Celtics

The Boston Celtics haven't won a game against the Golden State Warriors since June 8th, but they'll be looking to end the drought Saturday. Boston is on the ...

- Jun 05, 2022 - Golden State 107 vs. Despite the defeat, Golden State had strong showings from shooting guard - Jun 10, 2022 - Golden State 107 vs. - Jun 13, 2022 - Golden State 104 vs. [NBA picks](https://www.sportsline.com/nba/picks/#ttag=SL19_lk_cbssports_nba_htw) for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Boston is on the road again Saturday and plays against Golden State at 8:30 p.m. Regional restrictions may apply.) We'll see if they can patch up the holes in their defense before their upcoming contest. The Boston Celtics haven't won a game against the Golden State Warriors since June 8th, but they'll be looking to end the drought Saturday. Allowing an average of 116.42 points per game, the Warriors haven't exactly asserted themselves on the defensive end. Barring any buzzer beaters, the Celtics are expected to win a tight contest. With Boston ahead 69-42 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.

What TV channel is the game on? What time will it start? Saturday's game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. The game ...

If you don’t have cable, you can stream the game on smart TVs and streaming devices via [Sling](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=126006X1587340&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sling.com%2F) and [fuboTV](https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&irmp=1810038&subId3=xid:fr1664992681213aib [Sling](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=126006X1587340&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sling.com%2F) [WatchESPN](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=126006X1587340&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fwatch%2F) [The Celtics ](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/)and Warriors meet for the first time since the NBA Finals, when the Warriors beat the C’s in Boston to nab the NBA championship. [fuboTV](https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&irmp=1810038&subId3=xid:fr1664992681213cdc The C’s are off to a 21-5 start and [look like the best team in the league](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/12/brian-scalabrine-says-current-celtics-are-better-than-2008-title-team.html). xid:fr1670456589813dij) - You can stream the game on [WatchESPN](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=126006X1587340&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fwatch%2F) by logging into your credentials. The Warriors have gone 11-2 in home games. BOTTOM LINE: Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum meet when Golden State hosts Boston. But the [Warriors and Celtics](https://www.masslive.com/betting/2022/12/celtics-vs-warriors-picks-best-bets.html) have had vastly different seasons. The game will air nationally on ABC. What TV channel is the game on?

This is their first matchup since the Warriors defeated the Celtics in six games in the NBA Finals last season. Jaylen Brown paced Boston with 31 points, nine ...

The Celtics have transformed this season while the Warriors have been endlessly erratic. [Draymond Green](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/draymond-green-qWchQbJAR0YQNMyV/) was calling it a ‘statement win’ as he walked down the tunnel 10 minutes after the final buzzer. [likes where they’re headed](https://twitter.com/anthonyvslater/status/1601795245745717249?s=46&t=ZJacAFKzdphkHYx3giK-6A), “The guys off the bench are starting to play and assume their roles. The Celtics locker room tends to be loose after a game, but the silence was deafening in the Chase center Saturday night. [Jaylen Brown](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jaylen-brown-EAiBkBxmqCrObLg7/) paced Boston with 31 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and one steal, shooting 13-of-23 from the field. Warriors improve to 14-13 with the win and the Celtics fall to 21-6, still a league-best.

Klay Thompson scored 34 points, Splash Brother Stephen Curry added 32 with six 3-pointers, and Golden State beat the Boston Celtics 123-107 in a rematch of ...

… Golden State committed three turnovers late in the second that helped Boston to a 7-0 spurt over the final 1:22 of the half that got the Celtics within 68-63 at the break. … The Warriors were just 8 of 23 from 3-point range in the first half and 13 for 39 overall. … The Celtics lost for the first time vs. Boston fell to 10-4 on the road after a 125-98 whipping of the Suns on Wednesday for the third time Phoenix has been held below 100 points. Thompson scored 12 of his points in the opening quarter shooting 5 of 9 and had 24 by halftime. We were excited, just the feeling of going against the team the team that you just played in the finals, especially the way they’ve played this year, they’ve just been so good, so dominant,” Kerr said.

