BSJ Game Report: Celtics 125, Warriors 85 - C's put it all together to throttle Golden State

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Warriors, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

They traded early runs but Boston ended the first quarter on a 10-1 run after Steph Curry checked out to go up 11. They continued to push that advantage in the second, going up 19, but Curry’s return helped get it to 15 at the half. They kept pouring it on in the third, pushing the lead past 30 with a monster offensive quarter, and they cruised from there. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Better all-around effort: The Celtics came out with a purpose and kept up the effort for the entire game. They had a couple of short lulls, but nothing you can’t chalk up to as the flow of the game.

- Shots fell: How about 20 made 3-pointers and 41.7% shooting? Jrue Holiday kept his roll going, Derrick White carried over the touch he found in overtime against Atlanta, and Sam Hauser got back on track. 

- Warriors struggling: They were so shorthanded, but like I said pregame, that's is so often an invitation for the Celtics to relax that it made for some uneasiness heading into this one. It was good to see Boston lay the hammer down like they're supposed to against a team in this situation. They weren’t great with Curry on the floor, but they were abysmal with him off, and Boston capitalized. 

TURNING POINT 

The Celtics started the third on a 13-5 run, which pushed their lead past 20 and made it clear the Warriors had nothing to offer in this game. They ended up winning the third 43-24, shooting 8-12 from 3 but also adding 16 points in the paint. It was what the C's offense should be with drives that went all the way when the defense wasn't there, but led to kick-outs when the defense overreacted.

THINGS I LIKED

- Winning like they're supposed to: Part of the problem with the Celtics over the past month is that they haven't been living up to expectations. This game did. So first and foremost, it’s nice to see a game go they way it’s supposed to. 

- Defense: The Warriors didn’t put up a single quarter with more than 24 points. They made things tough across the board and, for once, giving up the 3-pointers to low-percentage shooters didn’t lead to some rando going for 18 points on 6-7 shooting. 

- Ball-movement: They racked up 34 assists on 49 made baskets. Obviously, the ball going in lead to more assists, but also, better ball movement in general will lead to better shots that have a tendency to fall. 

- Jaylen Brown: A much better game from him as he finished with 17 points on 8-14 shooting. It’s not a world-beating kind of game, but he’s been off lately, so this is a nice sign. He did some good work in the post and mid-range on offense. A better sign was the defense that he played, which is usually the first thing to go when he’s not engaged. 

- Jayson Tatum: He finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. He did most of his damage in a 12-point third quarter, combining with nine from Brown to put this away. Tatum also had three assists, two rebounds, and a steal in the third. 

- Payton Pritchard: He led the Celtics with nine assists and he had 14 off the bench. I love the way he works around the rim, using his center of gravity to get separation and finish at the basket. Every time he bumps and pushes his way to the rim and finishes, it feels like he gives the team a little boost 

- Rebounding: The Celtics gave up four offensive rebounds in the first quarter, but just six the rest of the way. Two of those were in garbage time, so it was a nice recovery after the Warriors were able to keep things close with second chances early on. 

- Kristaps Porzingis: Somehow he has zero blocks in this game, but I thought his rim protection was really good. He was hitting from 3 early and then got the post mismatches he was looking for. He’s getting close enough now that I don’t think they need to overdo it to get him going. They can get back to running their normal offense. 

- Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Sam Hauser hitting shots: Those guys hitting 3-pointers changes so much. They combined to shoot 7-13 in this one.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Jayson Tatum’s 3-pointers: He finished the game 3-10, mostly because he took a lot of tough 3-point shots. He’s capable of hitting those, but that shouldn’t be the only shot he takes from outside. His first 3 was a side-step shot early in the shot clock which I hated, especially in that situation. I’m glad it ultimately didn't matter, but it also didn’t surprise me that the Warriors went on a little run after that. 

I really would like Tatum to focus more on in-rhythm 3-pointers that he can step into, either off pick-and-rolls or catch-and-shoots, earlier in games. There's a time for the step-back, but I would like to see him get some better looks first. 

- Deflected passes: Also a thing that didn’t end up mattering but it felt like 90% of the passes Boston threw in the first half were deflected. They just need to be better about those passes because those will matter in other games. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Amazing what happens when shots fall, right?

I’m not trying to over-simplify things, but let’s also be honest here. The Celtics played well today, but I don’t think they came in with a laser focus to mow the Warriors down. Like I said, they had a lot of passes deflected early, so they still weren’t their absolute best. 

But they were able to knock down shots, and a funny thing happens when shots fall. They got back and played better defense and they put in the rebounding effort so they could get back down and take more shots. 

There was no long stretch of frustrating misses that led to breakdowns. There were no long rebounds that triggered transition opportunities. There were no exaggerated scoreless stretches where someone decided that maybe some isolation play might get at least a few points on the board. 

The only consistent issue in this stretch of .500 play has been poor shooting. After that, a lot of different things went wrong in different games to cost the Celtics. Hitting shots not only leads to winning, it really helps erase a lot of those other issues. 

Next up: The Celtics head to Los Angeles to face the Clippers on the front end of a back-to-back.