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 The home loss was Golden State's first since Jan. 31, 2015, a
streak that includes 36 straight wins this season.
After Harrison Barnes buried a three-pointer to get Golden State
within 107-106 with 10.2 seconds to play, the Celtics called a
timeout and got the ball to Thomas, who sneaked in behind the
Warriors' defense for the game-clinching hoop.
Golden State still had two opportunities to tie but Stephen Curry
misfired from 28 feet and, after an offensive rebound, Barnes was
not close on a desperation 24-footer, allowing Boston to snap a
five-game losing streak against the Warriors.
The Warriors (68-8) retained a 4 1/2-game lead over the San Antonio
Spurs in the race for top seeding in the Western Conference
playoffs. Golden State had won five in a row.
The Celtics (44-32), meanwhile, kept pace with Miami (44-31) and
Charlotte (44-31) in a tightly bunched battle for the third seed in
the East.
 Boston, which had taken the Warriors to two overtimes before losing
at home on Dec. 11, improved to 2-2 on their five-game Western swing
after rebounding from a 116-109 loss at Portland on Thursday.
Evan Turner had 21 points and Jared Sullinger recorded a 20-point,
12-rebound double-double for the Celtics as Thomas led Boston in
scoring for a franchise-record 15th straight time.
Curry had a game-high 29 points for Golden State, hitting eight
three-pointers along the way.
Draymond Green had 16 points to go with team-highs in rebounds
(nine) and assists (seven), and Klay Thompson added 15 points.
The Warriors trailed 103-96 before Thompson hit a three-pointer,
Curry converted a drive and Shaun Livingston dropped in two free
throws in a 7-2 run that got Golden State within two with 46.9
seconds to go.
Green then stole the ball from Boston's Amir Johnson but after a
timeout, gave it back to the same player with 23.7 seconds left,
giving the Celtics an opportunity to run out the clock.
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Turner made it a four-point game, 107-103, on two free throws with
18.1 seconds left but the Warriors immediately countered with the
three-pointer by Barnes, closing the gap to one with still 10.2
seconds left.
After a timeout, Thomas scored off an inbounds play to increase the
Boston lead to 109-106 with 8.3 seconds remaining.
The Celtics had led 84-83 in the second minute of the fourth quarter
before using a 9-0 burst to open their biggest lead of the game to
that point.
Reserve guard Marcus Smart converted a driving hoop and a
three-pointer to cap the run.
After having scored 36 points in the third quarter, Golden State had
only four to show for the first 5 1/2 minutes of the final period
and was still down by 10, 95-85, before backup guard Leandro Barbosa
buried a three-pointer.
Green followed with a three-point play on a drive and added a
three-pointer, and when he followed in a Brandon Rush miss with 3:53
to go, the Warriors had reduced the deficit to 99-96.
But then a key sequence went in Boston's favor, when a Warriors fast
break resulted in a Rush turnover, with Thomas benefiting at the
other end with a layup that extended the margin to five with 3:21
left.
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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