What we learned as Warriors’ offense goes cold in loss to Celtics

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What we learned as Warriors’ offense goes cold in loss to Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors’ second time playing the defending champion Boston Celtics was far different than the first.

When a much-healthier Warriors team battled the Kristaps Porzingis-less Celtics in Boston on Nov. 6, their eighth game of the 2024-25 NBA season, Golden State came out on top by six points. Three minutes into the second half Monday at Chase Center, the Warriors trailed by 23 points on their way to a 125-85 blowout loss.

Steph Curry watched the entire fourth quarter from the bench, scoring 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting and was 4 of 12 from 3-point range in 27 minutes. The rest of the starting five combined to score 18 points.

In every single facet of the game, the Celtics were far and away the better team. The Celtics dominated behind the 3-point line and inside the paint. They swatted nine shot attempts, owned the glass and took advantage whenever the Warriors turned the ball over.

After back-to-back wins in their previous two games, the Warriors have yet to have a three-game win streak since Nov. 10 through Nov. 15.

Here are three takeaways from a rough loss to begin a four-game week.

GP2 Gets Starting Nod

For the 24th time in 42 games this season, Warriors coach Steve Kerr used a different starting lineup. With Draymond Green out at least another week because of a mild calf strain he sustained Saturday night in the Warriors’ win against the Washington Wizards, Gary Payton II was part of the starting five for the fifth time this season.

Payton took the Warriors’ first two shots of the game, missing a corner three and a layup, but he immediately was everywhere on the court. In the first quarter, Payton grabbed three rebounds but only played four minutes. He played eight-plus minutes in the first half and was a minus-2 with two points, four rebounds and two assists.

His final tally was two points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal in 12 minutes.

Inserting Payton into the starting lineup was a defensive decision to get the Celtics off their game early. But it also…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/learned-warriors-offense-goes-cold-162858772.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2025-01-20 16:28:00

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