BOSTON — Jaylen Brown scored 29 points, Jayson Tatum had 27 on his 26th birthday and the NBA’s best Boston Celtics posted their third-largest margin of victory in franchise history, beating Golden State Tired Warriors 140-88 Sunday.
Payton Pritchard added 19 points for the Celtics, who set a league record with their third victory this season by 50 points or more and extended their season-best winning streak to 11 games. Boston led by a franchise-record 44 points at halftime and pushed it to 51 early in the third quarter before coach Joe Mazzulla went to his reserve for the rest of the game.
“It’s awesome, but at the same time, it’s always humbling,” Brown said. “We don’t take the game for granted. We didn’t come here to joke and this is how we show our respect for the game; we manage the business and take care of it. … That’s a lot of respect for the Golden State Warriors, but we think it’s our time now.
Stephen Curry did not play the second half and finished with a season-low four points for Golden State, his lowest total since scoring three points in 16 minutes on March 16, 2022 in Boston – a match he left with a foot injury. Curry was 2 of 13 from the field Sunday and missed all nine of his 3-point attempts, including back-to-back aerial balls in the first quarter.
“The way they play, they seem very sure of themselves and their identity and who they are,” Curry said. “Give them credit. They came out and yelled at us tonight from the jump, and it was one of those perfect storms of a tough (day) on our end and they brought it to us.
This is the fourth worst loss in franchise history for the Warriors. They had won 11 of 13, including the first three of their East Coast trip that included three games in four days and a difficult trip to Toronto during which they sat on a tarmac for hours at night .
Lester Quinones led Golden State with 17 points in a team-high 33 minutes. None of the Warriors’ starters played more than 20 minutes, and Moses Moody (11 points) was the only one to score in double figures.
“We lost,” Draymond Green said. “Rinse it and move on.”
Boston’s only biggest blowout victories were 133-77 at Chicago on December 8, 2018 and 128-75 against Sacramento on January 25, 2022.
Celtics forward Kristaps Porzingis missed the game with a bruised left quad.
The game was tied at 21 in the first quarter before the Celtics scored the next 14 points to start a 58-13 run that put them up 35 at the end of the second quarter.
Brown sparked the run by hitting three straight 3s in 40 seconds, with Green playing interesting defense by leaving him all alone and dropping back at least five feet several times in the first quarter.
“We told Jaylen, ‘If they keep doing that, you should shoot 20, 30 3s,'” Pritchard said.
Brown scored 19 points in the period, connecting on 5 of 8 3s, to push Boston to a 44-22 lead.
“This is the first time this has happened to me,” Brown said of the lax defense. “Honestly, I was a little surprised. It took a bit of adjustment and I think we just took advantage of it and made the most of it.
“If you want to challenge me to shoot, we can do that too,” he added. “I thought it was a little disrespectful, but we made the most of it and haven’t looked back.”
Curry, listed as questionable with right knee bursitis, went through warmups and decided to play. He threw his first 3 before throwing the next two.
“Boston was incredible. We didn’t beat them today,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “It wasn’t an off day for Steph, although he probably could have used it. He did so well played and for so long this year, I hope in the next few days it will recharge it.
In the first quarter, Boston shot 62.5% from 3 (10 of 16) and 57.1% overall (16 of 28).
Tatum’s 3 from the left wing pushed it to 74-34 in the second.
The Warriors missed 15 of 18 3-point attempts in the first half, and Boston made as many 3s (15 of 24) at halftime as Golden State had field goals.
Boston left the field to a standing ovation at halftime, holding an 82-38 lead.
In the second half, the crowd was somewhat quiet during the nationally televised game between the teams that met in the NBA Finals two years ago. Golden State won this series in six games, ending it in Boston.
Fans gave Tatum a standing ovation when his birthday wishes were posted in the final quarter. He greeted the crowd with a big smile.
FOLLOWING
Warriors: Host Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Celtics: at Cleveland on Tuesday.
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