Warriors Are Golden in Statement Win Over Celtics

Steph Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket while guarded by Derrick White #9 and Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics in the third quarter at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Nov. 6, 2024. Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

In what could be dubbed the gold medal reunion game, the Golden State Warriors made a statement on Wednesday with a 118—112 victory against the defending NBA champion Celtics.

“Excellent first half,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters afterward. “Once we settled into the game, we did a good job of … making them a little uncomfortable.”

Though Kerr and guard Steph Curry led Team USA to a gold medal in the Summer Olympics, the Warriors’ epitaph appeared written for the NBA season. Golden State traded a key part of the dynasty, Klay Thompson, to the Dallas Mavericks after the Warriors missed the playoffs last season.

Kerr and company nonetheless came into Boston’s TD Garden with a 6–1 record amid a crowd of skeptics. The Warriors’ wins had all come against teams with losing records except for the one over the Houston Rockets (5–3) on Nov. 2.

“They’re physical,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said afterward about the Warriors. “They force you to fight for your space (and) they have active hands. So, I think in the first half, they got a ton of deflections. They were able to get some stuff there.”

Boston (7–2), which boasts three players from the gold medal Olympic team, looked the part of the defending champs, but the Warriors matched them all night. The loss was Boston’s second of the season; the first came in a three-point overtime loss in a playoff rematch against the Indiana Pacers (4–4) on Oct. 30.

In March, the last time the Celtics met the Warriors at the TD Garden, Boston blew out the Warriors 140–88. Golden State’s 2022 NBA Finals win over the Celtics at the garden seemed like a distant memory.

Wednesday started off with recent Team USA member and Celtics guard Jrue Holiday feeding the ball to center Neemias Queta for a dunk. Celtics guard Derrick White, also a recent gold medal winner, buried a trio of three-pointers for a 14–3 lead, and a repeat of the March mauling was looking possible.

Instead, Warriors guard Gary Payton II sparked an 8-3 run with a pair of dunks to make it 14–11, and the game became a back-and-forth affair in the first quarter. Golden State took the lead in the second quarter as forward Kyle Anderson hit three times from three-point range, and Curry pushed it toward double figures with stellar play on both ends of the floor. Warriors guard Moses Moody capped the half with a buzzer-beating jump shot for a 51–40 halftime lead.

“You’ve got to make every possession tough,” Curry told ESPN after the game regarding the defensive performance. “We try not to have any weak links on the floor, and everybody helps each other.”

Golden State maintained the double-digit lead in the third quarter until three-pointers by White and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum got their team back in the game. Tatum, a recent member of the Olympic team, had a game-high 32 points.

“Offensive rebounds just killed us,” Kerr said. “That’s how they started knocking down threes.”

Boston reclaimed the lead in the fourth quarter on a White three-pointer, 85–84, but the Warriors kept close. Curry pulled the Warriors within a point on a three-pointer, 97–96, with 4:55 remaining, and guard Andrew Wiggins put his team back in front, 98–87 with 4:03 left.

“It’s a tough team,” Warriors guard Buddy Hield told reporters. “They can hurt you in many different ways.”

Hield made it 102–99 on a fast break, initiated by Curry’s pass as part of an 11–2 run. Hield gave the Warriors some distance with 46.3 seconds left on a three-pointer for a 111–104 lead. Warriors forward Draymond Green and Anderson iced the game at the free-throw line.