The Celtics kicked off their road trip on a high note Thursday night, cruising to a 121-110 win over the Warriors at Chase Center.
Boston led by as many as 34 points after dominating the first three quarters of action, including outscoring the hosts by 38-19 in the second quarter. The Warriors put up a fight late, using a 29-10 fourth quarter run to help cut Boston’s lead to 11 points with just over three minutes left. However, the hosts ran out of time after key make by Jaylen Brown as Boston held on for their seventh win over the team’s last eight games.
Jaylen Brown had a triple-double for the Celtics in the win, posting 23 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists in 38 minutes. Payton Pritchard led all scorers with 27 points off the bench for Boston and also chipped in with seven assists as well.
De’Anthony Melton had a team-high 18 points for the hosts, who played without star Stephen Curry (knee) in the loss.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 12 points in 17 minutes in his debut for the Warriors but Al Horford struggled against his former teammates, going just 2-of-10 from the field to finish with five points in 27 minutes.
The Celtics now continue their road trip in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon in a showdown against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win on Thursday night:
Celtics go after Kristaps Porzingis early and often: The former Boston big man didn’t make his Warriors debut until the second quarter but Boston showed no mercy once he took the floor. The visitors erupted with a game-changing 17-2 run in the first four minutes of the second quarter by largely attacking Porzingis on the defensive end of the floor. The Celtics used their speed to attack Porzingis on the perimeter and pushed the pace for plenty of easy looks against a slow footed frontcourt of OPorzingis and Draymond Green. Porzingis hadn’t played in a game since Jan. 7 and it showed in this stint, which helped Boston to turn the game into a rout by halftime.
Celtics put on a clinic in the second quarter: Hot 3-point shooting kept the Warriors in the game in the first quarter but the Celtics reached a different gear in the second quarter. The visitors ran circles around the undermanned Warriors, doubling them up 38-19 in the frame behind some red-hot shooting (53.8 percent from the field and 3-point range). Payton Pritchard led the charge with 13 points off the pine as Boston’s ball movement (11 assists on 14 field goal makes) looked as good as its best all year. With Boston’s defense also locked in (Warriors shot just 30.9 percent in the period), the Celtics looked like they were a team on a different level than Golden State.
Jaylen Brown needs just three quarters to post a triple-double: The All-Star forward has been doing it all for Boston this year but he reached a new level of efficiency against the Warriors. Brown posted a triple-double by the 2:55 mark of the third quarter after tallying 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in just 27 minutes. It was the third triple-double of his season and fifth of his career helping Brown further cement his case for an All-NBA spot for the second time in his career.
The Warriors look like a team that’s going nowhere: Stephen Curry is obviously a massive absence, but it’s challenging to watch this Warriors team and think they will be anything but a first-round out in the Western Conference. All the team’s bigs struggle to keep up with uptempo teams, and there is no reliable shot creation on this roster outside of Curry and Porzingis in the post. With Jimmy Butler out for much of next season, it’s difficult to envision Curry playing much meaningful basketball to close out his career in Golden State.