"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.
