BOSTON — This is why Avery Bradley is well, Avery Bradley.

As you listen to him discuss his matchup with Golden State's Stephen Curry, you find yourself thinking, "this sure sounds a lot like what he had to say about [pick any player in the NBA he has faced]!"

That's because in Bradley's world, every player is subject to his undivided, in-your-grill-every-minute-he's-on-the-floor attention.

Curry knows this all too well after Bradley led a stingier-than-usual Celtics defense that helped the C's pull away for a 94-86 win over the Warriors.

And Curry who came in averaging 46 points in his last two games, had 25 against the Celtics which is a respectable tally.

Still, upon closer inspection, those 25 points came on 22 shots from the field (16 of which were misses).

It's clear that the Bradley-led defense kept Curry in check most of the game.

"He's a very good player," Bradley said of Curry. "I just tried to make everything hard on him, just tried to tire him down."

After the game, Curry did make mention of the fact that he has logged major minutes recently. In his career-high 54-point game against New York on Wednesday, Curry played 48 minutes. And the night before that, he had 38 points against Indiana while playing 37 minutes.

On Friday against Boston, he played 42 minutes.

Still, Curry was quick to shun his extended playing time as an excuse for one of his worst shooting games of the season.

"You gotta just keep being aggressive," he said. "Couple of shots fall and it might have been a different outcome. It just didn't go our way tonight."

And while he credits the Celtics team for an effective game defensively, he singled out the play of Bradley as being one of the keys.

"That's his reputation," Curry said of Bradley. "That's how he helps his team. I knew that coming in, I was prepared for it."

Knowing Bradley would pressure him as much as possible, Curry had it in his mind to get to the free throw line as much as possible.

Curry made all 10 of his free throws on Friday. It was the most free throws he has made in a game this season, and only the fifth time he has gone to the line 10 or more times in a game this season.

Not surprisingly, Celtics coach Doc Rivers also had praise for Bradley's game defensively against Curry.

"He was doing a great job on him," Rivers said.

However, Rivers said some of Curry's struggles had little to do with Bradley's tough defense.

"He [Curry] missed some open shots, too," Rivers said. "I think he's the best shooter in our league. And he missed some open ones."

Those misses may have been Curry simply missing shots, or they could have been because of Bradley's pressure defense taking a physical toll on Curry as the game progressed.

Regardless of why Curry missed so many more shots than usual, there was no disputing that Bradley's defense was a major factor.

"He's a great defender," Curry said. "And you have to give him credit for what he's able to do out there."

Which is Avery Bradley simply being, Avery Bradley.