While it is still just December, this felt like a statement game for both the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. Seeing each other for the first ...

In a rematch of this summer's NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics 123-107. The Celtics have gotten off to an excellent start ...

Curry hit a dagger at the top of the key to put the Warriors up 114-99 with less than four minutes on the clock. The Celtics cut the lead to five by the half, but the Warriors held onto the lead for the rest of regulation. Kuminga led Warriors bench players in scoring with 14 points in just over 20 minutes of action, capped off by an impressive dunk over Tatum that extended the Warriors lead to 17 early in the fourth quarter. Poole found an offensive spark leading the second unit that extended Golden State’s lead to double-digits with Curry on the bench. Thompson scored 12 points in the first nine minutes of regulation, 24 in the first half, and finished the game 34. Draymond Green gives Golden State the opportunity to build more offense-centric lineups, but the rest of the starters did their part as well.

Golden State beat the Boston Celtics 123-107 on Saturday night in a rematch of this year's NBA Finals.

... Golden State committed three turnovers late in the second that helped Boston to a 7-0 spurt over the final 1:22 of the half that got the Celtics within 68-63 at the break. ... The Warriors were just 8 of 23 from 3-point range in the first half and 13 for 39 overall. Boston fell to 10-4 on the road after a 125-98 whipping of the Suns on Wednesday for the third time Phoenix has been held below 100 points. Boston had won eight of the previous 12 on the Warriors' home floor. Thompson scored 12 of his points in the opening quarter shooting 5 of 9 and had 24 by halftime. "His number is being retired around the NBA but I think the significance here is that Bill is from Oakland, played high school ball here, played at USF, made such a huge impact on the Bay Area that it feels more special here than it would in any other city other than Boston," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

Jayson Tatum had a rare off-night as he scored 18 points on 6-for-21 shooting against the Warriors.

It’s frustrating to lose, Tatum said, but there are still plenty of games left in the season to flip the page. We didn’t really do that in the playoffs last year but we did that tonight. [smashing the Suns in a laugher of a game](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/12/monty-williams-benches-suns-starters-vs-celtics-in-third-quarter-amid-boston-blowout-win.html). But as Jaylen Brown pointed out, it wasn’t a similar script to the Finals. [The Warriors made a statement instead as they beat the Celtics 123-107](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/12/four-takeaways-as-celtics-lose-to-warriors-123-107-in-nba-finals-rematch-as-old-demons-resurface.html) on Saturday at Chase Center. The Warriors floundered most of the season, coming in with a .500 record.

The Golden State Warriors picked up where they left off in June, riding Stephen Curry's long-range shooting and a defense that frustrated Boston Celtics ...

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 27 points, Talen Horton-Tucker and Malik Beasley had 19 points each and Kelly Olynyk finished with 18 points for the Jazz. Jarrett Allen also scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds for Cleveland, which won for the fourth time in six games. Anthony Edwards had 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Timberwolves. Jerami Grant added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Josh Hart had 11 points and eight rebounds. Rudy Gobert registered 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting and collected nine rebounds, and D'Angelo Russell also scored 24 points. The Thunder drained four left-corner 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the fourth -- two each by Aleksej Pokusevski and Isaiah Joe to tie it with a 17-4 run. He made 13 of 20 shots and 8 of 11 in the fourth when the Nets scored 41 points and shot 75 percent (15-for-20). George had seven rebounds and shot 13 of 27 from the field, including 5 of 12 from 3-point range. Chicago's Ayo Dosunmu scored 17 points off the bench and Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams and Derrick Jones Jr. Evan Mobley scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, making all five of his shots. Tyrese Haliburton collected 35 points (7-for-8 from 3-point range) and nine assists in defeat for the Pacers. The Warriors trailed only briefly, and never by more than one point, before building a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.

Jayson Tatum undoubtedly had this game circled on his calendar as he eyed revenge on the team that ruined his NBA championship hopes. The night didn't go as ...

