Three Telling Stats From History-Making Celtics Win Over Warriors

BOSTON — The Celtics established their dominance by unloading a masterclass performance on the Warriors, defeating Golden State, 140-88, in record-setting fashion at TD Garden on Sunday.

Riding the momentum of 10 straight wins, including six in a row at home, Boston did everything to ensure the Warriors would appear as anything like the team that popped champagne on the Celtics parquet in 2022. Boston delivered Golden State a rude awakening that’ll keep the entire roster awake as the organization quickly loses grips on its playoff hopes.

Here are three jaw-dropping stats that sum up what the Celtics did to the once-dynasty-fueled Warriors:

1.) Celtics become first NBA team ever to win three games by 50-plus points in single season
Over the course of their last six games played, the Celtics have outscored opponents by 29.8 points, beating the Brooklyn Nets and Warriors by over 50 points within the span. That’s unheard of offensive firepower, and it’s even more impressive when acknowledging that in each of the three total instances, Boston had at least one starter sidelined.

It was Kristaps Porzingis who didn’t suit up Sunday, however, that didn’t matter one bit. After the Celtics took a strong 44-22 lead to end the first quarter, Mazzulla could’ve offered another night off to either Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown and it also wouldn’t have mattered.

“I was very encouraged with the way we were able to attack them on the offensive end,” Mazzulla said postgame. “I was encouraged with the way we played for those two-and-a-half quarters, and it was a clear understanding, especially in the late game. I thought we did a great job of guarding them and attacking them. … I think that the guys have grown in their identity as far as game management and I think that game really exploited that for us.”

Boston’s lead grew to as much as 56 points and the reserve unit maintained that pressure, led by guard Payton Pritchard, who scored 19 points.

"What the Celtics are doing is just silly"

The Celtics are up by 44 pts (largest halftime lead in Celtics history) pic.twitter.com/jJSYkmmeAV

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 3, 2024

2.) Boston’s 99-48 third-quarter lead allowed Joe Mazzulla to pull starters with 19 minutes left
Boston didn’t need to be at full strength to pick apart the washed-up Warriors, so Mazzulla wisely awarded the starting unit with an early clock out.

Tatum, Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford were all removed in the third quarter with 7:16 remaining, and never returned. Their work was done, which meant the starting unit could kick their feet back and wait for TD Garden’s jumbotron to play “Gino Time” while Golden State was subjected to its worst nightmare: reality kicking in.

“I think this is the best group I’ve been a part of,” Brown explained. “I think that we have experience, we’ve grown, we’ve matured, to certain extents we’ve seen a lot of different variations of a lot of different basketball. So I think we’re primed and we’re ready.”

There wasn’t a Tatum 40-point bomb or a Brown triple-double. The Celtics were by far the superior basketball team, limiting their mistakes — Boston committed seven turnovers to Golden State’s 17 — and leaning on offensive versatility to carry them to the finish line. The Warriors foolishly left Brown wide open from three routinely, but the Celtics didn’t just beat the Warriors at their own game. Boston also scored 42 fast-break points and 52 inside the paint, making defensive matchups impossible for Golden State.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was left stranded on no-man’s land.

3.) Sam Hauser outscored Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson weren’t just bad, they were a bootlegged version of themselves from the opening tip.

Before the game, Curry was questionable with a knee injury, which likely played a factor. But the two-time league MVP wasn’t just off his A-game. Curry was a complete non-factor, scoring just four points while coming up short on nine 3-point attempts.

“The way this game went, how quickly it got away from us, there’s a temptation or a tendency to just let that define our trip,” Curry told reporters, per CLNS Media video. “… You can wash this one down the drain, but you have to remind yourself of the level that we need to get to if we’re going to try to again be a team that’s a serious threat at the end of the year.”

Thompson, who’s had a rough overall campaign, wasn’t much better, either. Golden State’s second “Splash Brother” pitched in with six points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field and two rebounds.

Meanwhile, coming off the bench, Celtics forward Sam Hauser scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting with five rebounds, finishing a plus-30 and providing Boston with more offense than Curry and Thompson combined.

Kerr had seen enough by the time Boston took an 82-38 lead into halftime, pulling Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green from the game.

When the dust settled, the Celtics improved their NBA-best record to 48-12 with an 11th consecutive trip to the win column.