The Golden State Warriors were blown out 88-140 tonight by the Boston Celtics, a game in which the Celtics led by 44 points at the half. This was the biggest halftime deficit the Warriors have ever faced, prompting Stephen A. Smith to apologize to the national TV audience watching this 2022 Finals rematch.
“This is an epic butt-whooping. This is so bad Kendrick Perkins needs to take off that suit. This is so bad that Bob Myers, who’ll be calling a Warriors game this Wednesday, shouldn’t even go back. They should postpone the game and give the Warriors a week to recover. The Warriors were almost down 50 at half-time!… None of us saw this coming. We want to apologize to the American people for what we just saw in this first half. It might as well be me out there playing against Boston.”
"This is an epic butt whooping. This is so bad Kendrick Perkins needs to take off that suit… We want to apologize to the American people."
Stephen A. Smith on the Warriors getting absolutely DOMINATED by the Celtics in the first half 🗣pic.twitter.com/ycB0qxvc4e
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 3, 2024
The Celtics ended the first half on a 61-17 run after the game started competitively and was even tied 21-21 at a point. A variety of factors led to the game just unraveling for the Warriors.
Not only did they have a poor defensive scheme which allowed Jaylen Brown to start the game with a 19-point first quarter but also cold shooting from Stephen Curry, who went 0-9 from three and had his third game under 10 points this season.
This loss keeps Golden State rooted to the No. 10 spot in the West, as a win would have put them ahead of the Lakers once again. The Celtics have extended their lead at the top of the East to 8.5 games, already securing postseason qualification even if they were to lose every remaining game this season.
The Warriors Need To Bounce Back
This was the fourth-biggest loss in Warriors history and the biggest in a game that saw Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson get minutes in. Four of their ten biggest losses have come against the Celtics. Steve Kerr coached the team for three of their 10 biggest losses, with the others coming against the Toronto Raptors (53 points, 20-21) and the Dallas Mavericks (48 points, 19-20).
Their next game is against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are on a five-game win streak at the moment. The Bucks have the unique feat of doing to the Celtics what the Celtics just did to the Warriors, blowing Boston out 75-38 in the first half on national TV and making Joe Mazzulla bench all the starters. With the new form of the Bucks under Doc Rivers, the Warriors will have a tall test ahead.
Teams ahead of the Lakers and Warriors in the standings have had spotty form in recent games, opening up a window into the top six of the West. The Suns, Kings, and Mavericks haven’t been red-hot, so wins right now could help Golden State come back into contention for the top-six. They have the sixth-hardest remaining schedule in the NBA and will back themselves to dust off this loss to embark on a late-season run to emerge as threats in the West.
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