Jayson Tatum led six Boston players in double figures with a game-high 22 points on Monday as the Celtics steamrolled the Golden State Warriors 125-85 in San Francisco as part of the NBA’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day slate.
Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 18 points and Jaylen Brown scored 17 for Boston, which for the fourth straight season dropped the season-series opener to Golden State before getting even – and then some – in the rematch.
Golden State had not lost by 40 at home since Jan. 15, 1985.
The 40-point margin was similar to the 140-88 pounding the Celtics dealt the Warriors last March after Golden State had won 132-126 in overtime three months earlier. This time around, the Warriors surprised the defending champs on their home floor with a 118-112 win on Nov. 6.
Tatum also found time for a game-high nine rebounds to go along with seven assists and two steals. Payton Pritchard paired his game-high nine assists with 14 points.
Sam Hauser added 11 points and Jrue Holiday tallied 10 for the Celtics, who have alternated wins and losses in their last nine games. Derrick White had three of Boston’s nine blocks to complement eight points, five rebounds and five assists.
Boston dominated the rematch on both ends of the court.
Led by Brown, who was 8-for-14 from the floor, and Holiday, who made two of his three 3-point attempts, the Celtics shot 53.3 percent overall and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc, making 20 of 48.
The Warriors, meanwhile, were held to 34.8 percent shooting overall and 26.4 percent from deep, connecting on just 14 of 53 tries. Andrew Wiggins especially struggled for Golden State, missing all four of his 3-point tries and finishing just 1-of-11 from the floor in a four-point effort.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 18 points but was just 4-of-12 from 3-point range.
Moses Moody added 13 points for Golden State, which was missing Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Kyle Anderson due to injury.
Moody also posted six rebounds and a team-high five assists, while Kevon Looney snatched a team-high seven rebounds for the Warriors.
The Celtics led 54-39 at halftime before taking control in the third quarter. Tatum scored 12 points in the third as Boston hit 16 of 24 shots, including eight threes, to open up a 34-point lead entering the fourth.