He was just 6-for-21 from the floor and 4-of-7 from the free-throw line. Through 27 games, Brown is averaging 26.8 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 50.1 percent from the floor. Tatum couldn't get the job done in crunch time and finished with just 18 points, his second-lowest total of the season (14 in the Dec. You can bet on a Tatum bounce-back performance Monday night in L.A., but these are the types of games in which an MVP candidate needs to step up. [Jayson Tatum](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/jayson-tatum?b) couldn't get much of anything going as he finished with 18 points on 6-of-21 shooting. Tatum was given a harsh reminder of his struggles against Golden State in the 2022 Finals. Jayson Tatum undoubtedly had this game circled on his calendar as he eyed revenge on the team that ruined his NBA championship hopes. The result was the Splash Brothers getting countless open looks with predictable results. The Splash Brothers combined for 66 points (26-47 FG, 10-21 3-PT) in Golden State's 123-107 victory. Boston had no answer for Curry and Thompson coming around screens on the perimeter. Here are our takeaways from the Celtics' humbling defeat. Boston simply couldn't keep up with the defending champions in the much-anticipated matchup at Chase Center.

Saturday night in San Francisco, the Warriors had the Celtics on their heels throughout the game. Between Golden State's free-flowing offense and Boston's.

Grant Williams wasn't able to finish the Celtics' loss to the Warriors on Saturday night because he was ejected late in the fourth quarter for punching the ...

The Celtics were surely motivated to make a statement Saturday night at Golden State, but their 16-point setback to the Warriors looked a lot like their NBA ...

It's been the Celtics' season so far, but a return engagement with the Warriors showed that there's progress still to be made.

[Steph Curry](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/stephen-curry-toS7DgUD3IIt7uds/) said it was a must-win for the Warriors. The same problems Green and the Warriors presented in June remain, even as the defending champs struggle to find a sense of consistency. That’s the best part of the path toward the top. [Jayson Tatum](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jayson-tatum-3O7MInr4zV5KKhZ5/) said the proverbial “you” is making it bigger than it is. The [Warriors](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/warriors/) have been running in a circle. It was a throwback to the finals, when [Jaylen Brown](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jaylen-brown-EAiBkBxmqCrObLg7/) had this one circled. [Andrew Wiggins](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/andrew-wiggins-BxjGOsZJwlBdDODt/), Golden State’s defensive pressure in all phases of the court was debilitating. He shot 4-for-12 in the paint, easily his worst game in a season when he has ruled the area near the rim. [Celtics](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/celtics/) have been on a perpetual stampede. Boston didn’t look comfortable driving into the paint, so the initiating of actions ground to a halt at times. [Jordan Poole](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jordan-poole-OKSId48WraP8pRNl/) clean looks.

The Celtics have gone 10-4 away from home. Boston leads the Eastern Conference scoring 120.3 points per game while shooting 49.1%. TOP PERFORMERS: John Wall ...

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was accountable after his off night against the Golden State Warriors, but he isn't worried about how the NBA Finals ...

Grant Williams was surprised when officials ejected him with 1:52 left in the game.

Williams was suspended for one game by the NBA as the result of that contact and language used after the game. “It’s just a matter of channeling that and using it in a better direction, and using that a little bit as directing that towards your teammates and making sure everybody’s engaged and motivated. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla called timeout to pull his starters out of the game and Williams punched a loose ball after the timeout was called.

The Boston Celtics brought the NBA's best record (21-5) and highest scoring offense (120.8 points per game) to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors ...

Can taking down the top team in the conference be the boost the Warriors need to translate their home success to the road? However, the Warriors are just 2-11 on the road, which is where their next six games will come as they get set to embark on a nine-day road trip with stops in Milwaukee, Indiana, Philadelphia, Toronto, New York and Brooklyn before returning to Chase Center for a Christmas Day matchup against Memphis. Curry finished 6-for-11 from beyond the arc as he and the Warriors consistently had answers to every Celtics’ push to cut into their advantage. He scored a dozen points in each of the first two quarters, had 32 at the end of three quarters. When Klay is scoring on all three levels like this, the Warriors are tough to beat, especially when Curry is also having a strong shooting night. In 2017, the Warriors were 26-7 and the Cavs were 24-9. But on Saturday, it was another scoring duo that stole the show as the Splash Brothers combined for 66 points compared to 49 points for Tatum and Brown. We’ve been a little stuck in the mud and it feels like we’ve gotten better over the last few weeks, but not a whole lot to show for it. In 2018, the Warriors were 16-9 while the Cavaliers (following LeBron’s departure to L.A.) were 5-18. Nearly six months later, the Warriors extended that win streak to four in a row as they In 2015, the Warriors were 27-1 compared to the 19-7 Cavs. Here are five takeaways from the Warriors win in this marquee matchup:

