OAKLAND, Calif. — Jae Crowder hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions during a 15-0 fourth-quarter flurry Wednesday night that propelled the Boston Celtics to a 99-86 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Isaiah Thomas scored 25 points, hitting four 3-pointers, as the Celtics snapped a two-game losing streak and avenged a 104-88 home loss to Golden State in November.
Boston (41-24) won for the second time in four games on its Western trip, allowing the Celtics to remain a game ahead of Washington (39-24) in the battle for the No. 2 playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
The Warriors (52-12) lost for the third time in five games and saw their lead over San Antonio (50-13) atop the Western Conference sliced to 1 1/2 games.
Golden State played without Kevin Durant (sprained left knee), who contributed 23 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals to the earlier win at Boston, which equaled the Celtics’ most lopsided loss of the season.
After a first 41 minutes that featured eight ties and eight lead changes Wednesday, the Warriors led 79-78 on a Draymond Green dunk before the Celtics took charge.
Kelly Olynyk began the flurry with a dunk to give Boston a lead it never relinquished. Crowder then connected from deep twice in a row to extend the margin to 86-79.
Avery Bradley turned a steal in a dunk to make it a nine-point game, and Thomas capped the run with 2- and 3-point jumpers for a 93-79 advantage with 4:06 to go.
Olynyk finished with 17 points, Bradley 12 and Al Horford 10 for the Celtics, who wrap up a five-game trip Friday at Denver.
Crowder had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with nine points for Boston, which shot 10 of 29 from 3-point range and outscored the Warriors 30-18 from beyond the arc.
Klay Thompson scored 25 points and Stephen Curry 23 for the Warriors, who had four turnovers and two missed shots during Boston’s runaway.
The Golden State backcourt duo combined to miss 13 of their 17 3-point attempts, as Golden State connected on just six of 30 from behind the arc.
Green had a team-high eight rebounds to go with 13 points for the Warriors, who had won 10 straight at home and had been unbeaten (8-0) against Atlantic Division teams this season.
NOTES: Warriors SF Kevin Durant addressed the media before the game for the first time since spraining his left knee on Feb. 28. He insisted the injury is not serious but would not put a timetable on his return. … About an hour earlier, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, “It would be great if we could get him back the last week of the regular season or so, but we’ll have to wait and see.” … Warriors SG Klay Thompson’s first 3-pointer of the game was his 200th of the season, the fifth season in a row he reached the milestone. He and teammate PG Stephen Curry are the only two players in NBA history to record at least 200 threes in five straight seasons. … Celtics coach Brad Stevens announced before the game that SG Avery Bradley remains on a 30-minute restriction. Right on cue, Bradley played 30 minutes in the game. … The Celtics were without backup SF James Young, who bruised his tailbone in Monday in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.