Warriors get sent to the shadow realm in obscene 140-88 loss to Celtics

It’s only one loss, but what a loss it was.

The Golden State Warriors were looking to complete a clean sweep of their four-game road trip on Sunday afternoon in Boston against the Celtics. Instead, the 2022 NBA Finals rematch turned into one of the most lopsided losses in Warriors history. The Dubs were crushed by the Celtics, losing 140-88.

Focusing on any one aspect of the Warriors in the loss feels like an unfair focus. No NBA team loses by north of 50 points because of any one player or sequence. Golden State looked tired on the tail end of a road trip, and Boston played like they were still taking their finals loss a couple years ago personally.

Moses Moody has helped hide Andrew Wiggins’ recent absence, but facing off against Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Warriors needed Wiggins’ length and athleticism defensively. Instead, Tatum and Brown dominated all game. The two wings combined to score 56 points in fewer than 48 minutes of combined action. They made 20 of their 32 shots from the field and Tatum was 4-for-5 from three.

While the Celtics had their way with the Dubs on offense, Golden State was abysmal on the other end of the floor. Moses Moody was the only Warriors starter to make more than two field goals over the course of the game. Steph Curry was a rare 0-for-9 from three and was just 2-for-13 from the field.

It was an embarrassing avalanche from the Celtics, who led by 22 points at the end of the first quarter and 44 points by halftime. The closest thing to a saving grace for the Warriors was that the blowout was so obvious early that head coach Steve Kerr was able to rest most of his veterans for nearly the entire second half.

The Warriors are still 32-28 on the season, currently in position to reach the play-in tournament. However, they will want to get the bad taste of Sunday’s loss out of their mouths as soon as possible. They will have their first chance on Wednesday, when they return home to host the Bucks.