Celtics overwhelm Warriors, Clippers edge T-Wolves
Overall leader Boston delivered a devastating and historic performance in routing the Golden State Warriors 140-88 on Sunday, stretching the Celtics’ win streak to 11 games. It was the third-largest blowout victory in Celtics history, a legacy dating to 1946.
Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored 25 of his 29 points in a record-shattering first half while Jayson Tatum celebrated his 26th birthday by scoring 22 of his 27 points during the first two quarters of domination. “It’s up there. Great birthday. Got to do what I love in front of the best fans in the world and get a win,” Tatum said.
The Celtics became the first club in NBA history to win three games in the same season by 50 or more points. The Celtics routed Indiana 155-104 in November and last month blasted Brooklyn 136-86, taking both in Boston.
Despite Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis being sidelined by a left quad bruise, the host Celtics seized an 82-38 lead after the second quarter, their largest half-time edge in team history and the Warriors’ largest-ever half-time deficit.
“It was a lot of fun,” Boston’s Derrick White said. “It was a good start. You never expect something like that to happen.” The Celtics made 10 3-pointers in the first quarter, their most in any quarter this season, and closed the period on a 23-1 run over six minutes to seize command at 44-22.
The Warriors shot 34.9 percent (15-of-43) in the first half, 3-of18 from 3-point range, and made eight turnovers while the Celtics shot 60 percent (30-of-50) in the first half, 15-of-24 from beyond the arc, and made only one turnover.
Top players saw little of the court in the second half. Boston stretched the lead to 115-62 after three quarters and reserves cruised to the finish as the Celtics improved to 29-3 at home this season. Eastern Conference leader Boston improved the league’s best record to 48-12 while Golden State slid to 32-28, ninth in the Western Conference.
“We have a lot of experience. We’ve grown, we’ve matured,” Brown said. “We’re primed and we’re ready. “There’s a lot of respect for the Golden State Warriors, but we feel like it’s our time now.” The Minnesota Timberwolves (42-19) fell from the West lead after losing at home 89-88 to the Los Angeles Clippers while Oklahoma City (42-18) secured the top spot by winning at Phoenix 118-110.
Kawhi Leonard’s two free throws with 13 seconds remaining gave the Clippers an 89-86 lead. Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards drove to the basket for a dunk with three seconds remaining but the T-Wolves never got the ball back.