after dealing with a fever and illness.

UP NEXT

Celtics: At Sacramento on Wednesday night to complete the back-to-back.

Warriors: Host Washington on Friday night.