The Boston Celtics defeated the Golden State Warriors 121-118 in overtime (OT) at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday, securing their eighth straight win and ending their four-game losing streak against the Warriors since the NBA inals last season.

The Celtics started two big men Al Horford and Robert Williams III, holding an obvious size advantage over the Warriors which replaced Kevon Looney with Jordan Poole in their starting lineup. As a result, the home team led in total rebounds (63-47), offensive rebounds (18-8), second-chance points (22-14) and points in the paint (52-30).

The Celtics were only 22nd of all 30 teams in offensive rebounds before Thursday while the Warriors were the seventh-best defensive rebounding team. The home team's explosion on the offensive glass came just in time when they shot as poorly as 39.8 percent (43-for-108) from the field.

Most of those missed shots came from the Celtics' star duo, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who combined to go 15-for-45 in field goals (FGs). Brown missed seven of his eight attempts in the first three quarters to get only four points. He only found his form back in the fourth period and OT, contributing 12 points for the team to come back.

Tatum's double-double of 34 points and 19 rebounds seemed good, but it took him 27 shots to get those numbers. Not only did his attack lack efficiency, he also committed seven turnovers, three of which in the final three minutes in the fourth quarter. Tatum's sloppy dealing with the ball almost cost the Celtics this home game.

Al Horford was the best-performing Celtic on Thursday night, not only because he had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, but also for his key defensive contributions. As a 36-year-old veteran, he was still able to block three shots by Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins chasing them down instead of waiting in the paint.

On the Warriors' side, Andrew Wiggins reached 20 points for the first time since he returned from an adductor injury, but he failed to punish the Celtics for having Horford guard him in mismatch after shooting 5-for-13 in jumpers. However, at least Wiggins did a solid defensive job containing Tatum and contributed four blocks in help defense.

Perhaps the Warriors were deterred by Horford's and Williams III's protection of the paint, they shot as many as 52 triples, which made over half of the team's 100 FG attempts, in Thursday's game. Though they lead the NBA in both 3-pointer attempts (43.7) and production (16.3) per game and maintained the fifth-best 3-point rate (37.4 percent), many of the Warriors' triples were shot in early offense and off the dribble by using teammate's screen.

Such offensive arrangements were incompatible with the Warriors' give-and-go system. Stephen Curry and Poole combined to shoot 28 3-pointers, but missed 20 of them. Neither did they finish well in the paint. Poole also suffered three blocks, including being denied by Horford of a one-man fast break.

Other games on Thursday (away teams come first):

Chicago Bulls 126-108 Detroit Pistons

DeMar DeRozan came back for the Bulls after missing three games because of a quad injury and he dropped 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the NBA Paris Game at Accor Arena on Thursday. Having reached 20,964 points in total in his career, he surpassed Walt Bellamy to rank 40th on the NBA all-time scoring leaders table.

Having suffered their 36th loss this season without much resistance, the Pistons continued to rank the second-last in the league. Their No. 1 target in the draft in June, 19-year-old French unicorn Victor Wembanyama watched this game at Accor Arena. 

Toronto Raptors 126-128 Minnesota Timberwolves

D'Angelo Russell, one of the most criticized Timberwolves this season, stood up for the team in the fourth quarter by scoring 16 points to help them come back to win at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Thursday. Russell, Anthony Edwards and Kyle Anderson combined to drop 68 points, 16 rebounds and 19 assists for the team.

The Raptors were in a great offensive form in the first three quarters during which they got 109 points, but suddenly fell into a scoring drought in the final period. Three of their starters, Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr. and OG Anunoby together scored zero points in this quarter, leaving the sophomore forward Scottie Barnes to carry the team. He scored 12 of the team's 17 points in this period, but couldn't keep the Raptors from suffering the second consecutive loss.

Brooklyn Nets 126-128 Phoenix Suns

Without Devin Booker or Chris Paul, the Suns still ended their three-game losing streak at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Thursday. Deandre Ayton had a double-double of 24 points and 14 rebounds while Mikal Bridges contributed 28 points and nine assists for the team.

Despite the close final score, the Nets trailed by as much as 24 points (81-57) in the game. Kyrie Irving spent the first three quarters missing 13 jumpers to get only nine points. Then he somehow clicked to go 8-for-11 from the field to drop 21 points, almost reversing the situation for the team.

The Nets continued to extend their winless record (0-4) since Kevin Durant sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee on January 8.

Philadelphia 76ers 105-95 Portland Trail Blazers

The 76ers already established a 23-point lead (57-34) after the first half of the competition at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday. Their defense limited the Trail Blazers to shooting 13-for-42 in FGs in the first two quarters while committing 12 turnovers, eight of which came from the home team's back-court pair, Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons.

Lillard, who missed nine of his shots in the first half, found his form back in the third and fourth quarters, scoring 21 points and seven assists for the Trail Blazers. The team cut their deficit to as small as seven points (95-88) in the fourth quarter, but Joel Embiid and James Harden shut down the opponents' efforts with solid performances in the final three minutes. The 76ers secured their third win in a row.