Key Moment
Welcome to the new era, folks.
The days of the Golden State Warriors coming into Boston and celebrating appear to be well in the past. Those days have given way to the Boston Celtics blowing Golden State out of the building.
Boston clobbered the Warriors so badly that Golden State waved its white flag at halftime. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green all sat out the entire second half because their chances of winning had disappeared by the end of the first quarter.
That’s in large part due to Jaylen Brown, who helped the Celtics double the Warriors up during that opening frame. Brown scored 19 points during the first seven minutes of the game to power Boston ahead 30-21, and once he got cooking, there was no turning back for he and his teammates.
Jayson Tatum joined the party during the second quarter by dropping 20 points of his own during the frame. His efforts turned Boston’s first-quarter lead of 22 points into a 44-point lead at halftime.
That’s when Steve Kerr decided that it would benefit his core players more to rest during the second half than it would for them to step onto the floor again. Boston continued to cruise throughout the remainder of the game, at one point pulling ahead by 56 before closing out the 140-88 win.
Key Player
It was a very happy birthday for Jayson Tatum, who turned 26 years young on Sunday. Not only did he get a runaway win over the Golden State Warriors, but he also put up monster numbers in only 25 minutes of action.
Let’s start out with the gaudiest number of all: Tatum’s plus/minus rating. That number came in at a whopping plus-40, which is borderline ridiculous considering the limited time he spent on the court.
Next, let’s move into the scoring column, where Tatum piled up 27 points. His efficiency was off the charts, as his point total (27) more than doubled the amount of shots he attempted (13). That’s elite efficiency.
Tatum also dished out five assists on the afternoon while not committing a single turnover. He rounded out his box score with three rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot.
Box Score Nuggets
- Jaylen Brown (29 points) and Jayson Tatum (27 points) each nearly outscored the Warriors' starters all by themselves, as Golden State's starting five totaled just 33 points.
- Boston outscored Golden State by 40 points during Tatum's 25 minutes.
- Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Al Horford combined to dish out 21 assists while not committing a single turnover.
- Six Celtics finished with a plus/minus rating of at least plus-30.
- Stephen Curry scored just four points and shot 0-for-9 from distance.
- Derrick White led the game in assists with eight.
- Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score 19 points while grabbing six boards and dishing out six assists.
- Al Horford, who scored seven points, reached 14,000 career points.
- Oshae Brissett led the Celtics with seven rebounds.
- Boston outscored Golden State 36-10 in fast break points.
Quote of the Night
"It's up there. I got to do what I love in front of the best fans in the world and get a win, and enjoy the rest of the day with my family."
– Jayson Tatum on whether or not this was his best birthday ever