Celtics' Jaylen Brown pays championship respect to Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis after Warriors beatdown appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is grateful for everything he accomplished alongside Golden State Warriors centers Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis . Less than two years ago, they captured an NBA championship together in dominant fashion, and the first-year Warriors both played a major role in that title run.
However, just because Brown enjoyed his time with Horford and Porzingis doesn't mean he was going to go easy on them when the Celtics faced the Dubs in San Francisco on Thursday night. Brown, who officially became a five-time All-Star last weekend, torched the Warriors with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists — enough for his third triple-double of the season.
His impressive performance helped the Celtics go up by as many as 34 points and secure a 121-110 win at Chase Center. Following the double-digit victory, he simultaneously thanked and teased his former teammates, via the NBA on Prime Video broadcast.
"Well, those guys helped us win a championship in 2024, so no better way to give respect to them than by giving them the belt tonight," Brown said with a smirk.
Despite a winning effort from the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, the Celtics didn't totally dismantle the Warriors on Thursday evening. Golden State cut Boston's lead all the way down to 11 points in the fourth quarter and won the final frame 37-19.
However, time was not on Golden State's side, and Porzingis' seven points in the last 12 minutes of the game were not enough to complete the comeback. In his Warriors debut (and first game since Jan. 7th), the Latvian big man recorded 12 points and one block in 17 minutes off the bench.
As for the other ex-Celtic on the floor, Horford struggled offensively, missing eight of his 10 shots en route to a five-point outing. He was far from the worst Warriors center to take the court though, as veteran big Draymond Green went scoreless in 18 minutes of play and posted a team-worst plus-minus rating of minus-28.
Without true size and, most importantly, the presence of star shooting guard Stephen Curry due to a knee injury , the Warriors couldn't keep up with the overachieving Celtics. Brown and company will now move on from their successful reunion in the Bay Area and look forward to a Sunday afternoon showdown with the rival Los Angeles Lakers .
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