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W2W4: C's vs. Warriors (Game 57 of 82)

The Boston Celtics (23-33, 14-15 home) host the Golden State Warriors (45-11, 21-9 away) on Sunday evening at TD Garden (6 p.m., CSN). Here's what to watch for:

GAME PREVIEW (via STATS LLC)

The Boston Celtics have earned three straight victories behind the strong play of several newcomers, but the league's top team stands in the way of a fourth.

The Golden State Warriors head to Boston on Sunday night hoping to further re-establish their dominance following a convincing road win.

The wins have started to pile up for Boston (23-33) since acquiring Isaiah Thomas and Jonas Jerebko on Feb. 19. Thomas scored a team-high 28 on Friday, and Jerebko had 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Celtics beat Charlotte 106-98 to match a season-best three-game winning streak.

Thomas has averaged 22.3 points and 6.0 assists in four games with the Celtics, creating enough of an impact for Avery Bradley to call him the "spark."

"That's pretty nice," Thomas said of his teammate's praise. "But it's not me -- it's this team. We're playing hard, coach is putting us in position to be successful and that's the key. We are believing in each other."

Jerebko has been equally effective in his two games with Boston, hitting 13 of 19 from the field. He preceded his 16-point performance against Charlotte with a season-high 20 in a win over New York. Jerebko averaged only 5.2 points in 46 games with Detroit.

After working with 22 different players this season, coach Brad Stevens believes he has finally found the right mix.

"We've had a lot of good additions, and we've got a group that supports each other," Stevens said prior to Friday's win. "To me, as you're growing in a place where improvement and development are so critical, you better be in a good environment. And I'm pleased with where we are from that regard."

Another victory Sunday would mark Boston's eighth in 11 games and first four-game winning streak since Nov. 6-11, 2013.

While the Celtics try to chase down the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, Golden State (45-11) has built a sizable lead atop the West.

The Warriors, though, had lost two of three to begin a season-high six-game road swing, but they responded with a 113-89 blowout of Atlantic Division-leading Toronto on Friday.

(Read full game preview)

ONE THING TO WATCH (via Chris Forsberg)

The Celtics are rolling after winning seven of their last 10, including three straight. Now they're going to really be tested. "I think [the Warriors] have a great chance of winning it -- each of the next two teams we play [Golden State and Cleveland], they might be the two teams with the best chance. At least they are in the mix and in the discussion," Stevens said. "They’re really good and they don’t have many flaws, if any." The Celtics actually played the Warriors tough out west as part of the road trip that reinvigorated the team. It'll be interesting to see, in the wake of Boston's deadline moves, whether they can hang with the league's best again. Every game is important for Boston moving forward if it desires to make the playoffs and Golden State should offer a better indication of the team's recent progress.

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