SUMMARY
- The Golden State Warriors lost 88-140 to the Boston Celtics.
- Steve Kerr's players decided to sag off Jaylen Brown during the game, a decision that cost the Warriors dearly.
The Golden State Warriors revolutionized the NBA with their sharpshooting, thanks to the likes of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. That was how the duo got the nickname ‘Splash Brothers.’ Both of these guards can let it go from deep without breaking a sweat, and it was a shooting trick that no team could stop a few years ago. Steph and Klay played a pivotal role in the Warriors dynasty which won four NBA championships.
But the Warriors got a taste of their own medicine recently, against the Celtics. It looks like the C’s wanted to enact the best revenge, after losing the 2022 championship to Steph and Co. Jayson Tatum led the team to a huge 88-140 win, which left the NBA world baffled. Steph managed to fight through a knee injury but could only play 17 minutes, scoring 4 points.
Steph Curry gets honest about the Warriors’ blowout loss vs the Celtics
In the post-game interview, the Warriors star seemed visibly upset with the result, which is understandable. The Dubs are not the team to endure blowout losses, especially on the big stage against big teams. This is one of the first times where it looked like they were on the back foot right from the start.
Steph said about the loss, “When you have a creative idea and it doesn’t work and you’re taking the ball out of the basket and they’re hitting 10 threes in the first quarter. That’s what we used to do to teams.”
“They’re hitting 10 threes in the first quarter. That’s what we used to do to teams. It’s kinda demoralizing.”
Steph Curry gets blunt on the Warriors 52-point loss to the Celtics on Sunday 🗣️
(via @CelticsCLNS)pic.twitter.com/fwWnvL3saD
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 4, 2024
“It’s kind of demoralizing … then you feel like you have to play home run basketball on the other end to try to make it up and that’s where the momentum shift kept going their way … every little play goes their way and you look up and you’re down friggin 40. It’s one of those nights,” Curry added.
The Celtics shot 25/49 from beyond the three-point line, which is quite impressive considering that’s not usually their strategy. The Warriors, who have a reputation for being some of the best shooters of the ball from the three-point line, only shot 7/41. This speaks at length about the loss. It seems like their subpar shooting on the night was one of the main reasons for the blowout loss.
The Warriors’ decision to sag off Jaylen Brown cost them dearly
Apart from their shooting woes, another mistake the Warriors made was to sag off Jaylen Brown. The Boston Celtics star has had his fair share of struggles in recent months, but he is a force to be reckoned with on his day. He put up 29 points on the board and even claimed that teams should try and do it more often when playing against him.
Draymond Green said the Warriors implemented the strategy to sag off Jaylen Brown “like 15 minutes before we left the locker room.”
“I thought it was fun to try. I was actually all for it.”
“It didn’t work. Oh well. We move on.” pic.twitter.com/SVuwRkCGCH
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 3, 2024
Draymond Green revealed that it was a decision that was made just 15 minutes before tipoff, but expressed no regret that it backfired horribly. Similarly, Steph also mentioned that it was a learning curve for the Warriors, and the only way to move on is to make sure they don’t make the same mistake in the next game as well.