What we learned as Steph led Warriors’ statement win vs. Celtics

What we learned as Steph led Warriors’ statement win vs. Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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In their first meeting with the NBA-certified elite this season, the Warriors got an idea of ​​how close they are to joining the exclusive club.

Not only good enough to run with the defending champion Boston Celtics, but tough enough to finish them off.

Although they led by 14 early in the second half, the Warriors held off Boston’s offense for the final 23 minutes and finished with a deeply satisfying 118-112 victory Wednesday night at TD Garden.

Five Warriors scored in double figures, with Stephen Curry leading the way with 27 points. Andrew Wiggins and Buddy Hield each scored 16, Kyle Anderson had 11 and Jonathan Kuminga 10 as the Warriors moved to 7-1 this season and 5-0 on the road.

After falling behind early, the Warriors took the lead in the second quarter and stayed on top behind a ferocious defense and strong bench play until the Celtics stormed back in the fourth, briefly taking the lead before Golden State recovered and shut them out.

Here are three takeaways from a game against one of the league’s best teams, in one of the league’s toughest buildings.

Steph Looks Juuuuust Nice

After a quiet first half, with six points in 17 minutes, Curry found his groove in the second half and turned in a performance that kept the Warriors from completely falling apart.

Curry scored 21 points after halftime on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, including 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. He had an answer for nearly every Boston run, with 11 points in the third quarter and 10 more in the fourth.

Curry’s 27 points came on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, including 4-of-9 from deep and 7-of-7 from the line. For good measure, he added nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals.

Although Curry returned to action just two days ago after missing a week with a sprained left ankle, he felt good enough to play a season-high 34 minutes and finished plus-7.

Curry too moved into 30th place on the career scoring list, passed frequent Golden State critic Charles Barkley in the process.

Bench brings early life

Any hope of a quick start to quiet the crowd quickly faded as the Warriors were drowsy from the start, missing 10 of their first 11 shots and trailing by 11 (14-3) inside five minutes.

The party didn’t start until Warriors coach Steve Kerr went to his bench and summoned Gary Payton II and Buddy Hield. They roused the squad and anchored a 16-5 run, with Payton and Hield accounting for 12 of the 16 points. The bench scored 14 of the 19 points in the first quarter.

The momentum carried into the second quarter, which the Warriors opened with a 14-5 run that took a 33-29 lead and prompted the Celtics to call a full timeout.

Behind mostly Hield, Anderson, Kuminga and Payton, the Golden State bench — the most prolific in the NBA — produced 28 of the team’s 51 points in the first half and 49 for the game.

JT’s (almost) revenge

Kerr was suspended for loud and long-lasting bubs during introductions to the game, not because the Warriors won the NBA Finals on that floor in 2022, but because of his sin in his role as the head coach of Team USA basketball.

Because Kerr benched Celtics star Jayson Tatum for two of the six games during the Paris Olympics, there were some raw feelings in Boston. It didn’t matter that Tatum won a gold medal as Team USA rolled through the games undefeated. What matters in Boston is that their guy didn’t run as much as they thought he had earned.

Although Tatum mostly played down the issue publicly, it’s fair to believe he felt neglected.

If he was looking for revenge, he got it in the third quarter. After an eight-point first half on 2-of-7 shooting from the field, including 1-of-2 from deep, he poured in 17 in the third. He was 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from distance.

He was primarily responsible for the Warriors’ inability to extend their 11-point halftime lead as the Celtics’ 41-point third quarter — after just 40 in the first half — pulled them within one in the fourth.

With 30 points in the game, Tatum did his part to bring his team back. It wasn’t enough.

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