The meeting was the first since Golden State beat Boston in last season's NBA Finals. A Celtics win, and they'd be hearing the "changing of the guard" narrative ...

The Celtics entered Saturday's game with an offensive rating of 119.9, the best in NBA history, while boasting league-best marks in 3-pointers per game (16.6) and 3-point accuracy (40 percent). Golden State won't play another home game until Christmas Day against the [Memphis Grizzlies](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/MEM/memphis-grizzlies/). "I love to compete on both sides of the ball, and Tatum and Brown are two of the better one-on-one players in the league," Thompson said after the game. "Especially if I get more matchups with [Tatum and Brown], knowing that they like to go left or right, doing different moves on the floor, I think it was good for me," Kuminga said. [Andrew Wiggins](/nba/players/2135571/andrew-wiggins/), missing the game due to an adductor injury, Kerr elected to start Poole in his spot. [Stephen Curry](/nba/players/1685204/stephen-curry/) was steadily breathtaking, exuding the precise combination of patience and bravado that has made him impossible to defend for the better part of a decade. It's a learning process, and going up against two of the league's best scorers can only hasten the improvement. As exciting as Curry and Thompson's offense was, Golden State's defense was the story of the game. He also added a wrinkle to one of his signature look-away 3-pointers, asking the fans if it went in after beating the first-quarter buzzer. [Golden State Warriors](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/GS/golden-state-warriors/) plodded along to a .500 record through the first six weeks of the season, seemingly nursing a lingering hangover from last June's championship run. And on Saturday night they were scheduled to run into a buzzsaw, a 21-5 [Boston Celtics](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/BOS/boston-celtics/) team that was leading the league in wins, offensive efficiency and net rating. [Jordan Poole](/nba/players/2892690/jordan-poole/) was a one-year wonder.

The Celtics fell to the Warriors 123-117 on Saturday evening in a disappointing Finals rematch, dropping to 21-6 this season.

The Celtics wouldn’t have assuaged the pain of losing the Finals with a win in December. We never want to lose, and we’ve been playing well, and to lose this one — especially the way we played — was tough. A Warriors player fired up a shot after the whistle that ricocheted back to Williams. The Warriors had just taken a 17-point lead, and they called timeout to sub out their starters. As a result, the Warriors rebounded 25 percent of their misses and had The Warriors also outscored the Celtics 19-11 in transition, and punished them off live rebounds in particular. The Warriors couldn’t do much to contain Brown in the mid-range or around the rim, but his mid-range attack is a complement to the Celtics’ 3-point shooting, which failed them (12-for-40, 30 percent). The Celtics’ regular rotation scored just two more points the rest of the way, as the Warriors rattled off a 14-2 run. He hit his first 3-pointer with two minutes left in the first quarter when the Celtics lost him in transition. He missed seven 3-pointers and even a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter that could have cut the lead to six for one final push with 5:02 remaining. Tatum’s first play was a harbinger — a nice cut to the rim, which nearly freed him for an easy layup. Instead, the Celtics’ MVP candidate submitted a sandpaper-rough performance, perhaps his worst of the season.

Klay Thompson scored 34 points, Splash Brother Stephen Curry added 32 with six 3-pointers and Golden State beat the Boston Celtics 123-107 on Saturday ...

