Warriors fray Celtics to reach 7-1 ahead of Cavs showdown - ESPN

BOSTON — At Golden State media day in September, superstar guard Stephen Curry gave a mild declaration of intent for this season when he said his Warriors are «in a position where we can be a relevant team early and give ourselves a chance to compete.

»Then assess where we are."

Just weeks after Curry uttered those remarks, he and the Warriors improved to 7-1 on the season, moving into a three-way tie with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns for the best record in the Western Conference thanks to a thrilling 118-112 victory over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Wednesday night.

But despite a victory over the defending champions — one that saw the Warriors end the night with the league's third-best offense, second-best defense and best net rating (plus-15.5 points per 100 possessions) — Curry said he wasn't ready to give Golden State too much credit.

«We haven't done anything yet,» Curry, who finished with 27 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals in 34 minutes, said with a wry smile while sitting in the visitors locker room about an hour after the game had ended. «A good team, or a relevant team, wins the games they are supposed to win, you steal a couple on the road against good teams, you protect your home court. We've done those things so far, but we got two more games on this road trip, two tough tests.

»So I like where we're at, obviously. But [there's a] long way to go."

The Warriors have played only 10% of their season, but the early returns are exceedingly encouraging. Golden State, which won its first title under coach Steve Kerr in 2015 season behind the «Strength In Numbers» mantra, has taken that approach to a new level this season, playing as many as 13 players on a given night. With Brandin