SAN FRANCISCO — The word destruction doesn’t do this game justice. Maybe the Golden State Warriors forgot the All-Star break ended today. Unfortunately for them, the Boston Celtics did not forget. At least, that was the case for the first three quarters.
The Warriors made some tough shots at the start of the game. Will Richard put up 11 points in the first quarter, including a buzzer-beater. That kept things close.
Then, the floodgates opened.
Boston completely torched the Warriors in the second quarter. Three after three, they slowly ballooned their lead up into the 20s. They won the second frame 38-19. Payton Pritchard led the way in the second with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from deep range.
Nikola Vucevic was a crucial piece of the puzzle for Boston in this one. His mere presence on the floor created mismatches, especially when Golden State brought two guys up to the level of the screen (effectively double-teaming the ball-handler). That forced them to help over from the corner, giving the Celtics open three-point chances. And they took advantage of them.
The Celtics shot 7-of-13 (53.8%) from three-point range in the second quarter.
The third was more of the same. Jaylen Brown rounded out his triple-double, highlighted by some nice passing out of double-teams.
Hustle was crucial for Boston in this one. They constantly sought out offensive rebounds, and their willingness to be the first guys to the ball gave them ample transition opportunities, too. Simply put, they outworked Golden State the entire night.
By the start of the first quarter, Brown, Pritchard, and Derrick White were all off the floor. Joe Mazzulla turned to his bench unit. The score was settled.
At least, that’s what it seemed like.
An early fourth-quarter run by the Warriors forced an early Mazzulla timeout. Kristaps Porzingis and Gui Santos got hot. Boston’s regulars returned to the game. Pritchard, White, Vucevic, and Sam Hauser checked in, joining Baylor Scheierman on the floor.
But even when they came back in, it was ugly. Mazzulla had to call a second straight timeout to avoid a backcourt violation, and the Celtics still turned it over on their first play, giving up a transition bucket.
Scheierman eventually settled things down with a driving layup, and Hauser followed that up with a backdoor cut, but for a few minutes, the game got sketchy for Boston. Brown even checked back in at the 6:44 mark to help finish the job, but the Warriors kept draining threes.
What was once a blowout victory quickly turned into a ball game, and Chase Center was behind the Warriors. But Pritchard quieted the entire arena.
A pair of massive three-pointers kept Golden State at arm’s length with around five minutes to go, and they couldn’t have come at a better time. They were just enough to keep Boston in front for long enough to secure the win.
Big winner: Effort. The Celtics could have taken this game off (kind of like the Warriors did). They could have lived with whatever shot they got, jogged back on defense, and played a simple style of defense. But they didn’t.
They made the active choice to get right back to business. They were in passing lanes. They were sprinting in transition. They were honed in on their defensive principles and the Warriors’ tendencies. It was everything they needed to do.
Ouch, tough one: The fourth quarter was ugly. Boston couldn’t generate consistent offense, and the Warriors were able to get out and run.
Golden State nailed a couple of threes, got good looks, and cut the lead down to 20. (For Mazzulla, that was enough to pull the plug on the garbage-time lineup.)
The starters even had a couple of ugly possessions when they checked back in, but they figured it out and shut down the Warriors’ momentum.
Even when Brown came back into the game, the Warriors kept surging forward. They nailed three after three and found easy buckets in transition, playing to the crowd.
Pritchard’s threes provided just enough relief to keep Boston ahead during a quarter in which their offense could not find any luck.
The big picture: There was no rust. Perhaps this is combining the big winner with the big picture, but that’s truly the biggest takeaway from this game.
Boston looked like a team ready for the second half of the season. Not a group of guys missing the beaches and resorts they were at during the break.
The end of the game was rough. But those are the moments the Celtics will have to deal with as the year goes on. Teams are going to make runs. Boston’s offense will go through lulls. But they’re going to have to get through them.
It wasn’t pretty. It was the opposite of pretty, actually. But Boston found a way to win. That’s what matters most. Winning always matters most.
