Celtics beat Warriors 121-118 in NBA Finals rematch at OT

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 34 points with a career-high 19 rebounds after Al Horford made an overtime 3-pointer on one of his own on Thursday night to help the Celtics win the NBA Finals. The Warriors, 121-118, pulled away from Golden State in the rematch.

Jaylen Brown added 16 points and 9 rebounds and made a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Horford has scored 20 points, 10 boards and 3 blocks in his shots with the Celtics. The Celtics lost his sixth game to the Warriors in the NBA Finals, and he lost four in a row in his first regular matchup of the season in December.

Stephen Curry had 29 points, Jordan Poole had 24 and Klay Thompson had 24 before fouling out the defending champions in overtime.

The Celtics took a 10-point lead in the first half, but Brown tied the score in the second half with 106 on a 3-pointer. Curry sank a 3-pointer to give the Warriors the lead.

Brown made a floater to make Boston 112-111, then Horford hit a 3-pointer and Tatum made him to give the Celtics a 118-111 lead with 1:26 remaining. Boston went all out sloppy to give Golden State a chance at the buzzer, but Poole’s half-court shot wasn’t even close.

The Warriors won the Finals in Game 6 in Boston and won their first rematch of the regular season on December 10 in San Francisco. The Celtics have had the best record in the NBA this season, but a loss to Golden State still haunts them.

long shot

Curry surprised the Celtics crowd at the end of the first half with a buzzer-beater officially listed as 50 feet.

The Warriors had the ball after time expired, but Malcolm Brogdon stole it from Thompson and gave it to Tatum. Curry took it from him and lined up a 3-pointer from across the half-court circle.

It slipped through the net to give the Warriors a 55-54 lead.

regulation

Boston scored 12 of their first 14 points in the second quarter to turn a one-point lead into a 10-point lead, but the Warriors quickly regained the lead to 11, 85-74 with two minutes remaining. took the lead of number 3.

After the Celtics tied on Brown’s 3, the Warriors chose not to call a timeout and Curry dribbled the clock before firing a 3-point try that hit the front of the rim. (The Celtics managed to get a timeout with half a second left, but failed to shoot.)

comeback

Brown is back in Boston after missing three games with a groin injury. Celtics center Robert Williams III missed his Dec. 10 game between teams, appearing in his first 29 games of the season due to recovery from left knee surgery. I could not do it.

Curry returned on Jan. 10 after missing 11 games (partial dislocation of his left shoulder), and Wiggins returned earlier in the month after missing 15 games (muscle strain in his right leg; non-COVID illness), with both teams out. was relatively healthy.

tip in

Horford had 10 points, five rebounds and a chase down block in the first quarter. … Thompson picked up his fifth foul and went to the bench with eight minutes remaining. … Wiggins scored his 20th. Green has 11 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. … Williams had 14 points and he had 11 boards. Smart score 18.

next

Warriors: Visit Cleveland on Friday.

Celtics: Visit Toronto on Saturday.