The Celtics proved their legitimacy with win over Warriors

The Boston Celtics are the real deal. There’s no more questioning how good they are or if they can beat the best of the best. They just went toe to toe with the Golden State Warriors and withstood their best to come out with a 92-88 win to preserve their 14-game winning streak.

They did it without immense contributions from Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, who couldn’t get clean looks off all night. They did it with Marcus Smart shooting terribly from the field. They did it with Golden State breaking off 17-point leads on them twice.

But through it all and with their defense, they came out as the better team in their first matchup this season with the Warriors. We can’t question how good this team is anymore — they belong.

Any team can win any game as long as they defend. The Celtics did that and did it well against what might be the greatest offensive team of all time. They held the Warriors’ best offensive players in check.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were a combined 8-of-32 from the field and 5-of-20 from deep. Kevin Durant only went to the free throw line four times tonight. Draymond Green and Curry combined for eight turnovers.

It’s one thing to hold a few of the Warriors’ stars in check, but holding all four of them in check is something we’ve never really seen before. And most of the plays were made off of straight hustle and grit. Just look at how hard Jaylen Brown works on the defensive end here.

The Celtics made plays like that all night despite the Warriors’ runs, and they made the difference in the game.

Can we talk about how great Jaylen Brown was? The Celtics fell behind by double-digits again in the third quarter, but Brown kept plugging. A block here, a step-back jumper there, and a three-pointer to top it all off, and the Celtics were right back in the game and, eventually, they took the lead. Brown finished the game with 22 points, and the Celtics needed every single one of them.

It also helps to have a great creator like Irving. He only shot 4-of-16 from the field tonight and finished with 16 points, but he got to the free throw line eight times in the game and seven times in the fourth quarter, including the Celtics’ most crucial offensive possession with the clock ticking down.

The Celtics don’t need Irving to shoot the ball well to win — they’ve just got to keep it close, and he’ll bring them home.

The Celtics have won 14 straight and just toppled the best team in the league. Here’s a glimpse of their upcoming schedule.

You tell me where their third loss is coming from because I can’t seem to find it anywhere on here. This team is legitimately good. It’s time to look at them as legitimately as we do other title contenders.