Robb: Leftover Thoughts From Celtics-Warriors Overtime Thriller

BOSTON (CBS) – The Warriors continued their historic start to the regular season on Friday night at the TD Garden, but Boston fans left the building knowing they got their money's worth after the double overtime thriller.

Both teams were shorthanded in the back-and-forth affair, with the Warriors missing a pair of starters in Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes while Marcus Smart watched from the sidelines. Still, there was plenty to take away from the seemingly never ending dog fight between the two franchises, one at the top of its game and the other working its way towards becoming one of the league's elite.

With nearly a full day in the books to digest the contest, let's take a closer look at what we saw and examine some leftover thoughts.

Kelly Olynyk had his coming out party. The seven-footer had big games before, but they had all seemingly come against inferior opposition, such as his career-high 31 points against the Philadelphia 76ers last season. On Friday night against the Warriors, Olynyk stepped up his game under the brightest lights. The third-year big man scored a season-high 28 points, stabilizing a Celtics offense that struggled to keep pace with Golden State after Avery Bradley's hot first quarter. It was the third 21-point performance out of Boston's last five games, an impressive sign of consistency for a guy who struggled over the first month of the season. Olynyk won't score 20 every night, but his improved aggressiveness is an encouraging sign for this team long-term.

Brad Stevens made a tough call on avoiding timeouts in late-game situations. The Celtics had their opportunities last night. They led by five points with just under two minutes remaining in regulation and also had a chance to hold for the last shot in a tie game in both regulation and overtime. Both times, Stevens had a timeout to use but opted against calling it, leaving he ball in the hands of Isaiah Thomas for a couple of failed one-on-one situations.

Stevens explained his decision after the game:

"Both times I wanted us to come in and slip," Stevens said. "Slip out of a pick and roll and just to play. Because you let those guys get set, they're so long they switch things, they make it really difficult on you as you saw even in the side-outs. They're very physical. And we had the ball with unique time because all I would do is call something, get it in, and run the clock down. So obviously the first – first – regulation shot got blocked, so that's not as good as the second one. The second one was a great move, great look. If you got a chance to beat those guys on that look, I think you'd take it every time."

Stevens' theory was sound, but you would still like to see a little more ball movement in that situation. Thomas is a great player but he's also giving up nearly a foot to most Warriors defenders, including Shaun Livingston. Keeping a good defense on its toes in late game situations is also key, but the Celtics got a little too predictable in these end game situations and seemed to pay the price.

Draymond Green can do it all. Much of the hype entering Friday's game surrounded league MVP Stephen Curry, but it was his versatile teammate that was the most valuable Warrior in the win. Green finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks and five steals, making him the first player since 2012 to finish with a 5x5 stat line since 2012.

Green also made life tough for Celtics bigs such as Jared Sullinger (3-for-11) in the interior all night with his defense, solidifying his case to be an All-Star in a loaded Western Conference. The Splash Brothers may continue to get the biggest spotlight, but Green is proving more and more that he's the glue that holds the Warriors stout defense together.

Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.