Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) looks to shoot at the basket while Golden State Warriors guard Lester Quinones (25) defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, March 3, 2024 , in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
BOSTON — Steve Kerr wasted the Boston Celtics’ last, best chance NBA title. And he thinks it will be more difficult this time.
“This is, I think, the best version of this team that I’ve seen,” Kerr said this weekend before his Golden State Warriors were eliminated. ambushed by their opponent in the 2022 NBA Finals 140-88 on Sunday.
“The idea is to give yourself a chance as many times in a row as possible. And they’ve done a great job of doing that,” Kerr said. “I think it’s just a matter of time until they succeed.”
The Celtics won his 11th straight game on Sunday to reach an NBA-best 48-12 this season – six wins more than his closest pursuer. They are on pace for 65 wins, which would be the fourth record in franchise history and the most since the team won an unprecedented 17th NBA championship in 2008.
The 52-point victory over the longtime Western Conference power was the third-largest margin of victory in Celtics history. They are the first NBA team to record three 50-point victories in a season.
Boston led by 44 points at halftime, a franchise record. Boston’s only biggest blowout wins were 56 points at Chicago in 2018 and 53 against Sacramento in 2022.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) celebrates near Golden State Warriors forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (32) after scoring in the second half of an NBA basketball game on Sunday, March. November 3, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
“There’s a lot of respect for the Golden State Warriors,” said Jaylen Brown, who scored 29 points. “But we feel like it’s our time now.”
Jayson Tatum had 27 points and Payton Pritchard added 19 off the bench to the Celtics Sunday, when coach Joe Mazzulla emptied the bench with 7:16 left in the third quarter.
Warriors star Stephen Curry didn’t play at all in the second half, finishing with a season-low four points — his fewest total since leaving a 2022 game in Boston due to injury. a foot injury. Curry was 2 of 13 from the field Sunday and missed all nine of his 3-point attempts.
“They came out and yelled at us tonight from the jump,” Curry said. “And it was one of those perfect storms of a tough (day) on our end and they brought it to us.”
The Celtics reached the Eastern Conference Finals three times in four seasons under Brad Stevens from 2017 to 2020. They finally broke through to play for an NBA title in Ime Udoka’s only season on the bench in 2022 , but the Warriors sent them home in six games.
Last year’s team made it to the East Finals under Mazzulla’s leadership before losing to the Miami Heat in seven games. During the offseason, Boston traded point guard Marcus Smart for center Kristaps Porziņģis and acquired Jrue Holiday to replace Smart’s defensive prowess.
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“This is the best group I’ve ever been a part of,” Brown said. “We have experience, we have grown, we have matured. We are ready and we are ready.
