BOSTON -- From the moment he stepped on the floor, Kevin Durant was serenaded by a green-and-white clad chorus of boos every time he touched the ball.
WARRIORS 104, CELTICS 88:
- Thomas calls out Celtics coaches and players: 'We gave up'
- Ian Thomen: IT was right to say what he said
- Blakely: Draymond Green wrong in calling booing of Durant 'desperate'
- Thomsen: Warriors find booing of Durant 'humorous'
- Stars, studs and duds: Bradley stands out for Celtics
- Stevens: Can't have droughts against Warriors
The Celtics faithful were still hurting over Durant’s decision to spurn the Celtics and instead sign with the Warriors, which created a super power of potent offensive weapons unlike anything we’ve seen in the modern age of the NBA.
Golden State’s offensive firepower was on full display as they opened the second half with a 24-3 run that the Celtics had no counter for as they cruised to a 104-88 win.
The final score doesn’t do justice to how the Warriors (10-2) dominated the game, one in which they led by as many as 30 points in the third quarter.
Like we have seen from Brad Stevens-coached teams, the Celtics (6-6) made a late rally when the game was seemingly out of hand which resulted in a final score that was much closer than how the game as a whole was played.
Klay Thompson, who was reportedly on the trading block potentially headed to Boston -- a report that was denied by both the Celtics and the Warriors -- led all scorers with 28 points while Durant chipped in 23 points along with seven assists.
Indeed, Friday night was a lot different from the last time these two played on the TD Garden floor, a game that went to double overtime before the Warriors squeaked out the win.
But this game was all but over with more than six minutes left in the quarter and the Warriors holding down a 79-51 lead.
With a road game at Detroit Saturday night, the Celtics went with a number of reserves much earlier than usual, well aware that the only thing left undecided in this game was the final score.
The big concern for the Celtics and most teams that play the Warriors, is how do you limit a starting five in which four of them can light you up for 30 or more points on any given night.
They weren’t that lethal on Friday, but there was no getting around the fact that Golden State’s starting five absolutely destroyed Boston’s first unit by a decisive 82-51 margin.
Avery Bradley finished with 17 points, although a sizeable chunk came in the fourth quarter when the game was all but decided and he was the lone starter on the floor for Boston. Isaiah Thomas led all Celtics with 18 points.
Of course the Celtics were once again without Al Horford (concussion) and Jae Crowder (ankle) who missed their ninth and eighth straight games, respectively.
An encouraging sign was that both players will travel with the team for Saturday’s game at Detroit.