The difference in the game was what has been consistently missing in this young season for the Warriors – defense.

Golden State not only played great defense with great effort but played maturely not getting in any foul trouble.

Splash Brothers Klay Thompson got off to a hot start finishing with 24 points in the first half and finished as game-high scorer with 36 points in 34 minutes while Stephen Curry heated up in the second half and finished with 32 points in 37 minutes. Jordan Poole who started in the place of the injured small forward Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga off the bench and starter Draymond Green had 20, 14 and 11 points respectively. Kevon Looney grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds to limit Boston’s offensive rebounding opportunities which helped Golden State control the tempo of the entire game.

The Warriors dominated the post-game stats as a team an enjoyed an advantage in total rebounds (+14), offensive rebounds (+5) and assists (+9).

Stephen & Klay
balled out on #WarriorsGround pic.twitter.com/KGXb7t00yN

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) December 11, 2022

Jaylen Brown had a low-impact 31 points but Jayson Tatum was stifled and held in check finishing with only 18 points. Malcom Brogdon had a steady game contributing 16 points off the bench. The Celtics entered the the game on a tear winning their last 8 out of 9 games, including three straight, coming off the heels of destroying the Western Conference leading Suns in Phoenix before being shut down in San Francisco.

Jayson Tatum missed two key free throws with 5:02 remaining then was called for goal-tending moments later and Curry connected next time down to make it 114-99 and put the game away.

Sure, they are expected to make it past the first round. Maybe even the second. Some believe they could go to the Western Conference Finals. But none of the discussion around the Warriors compares to their dynastic era, when they were clear favorites to win it all every season.

“Nobody is picking us to win, to come out of the West, at least I don’t think, except our families,” Stephen Curry said. “Which is fine. It’s just a matter of you’ve got to win four games, and in order to do that, we have a certain game plan we are going to try and execute on Saturday … and we understand every game takes on a new life of its own.”

Added Steve Kerr: “I think four years ago … I am expecting to win a championship. But we are a different team now. I don’t have any expectations. I know I’m not going into the playoffs thinking, ‘All right, we’re going to do this or do that,’ I’m just thinking, ‘How can we beat Denver on Saturday?’ In a lot of ways, it makes it really fun. Maybe not as fun as having one of the greatest rosters ever assembled, but it’s a completely different challenge and unique.”

The Warriors are by no means counted out. But for them to truly compete with the two teams above them in the standings — the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies — a lot has to go right.

That includes the team’s health.

Curry took a step toward getting Golden State’s roster whole again on Thursday as he participated in the team’s scrimmage, a crucial marker in getting him back on the court after a month away.

But since the Warriors have yet to play a full game with their entire active roster, they will have to do something they have never been tasked with: figure out their rotation and playing combinations in real time throughout the playoffs.

Not to mention, they will be doing this with a roster that, unlike those past Warriors super teams, doesn’t have a whole lot of playoff experience on it. Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Kevon Looney have plenty of playoff basketball to pull from. But looking at the other rotational players such as Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II and Jonathan Kuminga and even players such as Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr., their resumes are not as long.

Thompson showed his younger teammates highlights from the Warriors’ 2016-17 season, when they won 73 regular-season games, came back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference finals and ultimately blew a 3-1 lead to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA finals. Thompson wanted to show them the range of events that can happen, even when you are the favorite to win.

He also showed them a clip of Kobe Bryant from the 2009 NBA finals, when Bryant told reporters that he wasn’t happy after winning the title because his job wasn’t finished.

For Thompson, having that individual mindset is all that matters heading into the postseason.

“I still have the same expectation as I did before, and that’s to win a championship,” Thompson said. “It’s right there for us. We know how hard it is, and yeah, it’s a different time, but nothing is ever the same. We have the opportunity ahead of us, and it’s a great one. “