... Golden State committed three turnovers late in the second that helped Boston to a 7-0 spurt over the final 1:22 of the half that got the Celtics within 68-63 at the break. ... The Warriors were just 8 of 23 from 3-point range in the first half and 13 for 39 overall. Boston fell to 10-4 on the road after a 125-98 whipping of the Suns on Wednesday for the third time Phoenix has been held below 100 points. the Western Conference after a 7-0 start — and are 3-1 on the road against the West. Boston had won eight of the previous 12 on the Warriors' home floor. Thompson scored 12 of his points in the opening quarter shooting 5 of 9 and had 24 by halftime. "The crowd was excited. 6 jersey of late Hall of Famer Bill Russell during a pregame ceremony before facing his former Celtics team. The Warriors retired the No. "Steph and Klay obviously had it rolling so we were making shots." "They tested us," Celtics interim coach Joe Mazzulla said. "I thought we needed a game like that.

Williams seemed surprised at the call, and perhaps he didn't realize that was an automatic ejection. Referee Scott Foster made the call and explained it to ...

Williams seemed surprised at the call, and perhaps he didn't realize that was an automatic ejection. ESPN rules analyst Steve Javie said on the ABC broadcast that "when the ball enters the stands with force like that it's an automatic ejection." Warriors guard Stephen Curry shot a 3-pointer after a whistle for a timeout, and when the ball hit the rim and fell toward Williams, the Celtics forward punched it into the seats at Chase Center.

Klay Thompson scored a game-high 34 while Steph Curry finished with 32 as the Warriors convincingly beat the Celtics in an NBA Finals rematch Saturday ...

In the end, Thompson scored a game-high 34 points while going 14-for-26 from the field and 4-for-11 from deep. Next up, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. The Warriors' young forward tried to back Tatum down on the post, but eventually had the ball swiped away. That also gave him more points than he scored in five of the six Finals games last season. Instead, he made his presence felt against said stars with 21 impactful minutes off the bench. Curry started out feeling the Celtics' defense, figuring out how best to dissect them. By the end, his tools cut the defense into pieces. Adding to a winning formula was Jordan Poole with 20 points, Kevon Looney grabbing 15 rebounds and role players like Donte DiVincenzo being a plus-20 in plus/minus off the bench by providing eight rebounds and non-stop energy. As the Warriors try to figure out who exactly they are, the Celtics have looked like a cohesive unit whose offseason upgrades have paid off in major ways. One thing was clear Saturday in San Francisco: Thompson was a man on a mission. No win has been bigger than again taking down the Celtics. Though the Warriors are the reigning champions, having beat the Celtics for the ultimate prize six months ago, Boston has been the best team in the NBA this season.

The Warriors entered the Chase Center at 13-13 through 26 games, well behind the NBA-leading Boston Celtics at 21-5. But Steph Curry and Co. reminded a national ...

"You understand that if you lose, it's not the end of the world, but it does matter. The Warriors entered the Chase Center at 13-13 through 26 games, well behind the NBA-leading Boston Celtics at 21-5. reminded a national audience why they're the defending champions,

1. It wasn't a great night for the Boston Celtics. In a loss that brought back far too many of the bad feelings from the 2022 NBA Finals, the Golden State ...

They get right back to it on Monday in a the first of a back-to-back Los Angeles set. This is another example of getting up into the Warriors space on the screen actions. But we want to focus on the two veteran additions for a bit here. Late in the first half, Boston went with Grant Williams at the five and found some success playing at the level of the ball. When Boston stepped up to the level of the ball, they were able to make some things happen. Here’s a good example of how Grant Williams being up allows for Derrick White to get over the screen to block Stephen Curry’s shot: The handful of times they tried that with Griffin, the Warriors reset and attacked him off the dribble and got Boston’s defense moving. (It’s fair to note Boston still dropped with Horford and Williams in the Finals too, and they are far more athletic than Griffin at this point.) And Joe Mazzulla stuck with some of the same defensive coverages that the Warriors ate up in the Finals. Arguably the most frustrating part of this loss was Boston stubbornly sticking with the drop coverage technique against the Warriors in pick-and-roll actions. Neither of them were involved in the Finals, but this play looks like so many plays in June did. That’s over and done with and the Warriors are still the 2022 champs, no matter what.

For the past six months, the Boston Celtics have (quite literally) worn the scars of their NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors. They've bottled the ...

