Late surge leaves Celtics stunned

Warriors hand champs 2d straight loss

OAKLAND, Calif. - The morning after the Celtics' franchise-best 19-game winning streak came to an end against the rival Lakers, coach Doc Rivers simply told his team to get over it by starting a new streak. Unfortunately for Rivers, the streak is going in the wrong direction as Boston has lost two straight games for the first time this season.

The defending champion Celtics fell to the lowly Golden State Warriors, 99-89, before a sold-out crowd of 19,596 at Oracle Arena last night. The Warriors (9-22) have won five straight games against Boston here and 12 of the last 15. Boston (27-4) dropped to 0-2 on its four-game West Coast road trip after going cold offensively in the second half. The Celtics lost two straight regular-season games for the first time since March 22-24.

"We're not going to sit back and say that we're surprised," said Celtics guard Ray Allen, who had 7 points, 0 assists, and fouled out. "This is what can happen every night against any team that we play."

Paul Pierce scored a team-high 21 points but no other Celtic reached 15 points. Warriors forward Stephen Jackson scored a game-high 28 points while guard Marco Belinelli added 22. Boston was outscored, 60-38, in the second half. The Warriors were without injured starters Jamal Crawford and Corey Maggette.

The Celtics didn't see the loss to the Lakers as a factor last night.

"We just lost the game," Rivers said. "We just lost. We're not going to make a big deal of this stuff. We lost a basketball game. A game on paper obviously we should win. That's it."

Eddie House credited Golden State's effort.

"They're all professionals over there," he said. "It's not like we are playing against guys who are college-caliber cats. They are pros over there."

Boston led, 51-39, at halftime after shooting 55.6 percent from the field. But despite the early offensive success, Rivers was uncomfortable, especially given his team was playing for the second straight day.

"I was worried at halftime," Rivers said. "When I saw that we were shooting 56 percent and they were shooting 39 and it was just a 12-point game, I was really concerned about the game. My whole thought that if it gets close, [we have] no legs. And you can see that. I was really concerned at halftime."

The Celtics were up by as many as 14 points before going into the fourth quarter with a 72-64 lead. But the Warriors opened the quarter with a 10-2 run to trim Boston's lead to 76-74 after a 3-pointer by Kelenna Azubuike with 7:47 left. A Jackson 3-pointer awakened the crowd and brought Golden State within 78-77 with 7:05 left.

A Ronny Turiaf putback with 6:02 left gave the Warriors a 79-78 lead, the home team's first advantage since 4-2. A Belinelli jumper off the glass pushed Golden State ahead, 84-78, with 4:55 remaining. Allen fouled Jackson on a 3-point attempt and Jackson nailed the subsequent free throws to give the Warriors a comfortable lead (87-78).

"There was about a 4-5-minute span where the game shifted," said House, who scored 10 points. "And once it shifted, it was hard for us to even try to think about getting it back. We were trying and trying, but could never get it back. Give them all the credit."

Kevin Garnett's 3-point play with 3:09 left trimmed Golden State's lead to 87-81 and Rajon Rondo's lay-in brought Boston within 87-83. Two straight jumpers by C.J. Watson, however, pushed the Warriors ahead, 93-84, and put the Celtics behind the eight-ball.

House's 3-pointer trimmed Boston's deficit to 93-87 with 1:17 remaining. Garnett (14 points, four rebounds) tossed up a desperation 3-pointer that didn't fall with 37.9 seconds remaining and Jackson nailed two free throws to seal the rare Warriors win.

"The guys that played, played really well and did the right thing and made the extra pass," Warriors coach Don Nelson said.

The Warriors outscored Boston, 35-17, in the fourth quarter by holding the visitors to 30 percent shooting and forcing six turnovers. Jackson scored 15 points and nailed two 3-pointers in the fourth.

Jackson couldn't hide his excitement.

"We played hard," he said. "We found a way to get it done against a great team. We just fought the whole game and it shows that when we play hard and stay together good things will happen."