In a thriller, Celtics keep streak alive against defending champs

— -- BOSTON -- Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr arrived to his pregame media session in Boston on Thursday night to find an overflow throng of media on hand for a battle of streaking NBA conference leaders.

Asked about the significance of the matchup, Kerr deadpanned, "Huge game. Huge. The fate of the universe rests upon the results of tonight's Celtics-Warriors matchup."

For much of the night, it kinda felt like it actually might.

TD Garden buzzed with a playoff-like intensity throughout the night, including when an injured Gordon Hayward sat with assistants behind the Boston bench in the first half, drawing an ovation when he was shown on the Jumbotron, but especially as the Celtics twice rallied from double-digit deficits while pushing the defending champions for the full 48 minutes.

And it was Kyrie Irving, ditching his protective face mask early in the third quarter despite playing with a facial fracture, who fearlessly attacked the basket in the final minute. His free throws put Boston out front for good in a 92-88 triumph.

The Celtics have now won 14 straight games since starting the season 0-2 in the immediate aftermath of Hayward's season-ending ankle injury. The Warriors had their seven-game winning streak snapped.

Asked about ditching the mask, which he had sported for a mere six quarters, Irving said: "I knew the decision I was making. I knew the health risk I was taking. It's my life."

Irving overcame shooting woes to finish with 16 points.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he asked team trainer Art Horne if it was OK for Irving to play without the mask. Horne informed him it was fine but it also wasn't recommended.

Especially not when Irving repeatedly attacked the basket in the fourth quarter, running directly at the white jerseys in front of him without fear of aggravating his injury.

"[The mask was] just taking a little bit of my vision away, and going against a team like that that's just smothering you everywhere you're going, it's just like -- I just kept seeing so many bodies in front of me, I was just trying to see the open pass," Irving said. "I'm coming off [screens], and those guys were just doing a great job -- Golden State -- they were just trapping me off of every pick-and-roll, every pin down. So I was coming off, I could only see what was in front of me, and then I had to make quick decisions, and it just wasn't fluid, so just took it off."

Second-year forward Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 22 points and essentially willed Boston back into the game on two different occasions.

Brown played Thursday after the death of his close friend, Trevin Steede. Stevens wasn't sure Brown would play and compared his talks with him today to those he had with Isaiah Thomas after the death of his sister before the playoffs last season.

The Celtics don't win this game without Brown's efforts.