To say that things got off the rails for the Golden State Warriors in Sunday’s loss to the Boston Celtics might be the understatement of the NBA season. Golden State lost by 52 to Boston on the road while trailing by 44 points at halftime in a game where Stephen Curry logged just 17 minutes.
But even after such a substantial loss, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr offered the most nonchalant answer about the outcome. When speaking with reporters after the game, Kerr wasn’t concerned about the blowout. Instead, he gave the Celtics their flowers for a great performance and seemed ready to move along to the next game.
“Flush it down the toilet… Boston was amazing. We weren’t beating them today.” Kerr said, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.
It’s an incredible quote from Kerr, but he’s also not wrong. The Celtics played exceptionally well, shooting 55.2% from the field and 51% from beyond the arc. While Jaylen Brown played just 22 minutes, he scored 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting, knocking down half of his attempts (5-of-10) from three-point range. Jayson Tatum defined efficient as well, scoring 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting in 25 minutes.
As for the Warriors, while the loss itself was tough to look at, they’ve won 13 of their last 17 games and six of the last eight. This stretch has helped them move into the thick of the Western Conference playoff race with 22 games remaining.