The Golden State Warriors suffered their heaviest home loss under coach Steve Kerr as they were defeated 125-85 by the Boston Celtics.
Kerr, who won five NBA championships as a player, has won four more as head coach of the Warriors since taking over in 2014.
But the Warriors were outclassed by the defending champions, who showed no mercy in a 40-point victory that was the Warriors’ biggest home loss since a 45-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks in 1985 .
Leading by 15 points at halftime, the Celtics scored 43 points in the third quarter alone to underline their domination.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in scoring with 22 points, while Kristaps Porzingis and Jaylen Brown added 18 points and 17 points, respectively.
“We need to flush this one down the toilet and get ready for Sac,” said Kerr, whose team will face the Sacramento Kings in their next game.
“We’ve been very competitive all year. Our guys battled, but we had a few instances where we got blown out. It’s demoralizing.”
The Warriors, who last won the championship in 2022 by beating the Celtics in the final, sit one place outside the Western Conference play-offs in 11th place.
The Celtics are second in the Eastern Conference standings behind the Cleveland Cavaliers.
