Three Studs, Three Duds As Steve Kerr’s Warriors Best Celtics

BOSTON — Wednesday was supposed to be a grand night mixed with some revenge at TD Garden for the Boston Celtics.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum would stick it to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr for benching him during the Olympics and Boston would show Golden State it is the NBA’s new powerhouse capable of a dynastic run.

But that did not end up happening.

The Warriors bottled up the Celtics, who were without Jaylen Brown for a third straight game due to a hip flexor injury, in the first half and held off Boston’s second-half charge in a 118-112 win for Golden State.

Here are three studs and three duds from Boston’s first home loss of the season:

STUDS
Jayson Tatum
It’s simple. Without Tatum on the floor, the margin of defeat would have been way greater for the Celtics. He was the catalyst for Boston during their big third quarter, scoring 17 of his game-high 32 points in the frame. He might not have come away with the win but he certainly showed Kerr exactly how valuable he can be on the floor.

Warriors First-Half Defense
The Celtics entered the contest with the best offensive rating in the NBA. The Warriors came in with the second-best defensive rating in the league. And for a half, Golden State’s defense looked like the superior unit. The Warriors held the Celtics to just 40 points in the first half, including shooting 35.1% from the field and 30% from 3-point range. Golden State also trapped Tatum any chance it could and forced 12 turnovers in the game. It was really the first time this season that Boston’s offense looked disjointed.

Celtics Third-Quarter Explosion
The Celtics responded to Golden State’s defensive pressure with a monster third quarter to erase a 14-point deficit. Boston scored more points in the stanza (41) than they had in the first half and did it mainly through hustle and 3-point shooting.

The Celtics crashed the glass coming out of halftime, grabbing seven offensive rebounds which turned into 14 second-chance points. Boston also found its shooting stroke by knocking down 10-of-21 triples to outscore Golden State by 10 points in the quarter.

DUDS
Draymond Green
Green loves to be the nemesis. He was great in that role against the Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals. But Green was a non-factor with him seemingly being in the twilight of his career. Green contributed just nine points on 2-for-8 shooting to go along with six rebounds and four assists in the loss. Steph Curry, who totaled 27 points, needed more help than that.

Jrue Holiday
Holiday gave the Celtics solid rebounding and playmaking but Boston needed more scoring out of the savvy guard with Brown out. Holiday scored just six points as he shot 3-for-11 from the field, including an ugly 0-for-6 mark from downtown. Holiday offset his shooting struggles with nine rebounds and eight assists, but Boston needs a little more scoring production out of him.

Luke Kornet
The Warriors were just a bad matchup for the 7-foot-2 center. He couldn’t keep up with Golden State’s quicker and more athletic forwards, which limited his defensive impact. And with Queta’s eruption, it’s looking like Kornet is sliding down the Celtics depth chart. To make matters worse for Kornet, he exited the game in the second half with right hamstring tightness.