Two years ago, the Celtics watched the Warriors celebrate on their home floor. They heard them dancing through the TD Garden hallways after they won a championship, after they blocked their chance at glory. The feeling lingered.
In the first rematch last season in San Francisco, the Celtics were blown out and they admitted after that they were caught up in the moment. They had circled that game on their calendar, and were focused too much on trying to prove something. It was a clear sign they still had significant growth to do to get over the hump.
The feeling of that 2022 Finals loss is not raw anymore, but there were lessons learned. There has been necessary growth and maturation since that defeat. And while they must win a championship this spring to prove that once and for all, their latest rematch with the Warriors on Sunday was one of the clearest signs yet this group is ready to do so. The Celtics battered the Warriors. They humiliated them into submission. And they didn’t let up. They made another loud statement with a 140-88 demolition.
It was the Celtics’ third 50-point win of the season, an NBA record. But it was how they did it, against a team that once posed as a mental block for this group, that made this one the most impressive yet.
“It’s a lot of respect for the Golden State Warriors,” Jaylen Brown said. “But we feel like it’s our time now.”
Brown scored 29 points, including 19 in the first quarter, as he set the tone on both ends and Jayson Tatum, on his 26th birthday, scored 27, including 20 in the second quarter, as the Celtics extended their winning streak to 11 games – and they did it without Kristaps Porzingis, who missed the game due to injury. They destroyed the Warriors with a nearly perfect first half, setting franchise records with 82 points and a 44-point halftime lead. They made the Warriors throw in the towel, as stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green sat the second half.
These Warriors aren’t what they once were, but entered Sunday as winners of 13 of their previous 16 games. But the Celtics made them their latest victim with ease. In some ways, the tables have turned. On Sunday, the Celtics submitted a performance reminiscent of what the Warriors did during the prime years of their dynasty.
“They’re the best team in the league right now, and they played like it,” Curry said. “We have a nice gap to make up if we want to be that type of team.”
Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics like to approach every game the same, but they played with a certain edge on Sunday. Perhaps the Warriors could be credited with poking the bear.
As teams look for different ways to stop the Celtics, the Warriors tried something new on Sunday. Part of their defensive strategy was to make Brown a shooter. Green and any other defender sagged off of Brown – a 34.8 percent 3-point shooter – significantly and dared him to shoot. But the results went poorly for them.
Brown happily took what the defense gave him and made them pay with five 3-pointers in the first quarter, including a flurry on three consecutive possessions.
“I thought it was a little disrespectful,” Brown said. “But we took advantage of it and we hit them back.”
Added Mazzulla: “We were really grateful for that. … I just kept saying thank you, and kept empowering Jaylen.”
The Warriors’ decision and the ensuing outcome proved to be decisive. The game was tied at 21-all before Brown’s three consecutive 3-pointers, and the Celtics proceeded to hit the Warriors with an avalanche on both sides of the ball. They allowed the Warriors to score just one point – on a technical free throw – over the final 6:05 of the first quarter en route to a stretch of domination that hit absurd levels.
The Celtics knocked out the Warriors with a 32-3 run and outscored them 61-17 over the final 18 minutes of the first half. They made 15 3-pointers in the first half, including one that elicited a shrug from Tatum, as if to acknowledge how silly the barrage was, They suffocated the Warriors defensively. The Celtics were relentless even as they went up by more than 40, continuously rushing the ball in-bounds and executing like a machine.
There was some extra emotion, especially from Brown. He fired up the crowd on a few occasions, and after he forced Curry into a backcourt violation on one play in the second quarter, he clapped excitedly. Brown acknowledged that the Warriors’ game plan on him got him going.
“I guess that’s kind of fair to say,” Brown said. “Obviously it caught me and everybody by surprise. Maybe it was some type of mind game they were trying to play. But it definitely engages you, it definitely heightens your focus on offense and defense.”
Minutes into the third quarter, Mazzulla pulled his regulars as they earned an extra rest. The Celtics led by as many as 56 in the second half.
Even though the Celtics continue to pile up lopsided wins, they’re not taking these performances for granted. After all, they’ve been the victim of painful losses before.
“On any given day, at any given time we could be on the other side of that,” Brown said. And we’ve had some heartbreaking losses and things not go in our direction that kind of cultivates that humility that we play with.
“Yeah, it’s a privilege and an honor to be on a team to be able to do that. But at the same time there’s a humility that at any given moment things can change, things can shift, things can not go in the right direction. So we just have to take advantage of the moment.”
