Golden State Warriors deliver more nightmares as Celtics fail to learn from fatal mistakes

The Golden State Warriors have bounced back to life with a statement 123-107 win over the league-leading Boston Celtics at Chase Center on Saturday night.

Led by Klay Thompson (34 points) and Stephen Curry (32 points), the Warriors produced an efficient two-way display to once again move above .500 with a 14-13 record.

Meeting for the first time since the NBA Finals, it appeared little had changed as the same facets haunted the Boston Celtics against the Golden State Warriors.

While the Warriors were without their best wing defender in Andrew Wiggins, the Celtics were missing both their important big men in Al Horford and Robert Williams III (who’s yet to play this season). It meant that veteran Blake Griffin got his sixth start of the season, and Boston immediately started in drop coverage to protect him and Luke Kornet from Golden State’s explosive guards.

That was the plan, but it certainly wasn’t a bulletproof one. Boston learnt that the hard way in the most brutal fashion after defending in drop coverage for most of last season’s NBA Finals. Curry, Thompson and Jordan Poole got all they wanted off the dribble, pulling up on threes, mid-range jumpshots and floaters at will.

Thompson, in particular, got hot in the midst of an astonishing 17 first-half field-goal attempts. He made ten of them on the way to 24 points, while Curry made five of his first six three-point attempts. Poole also got to the line on multiple occasions as Boston’s perimeter defenders tried to fight over screens.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla finally made the change to close the half, with a small unit allowing Boston to switch everything defensively. They managed to force some turnovers as a result, finishing the half on a 9-3 run as the Warriors held a five-point lead.

Griffin played less in the second half and Kornet not at all, but the Celtics transition defense was uncharacteristically poor at times off missed shots. The third was more so about the Warriors defense anyway, with Boston superstar Jayson Tatum remaining under lock and key despite the absence of Wiggins.

The Celtics scored just 20 points in the third as the Warriors opened up a 12-point lead. The home team looked to land a knockout punch early in the fourth, especially through Jonathan Kuminga as he got to the rim for three straight buckets. The last was a powerful statement slam over Tatum, bringing emotion from he, teammates and the adoring crowd.

Boston made a mini-run though and cut a 17-point lead to eight, but the Warriors quickly recovered to close out a comfortable victory. Golden State’s guard trio combined for 86 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, while Tatum was held to just 18 points on a deplorable 6-for-21 shooting.

The Warriors also got impressive performances from Kevon Looney who had seven points and 15 rebounds, along with Kuminga who finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Golden State shot 51.1% from the field, but more importantly, kept the league’s number one offense to 43.7% shooting and just 30% from three-point range. The second-half felt very much a mirror of the Finals from earlier in the year, with the Warriors’ defensive stranglehold proving too much.

It’s an important victory for the Warriors after their agonising loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. The team now heads for what could be their most defining stretch of the season, a six-game East Coast road-trip starting with the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.