On Sunday afternoon, the Boston Celtics completely dismantled the Golden State Warriors, winning 144-88. Boston’s 52-point victory was their third over 50 this season, a feat no other team in NBA history has ever achieved.
The game remained close for the first six minutes, tied at 21, but Boston immediately pushed the pedal to the floor to go on a 61-17 run to conclude the half, aided by Golden State’s questionable game plan of allowing Jaylen Brown to take wide open 3-pointers with Draymond Green sagging on defense.
Brown took full advantage of Green’s space, shooting 11-19 from the field and 5-10 from outside the arc for a team-high 29 points, 19 of which came in the first quarter, in only 22 minutes.
The Celtics took a 44-point lead into the half (82-38), setting a team record for the largest margin at halftime.
The 52-point margin was also the franchise’s third-largest margin of victory, after only a 2022 53-point win over the Sacramento Kings and a 2018 56-point win over the Chicago Bulls.
Al Horford, a Celtics veteran, also made some personal history in Sunday’s triumph, becoming only the eleventh player in league history to record 14,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists, and 1,000 blocks.
Horford joins LeBron James, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dirk Nowitzki, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, and Chris Webber as the only players to have accumulated such stats.
