Warriors blow huge lead, but squeak by Celtics

The Golden State Warriors took the rollercoaster approach to their game against the Boston Celtics on Friday night. They jumped out to a 20-point lead in the first half, gave it all up (and even briefly fell behind) in the second half, before recovering in the fourth quarter and squeaking out a dramatic win.

Things started beautifully, as the Dubs first-quarter offense was smooth as butter, with Steph Curry dropping in 16 points as Golden State jumped out to a 34-26 lead after one. The rhythm kept up in the second quarter, with Andrew Wiggins one-upping Curry for 18 points in the frame as the lead pushed to 20.

Boston made a run towards the end of the half, but Curry was awarded four free throws after being fouled on a half-court buzzer beater (which resulted in a technical foul from Boston), and Golden State led by 14 at the break.

And then it was Boston. All Boston.

The third quarter Warriors were replaced by the third quarter Celtics, who outscored the Dubs 27-14 in the third frame. It only took a few minutes into the fourth before Boston took the lead, but then things turned around.

The Warriors jumped back on top with key plays from Curry, Andre Iguodala, and Damion Lee, and pushed things back to a 10-point lead. With an assist from the refs, the Celtics made a mad dash in the final minute, but the Warriors hung tight for a 111-107 win.

Curry finished with 30 points on 8-for-21 shooting, while Wiggins dropped in 27 on 11-for-20 shooting. Draymond Green dished out 8 assists, and the Dubs managed to turn the ball over just 12 times — 8 of which occurred in the dreaded third quarter.

Golden State improves to 24-5, and will look to go 20 games above .500 on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors.