SAN FRANCISCO — If the question is how the Celtics managed to win a game in which for much of the night they’d played down to and even below the level of the shipwreck that is the Warriors these days, the answer is rather simple.

Because Kemba Walker.

Oh, other Celts did make some major plays in what became their 10th straight victory, a 105-100 decision Friday that kept them atop the league, but it was Walker’s escape from the freezer that had them in position to best their injury-ravaged hosts.

The new point guard made just one of 11 shots in the first three quarters, and the C’s had suffered a 13-4 Warrior run to open the fourth and were down 84-80 when he was summoned from the pine with 8:52 left. On the ensuing Celtic possession after a timeout, Walker drilled a 3-pointer to signal he’d located the strings at the new Chase Center.

He went on to hit five of eight shots down the stretch and post 14 points.

“He did the crossover when he stepped back and hit the 3 right when he checked in,” said coach Brad Stevens. “It was just kind of… it took the lid off a little bit. He’s been unbelievable all year, but certainly at the end of games he’s just been remarkable. And so we needed every point.”

Said Jayson Tatum, who struggled at the rim but led all scorers with 24, “He’s a superstar in this league. Everybody has off nights. We still had a lot of game left, and he’s earned that right to give him the ball in the fourth and make plays. Everybody has their trust on this team. Everybody has slow starts and rough shooting nights. I feel like I’ve missed like eight layups a game. But we just kind of keep going.”

Walker was basically matter of fact after his 20-pointer.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I just want to win so bad, I just will those shots in a lot of the times. I just want to win, and when it’s winning time, my competitive nature just increases in those kinds of situations.

“Yeah, it happens, man,” Walker said of the shaky shooting early on. “I’m not going to shoot the ball great every night. It’s not the first time, I’ll tell you that much. I just stay confident, my teammates stay confident in me, my coaching staff. I shoot a lot of shots each and every day to get myself prepared to play these games and try to the best of my abilities to shoot well. I just kept trusting in my hard work. Down the stretch it just came through…

“Fourth quarter, it’s just winning time.”

The night’s beginning looked more like pothole time for the Celts, who hadn’t lost since the season opener in Philadelphia. They made just three of their first 16 shots, going without a field goal for a stretch of 4:18. The Warriors had an 11-0 run to take a 21-8 lead, and it looked as if perhaps the C’s had spent their afternoon reading all the glowing press clippings hailing their rise.

All this against a Golden State crew where Draymond Green looks around and sees few familiar faces on the floor. The Warriors had just 10 players available Friday, but with people like Alec Burks and Eric Paschall leading them in scoring, they hung in valiantly and, even after the Celtics awoke, made it tight until the end.

The hosts were still ahead by a point when Marcus Smart retrieved a Daniel Theis missed free throw as it was headed out of bounds with 1:41 left. However, the officials said he’d stepped out. The Celts were saved by a replay review, and there was a jump ball at center court.

Rob Williams wasn’t there for the play because he’d sat out the second half with the recurrence of his ankle issue. Theis lost the tip to Willie Cauley-Stein, but Tatum sneaked to the backcourt and beat a stunned Paschall to the ball. Tatum then rolled in for an easy dunk.

It was a Smart move, capital S intended.

Said Tatum, “Smart told me the whole time, like, ‘Yeah, they’re going to tip it back. Shoot the lane.’ I’m like, ‘No.’ He’s like, ‘Listen to me. Listen to me.’ I’m like, ‘All right, yo.’ And I listened to him, and it worked.”

It was a welcome inside score for Tatum, who has had trouble inside lately.

“Oh, man, I wish I knew, because I am terrible on layups,” he said. “I hope it’s just an early season rough start, but I have to keep attacking, play off two feet more, just dunk it… Yeah. I shouldn’t be missing layups. It’s simple as that.”

The Celts pulled away from there on a night when Jaylen Brown had kept them in earlier, hitting all three of his treys on the way to 22 points. He had additional motivation from the near two-year anniversary of his best friend’s death. He had 22 points against the Warriors around that time, as well.

“His number was 22 and he was 22 years old,” Brown said. “It was great for me to be able to score 22 points like last time. It was kind of deja vu.”

On a more mundane basketball level, it’s more of the same from Walker, who’s been making a habit of fourth quarter explosions and even came with a shimmy after one hoop (an homage to fellow New Yorker Mark Jackson, who was working the game for ESPN).

“I trust in my work,” Walker said. “I shoot. I make 500 3’s the night before the game. I trust in my work. That’s it. And the reason I do that is because if I am having an off night, I know it’s an off night. I know it’s not because I’m not working. So it just is what it is. I don’t know what else to say. When it’s time to make shots and step up for my teammates, I’m going to try my best to do it. That’s just how it’s been. That’s just how it’s been as of late. My first halves haven’t really been too great. I just try my best to just stay positive, and just continue to shoot.”

Which meant that Friday night the Celtics just continued to win.