Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics 2017: Live Stream Info, Odds, Prediction

The best game of the young NBA season is scheduled for Thursday night at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics host the Golden State Warriors in a battle of the league’s top two teams.

It starts at 8 p.m. EST and TNT will have the TV broadcast. Viewers can also watch a free live stream online at tntdrama.com.

Golden State remains the odds-on favorite to win the 2018 NBA Finals, leading the Western Conference with an 11-3 record. But it’s the Celtics, not the Cleveland Cavaliers, that have been the Eastern Conference’s best team through the first month of the 2017-2018 season.

Since dropping their first two games of the year to Cleveland and the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston has gone on a 13-game winning streak. The Celtics have done it all without Gordon Hayward, who was lost for the season with an ankle injury on opening night.

Kyrie Irving leads the team with 20.6 points per game. Rookie Jayson Tatum and second-year player Jalen Brown are averaging 14.0 points and 14.7 points per game, respectively.

It’s been Boston’s defense that’s propelled them to the top of the NBA standings. They rank first in the league with a 95.8 defensive efficiency, and they’ve allowed 100 points just twice during their winning streak. That will be put to the test against Golden State, who scores at a higher rate than anyone.

Boston’s hot start has been a surprise, but Golden State is playing as well as expected. They lead the NBA with a 116.1 offensive efficiency, and they’ve scored at least 120 points in eight of their 15 contests. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are all averaging more than 20 points per game.

Curry is just ahead of Durant at 25.2 points per contest, almost quietly putting up MVP-type numbers. The Warriors are outscoring their opponents by 23.2 points per 100 possessions with Curry on the court, and he’s got an incredible plus-30.3 net rating.

The point guard missed Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic with a bruised thigh—he’s expected to play Thursday—and Golden State still won by 10 points. The Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves by 24 points last week when Durant didn’t play.

In some ways, Golden State’s seven-game winning streak has been more impressive than Boston’s current run. The Warriors have outscored their opponents by 139 points over that stretch, while the Celtics are plus-133 in their last 13 games. Monday’s win over Orlando was the least impressive, considering Golden State had won each of their previous six games by at least 17 points.

That’s why the Warriors are favored by seven points on the road against the team with the best record, per the betting odds at OddsShark. The over/under is 215.5.

Boston is one of the few teams that’s had success against Golden State in recent years. The Celtics won at Oracle Arena in March, holding the Warriors to just 86 points. Two seasons ago, during Golden State’s historic 73-win regular season, the Celtics ended the Warriors’ 54-game home winning streak.

Golden State seems to be playing their best basketball, and there isn’t a team in the NBA that can compete with the Warriors when that’s the case. Brad Stevens, however, has found a way to give the defending champs some trouble, and it could make for an interesting game Thursday night.

Prediction: Golden State over Boston, 108-105