The Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics famously faced off in the NBA Finals just two seasons ago. But when the teams faced off on Sunday, it looked like the two teams shouldn’t even be playing in the same league.
Midway through the first quarter, it looked like this matchup was going to be a competitive contest, tied at 21-21 with around six minutes remaining in the quarter.
What happened after that can only be described as a complete and utter meltdown from the Warriors. Golden State would only score 17 more points in the first half compared to the Celtics scored 62 points.
The 44-point lead for the Celtics set a new team record for the largest halftime lead in franchise history.
the largest halftime lead in franchise history 👀 pic.twitter.com/tusuIskYOh
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 3, 2024
Naturally, fans had plenty to say about both teams after seeing the first-half score, praising the Celtics while ripping the Warriors for their respective performances.
Celtics-Warriors was tied at 21-21 with 6 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Boston ended the first half on a 61-17 run and lead Golden State by 44 at HALFTIME 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UKCQR5c4zZ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 3, 2024
The word “unbelievable” is perpetually mis-used. But the Celtics’ 82-38 halftime lead over Golden State is, yes, unbelievable. It was tied at 21-21.
— Bob Ryan (@GlobeBobRyan) March 3, 2024
The Celtics lead is more than the amount of points the Warriors scored in the first half 😑 pic.twitter.com/EdG26tlxQL
— Covers (@Covers) March 3, 2024
Game 2 of the 2022 Finals, the Celtics scored 88 points overall. 82 in first half today. Celtics are making a statement.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) March 3, 2024
Everything the Celtics did in that first half was amazing. But considering how the 2022 NBA Finals went, the best stat of all might be that Boston turned it over only one time in the first half.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 3, 2024
Perhaps the craziest part of this first-half performance for the Celtics is that they were without star big man Kristaps Porzingis for this game. Porzingis has helped in a big way to make this Celtics team the Eastern Conference frontrunner that they have turned into this season.
While it is only one game, this matchup certainly should be a meaningful one for the Celtics players who were on the team that lost to Golden State in the finals.
It helps show that there has clearly been growth since that point within the Celtics organization. And they could very well have what it takes this season to get over the hump and win an NBA Championship.
Things wouldn’t get much better for the Warriors in the second half of the game, as they would go on to lose 140-88, their largest margin of defeat all season long.
