Boston Celtics hand Golden State Warriors their worst home defeat in 40 years

(CNN) — The Golden State Warriors suffered their worst home defeat in four decades on Monday night, losing 125-85 to the Boston Celtics.

The last time the Warriors lost by at least 40 points in their own arena was a 149-104 drubbing by the Dallas Mavericks on January 15, 1985.

Jayson Tatum had a game-high 22 points for the Celtics on Monday along with nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Kristaps Porziņģis and Jaylen Brown added 18 and 17 points, respectively, on a night when six Boston players hit double figures.

By contrast, Steph Curry – with 18 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals – was one of only two Warriors who scored 10 or more. Moses Moody was the other, adding 13 points.

“A big part of our season has been we can’t score, we lose spirit, we lose life, we lose competitiveness,” said Curry afterwards. “You can get away with it against some teams. Against the defending champs, it’s not a good formula for success.”

It was only the sixth time since the Warriors moved to California in 1962 that they have lost by 40 or more points at home. Golden State’s 85 points were the lowest the team has scored in a home game in which Curry has played under head coach Steve Kerr, according to ESPN.

The Celtics got out in front with a double-digit lead early in the game, during a period of 7:32 across the first and second quarters when the Warriors did not make a single basket.

Curry and Co. went just 3-for-24 from three-point range in the first half, the team’s second worst percentage in a first half with at least 20 attempts since 1996-97, the beginning of the play-by-play era, according to the Associated Press.

Boston was up by 15 by halftime and never looked back, scoring 43 points to the Warriors’ 24 in the third quarter. The home team shot 34.8% for the game, with Andrew Wiggins making just one of his 11 shots.

“We’ve gotta flush this one down the toilet and get ready for Sac,” said Kerr, whose team visit the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. “We’ve been very competitive all year and our guys have fought. We’ve had a handful of these where we just get blown out and these are demoralizing.”

To make matters worse, the Warriors lost Draymond Green to a calf injury before the game. The team is already missing Jonathan Kuminga, Brandon Podziemski and Kyle Anderson.

“It’s gonna get tougher without two starters,” Curry said of Green and Kuminga. “But we gotta believe that you have enough to win any given night. You have to believe that we’re a team that can find a way to execute on both ends of the floor. It’s a mentality thing before it’s a physical thing, I think.”

The Warriors are languishing in 11th place in the Western Conference with a record of 21-21. Currently on a run of 9-18, they look nothing like the team that beat Boston in the 2022 NBA Finals to claim their fourth title in eight seasons.

The Celtics, on the other hand, remain among the favorites to defend their crown. They are currently 30-13 and second in the Eastern Conference, behind the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers.

The-CNN-Wire
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