Like Brown’s Game 6 shoes, the Celtics need to harness the frustration from this game and use it to further fuel them. Warriors](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/kendrick-perkins-has-candid-take-jayson-tatums-performance-vs-warriors?int) [Malcolm Brogdon](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/malcolm-brogdon?b) turned in exactly the sort of performance that Boston needed off its bench last season, but the rest of the reserves turned into pumpkins. Up until Saturday night, Boston had put the rest of the league on notice with their play. 19 to show this was a blip on the radar. Brown was one of the few bright spots for Boston, extending another Finals theme, and routinely tried to will the Celtics back into the game. Tatum has risen to the occasion against many of his MVP brethren this season, including outdueling Ja Morant and Luka Doncic. Tatum also struggled to find any rhythm with Draymond Green pestering him much of the night. Their historic offense ground to a halt against Golden State’s switching and the ball movement that has highlighted Boston’s offensive explosions this season disappeared. Brown showed up for Saturday night’s Finals rematch at the Chase Center in a fresh pair of the same shoes, but the symbolism was obvious. They’ve bottled the pain of watching Banner 18 slip away and allowed it to fuel them at the start of a new title quest. Tatum had an improbable clunker with a chance to erase some of his Finals woes. We played this game like we had it circled, almost in a sense, for a long time instead of just playing our game.

SAN FRANCISCO — The cast was almost the same as last season's NBA Finals. Some players were out or on different teams, but both the Celtics and Warriors ...

But the C’s have a chance to rewrite the narrative, Mazzulla said, as long as they learn from the loss. So the sting from Saturday’s loss will linger — especially as the Celtics looked subpar just a couple days after smashing the Suns. That’s why Brown said it’s a “new year” when it comes to comparing the two teams. Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said the loss wasn’t disappointing, instead deferring that it’s just another opportunity to learn more about the team. The Warriors were, after all, the lone team able to figure out the Celtics’ second-half dominance. It’s why there was so much fanfare going into Saturday’s game as the two teams met for the first time since the Finals.

Stephen Curry had 32 points and Klay Thompson 34 points, and the two also excelled defensively in Golden State's 123-107 triumph Saturday night against ...

[Jaylen Brown](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3917376/jaylen-brown) and [Marcus Smart](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/2990992/marcus-smart) -- two of the Celtics' best defenders -- and were 13-of-27 off the dribble. and figure out how to really take advantage of the opportunity in front of us." [Stephen Curry](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3975/stephen-curry), the Finals MVP, scored 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including six 3-pointers. Thompson said his favorite play of the night came about 90 seconds into the game when he blocked Tatum's shot off the backboard. "I cherish being able to go out there and play defense and compete more than I ever have before," Thompson said. "I missed a lot of layups," Tatum said. 29, 2018, against the [Chicago Bulls](/nba/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bulls). They helped hold the Celtics star to 18 points on 6-of-21 shooting; his 15 misses tied a season high. [Jordan Poole](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4277956/jordan-poole) said it was an example of how talented Golden State can be when it locks in. ... It was great to see everything connect on both ends for [Thompson] and for our team." "Especially the way they've played this year, they've just been so good, so dominant. But the Warriors dominated for much of the game, with Boston's biggest lead being by just one point four minutes into the first quarter.

Celtics star Jaylen Brown thought his team was a little too caught up in the moment during Saturday's NBA Finals rematch with the Warriors.

The Celtics still own the league's best record at 21-6 and are nearly impossible to beat when they're on their game. For Celtics fans, it was an eerie flashback to the Finals, where Boston averaged barely over 100 points per game in a 4-2 series loss. We were a little tense, and it kind of showed."

Golden State handily took down the league's best team, answering some questions in the process.

