Saturday night's matchup between the Celtics and the Warriors was the perfect cliched atmosphere. This one felt like a playoff game, the two best guards in the league were battling back and forth, and this could be a potential NBA Finals matchup.

But there was nothing cliched about Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving's performances in the Warriors 109-105 victory over the Celtics at Oracle Arena. Curry dominated the second half, but did so getting to the line just two times before the final minutes of the game.

Irving did it all on his own taking over for the Celtics and dazzling with both his shooting and ball handling. This game means very little in the grander scheme of things, but with plays like this one in the first half where the Boston star faced up with Curry and made a step-back jumper in his face, it's hard to argue it didn't mean something.

#KyrieIrving goes dancing on #NBAonABC! #Celtics pic.twitter.com/3DyRrCi7xH
— NBA (@NBA) January 28, 2018
Curry rightfully downplayed the matchup after the game, but it's hard to overlook his fantastic showing with 49 points, five assists and four rebounds and an 8-for-13 mark from beyond the arc.

"We bring the best out of each other and he's always battling," Curry told ESPN. "He's an amazingly talented player who can do some crazy things on the floor whether I play good defense or not."

Irving scored 37 points on 13-of-18 shooting. Golden State and Curry may have come away with the win, but games like this can only make people hope to see more of this matchup in the postseason.

Studs of the Night


Russell Westbrook posted his 15th triple-double of the year with 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, but Carmelo Anthony was the star of the night eclipsing the 25,000 career points mark. Anthony scored 21 points and added five rebounds in a 121-108 win over the Pistons.
Hornets guard Kemba Walker scored 30 points with six rebounds and five assists, but Charlotte fell to the Heat 95-91.

Wizards guard Tim Frazier got a lot of playing time and he took advantage as Washington blew out the Hawks 129-104. He scored just four points, but he had 14 assists in 27 minutes of play.

Dud of the Night

Hawks guard Dennis Schroder scored just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting with seven assists. The nine points are just two more than a season low for the 24-year-old player.

Highlight


Never give Aaron Gordon an open lane to the basket, and never, ever let him get a fast-break opportunity. He just may throw down a reverse-windmill dunk like he did in the Magic's 114-112 loss to the Pacers.
AARON. GORDON. REVERSE. WINDMILL. #PureMagic pic.twitter.com/sasI4JgP5i
— NBA (@NBA) January 28, 2018

What's next


76ers (24-21) at Thunder (29-20), 6 p.m. ET — It's two point guards who look completely different but produce very similar lines. Russell Westbrook tallied his 15th triple-double Saturday and Ben Simmons added another one to his list this week. The rookie will have his hands full on the court with the Thunder, who finally look to be figuring out how to play together