The Celtics entered Saturday's game with an offensive rating of 119.9, the best in NBA history, while boasting league-best marks in 3-pointers per game (16.6) and 3-point accuracy (40 percent). Golden State won't play another home game until Christmas Day against the [Memphis Grizzlies](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/MEM/memphis-grizzlies/). "I love to compete on both sides of the ball, and Tatum and Brown are two of the better one-on-one players in the league," Thompson said after the game. "Especially if I get more matchups with [Tatum and Brown], knowing that they like to go left or right, doing different moves on the floor, I think it was good for me," Kuminga said. [Andrew Wiggins](/nba/players/2135571/andrew-wiggins/), missing the game due to an adductor injury, Kerr elected to start Poole in his spot. [Stephen Curry](/nba/players/1685204/stephen-curry/) was steadily breathtaking, exuding the precise combination of patience and bravado that has made him impossible to defend for the better part of a decade. It's a learning process, and going up against two of the league's best scorers can only hasten the improvement. As exciting as Curry and Thompson's offense was, Golden State's defense was the story of the game. He also added a wrinkle to one of his signature look-away 3-pointers, asking the fans if it went in after beating the first-quarter buzzer. [Golden State Warriors](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/GS/golden-state-warriors/) plodded along to a .500 record through the first six weeks of the season, seemingly nursing a lingering hangover from last June's championship run. And on Saturday night they were scheduled to run into a buzzsaw, a 21-5 [Boston Celtics](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/BOS/boston-celtics/) team that was leading the league in wins, offensive efficiency and net rating. [Jordan Poole](/nba/players/2892690/jordan-poole/) was a one-year wonder.

The Celtics star has been playing at an MVP-level for much of the year, but in Saturday night's NBA FInals rematch, he had a case of deja vu. For one game, ...

That defeat fueled a drive to get back to the Finals and a motivation to get over the hump this season, which he has shown as an MVP frontrunner for the league-leading Celtics. Even in the midst of an MVP campaign to start this season, Tatum has had some off nights. But on a rare night in San Francisco, against the same team that gave him fits six months ago, Tatum looked mortal again. It was that kind of night for Tatum, a fitting end for one of his worst performances of the season. For one game, Tatum regressed to his form reminiscent of June’s Finals, when he couldn’t get it done on the biggest stage. I’ve got to be better to help the team.” “We have to be better. Tatum put his head down as he jogged back on defense, with the clock ticking down under three minutes to go in the Celtics’ inevitable 123-107 loss to the Warriors on Saturday night. In last season’s NBA Finals, he didn’t perform his best – capped by a woeful 13-point effort in the Celtics’ Game 6 loss that clinched the Warriors’ championship. Following his own miss, Tatum grabbed the long rebound, made one dribble to his left and rose for a layup over Draymond Green. “I’ve just got to be better,” Tatum said. SAN FRANCISCO — On one sequence late in the fourth quarter, the Celtics trailing by double digits, Jayson Tatum found himself wide open for a 3-pointer.

Saturday's win over the Boston Celtics wasn't merely game No. 27 in an 82-game regular season. It meant more than that. Well, at least to the ...

For timing of the Warriors' schedule, backwards and forwards, the Warriors having their way with the Celtics came with a little extra oomph. Though the Warriors aren't atop the standings, now a week-plus into December, they have more of an idea of who they are, with less of a need for duct tape to cover their cracks and patch up the rotations. The last time the Warriors went on the road trip close to being this taxing, they went 0-5 with three of those losses at the hands of the Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic. You want to build as much of a presence in those types of games as possible, and you also have to assess the team as it stands. The Warriors of course will need Kuminga to continue to step his game up, too. The Warriors blew a four-point lead in the final 13 seconds, resulting in what On paper, for a team whose road record reads 2-11, that isn't exactly a stroll in the park. just the feeling of going against the team that you just played in the Finals, and especially with the way they've played this year. We were able to flush that one in Salt Lake after that collapse, so it's always nice to respond with a great performance and we did that tonight." While the Celtics were without Al Horford and Robert Williams III, who hasn't played a single game this season, the Warriors were without Andrew Wiggins, who has been playing like he's buying a ticket for a second straight NBA All-Star Game. We've been a little stuck in the mud and it feels like we've gotten better over the last few weeks, but not a whole lot to show for it. They also came into the night with the best record in the NBA at 21-5.

Regardless of assurances postgame from star forward Jayson Tatum that this was just a regular game to the Celtics, his and his teammate's uncharacteristic ...