What we learned as Celtics blow out Warriors to spoil Kristaps Porziņ?is’ return

Playing the Boston Celtics isn’t quite the same as sharing the court with the Washington Wizards. The Warriors on Monday beat the Wizards by six points to snap a five-game losing streak, just to then lose to the Celtics by 21 points, 120-99, two days later at TD Garden. Boston’s star duo of Jaylen Brown (32 points) and Jayson Tatum (24 points) stole the spotlight and put on a show. For the Warriors, the biggest storyline was Kristaps Porziis playing in Boston for the first time since being traded to the Atlanta Hawks last July. Porziis started at center and scored 11 points but struggled shooting from the field and the free-throw line. Boston showed love to Kristaps pic.twitter.com/5TPaa9wXIb — Golden State Warriors (&commat;warriors) March 19, 2026 Though the Warriors had six players reach double figures, nobody got to the 20-point mark. Pat Spencer and Gary Payton II each scored 14 points off the bench, and Draymond Green and Gui Santos each had 13 points for the starting five. All game long, the Warriors struggled mightily shooting against the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. While Brown and Tatum combined to score 56 points, the Warriors’ starting five scored 52.Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ loss that dropped them to 33-36 on the 2025-26 NBA season. Back in BostonCeltics fans always will be thankful to Porziis for his help in winning an NBA championship, and it didn’t take long for him to remind them what he can do when healthy. Porziis’ two-way impact was on display right away. On the Celtics’ opening possession, Porziis blocked both Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta before then being fouled on the other side. Porzingis taking control early pic.twitter.com/9mg16Ju8ip — Warriors on NBCS (&commat;NBCSWarriors) March 18, 2026 The next time the Warriors had the ball, Porziis drained a three. Porziis played a strong defensive first half and went into the break leading the Warriors in rebounds (four), steals (two) and blocked shots (two). Kristaps PorzingisRANG3 &commat;NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/ISNGgV2EjD — Golden State Warriors (&commat;warriors) March 18, 2026 Porziis played 22 minutes and struggled offensively. He went 4 of 13 from the field, 2 of 7 beyond the arc and 1 of 4 on free throws. Playing consecutive games is an automatic plus, and Porziis (plus-3) was the only Warrior with a positive plus/minus.Aside from the fans giving him a standing ovation during his pregame tribute video, Porziis’ return to Boston was one to forget.Trouble From 3-Point Range No team has shot more 3-pointers since Steph Curry’s month-plus absence, and only two others have done so with worse accuracy than the Warriors. Yet the Warriors just keep letting it fly from deep. And they just keep missing. Finally, the Warriors reversed course Monday night when they scored a season-high 68 points in the paint against the Wizards in a game where they shot 28 percent from three (9 of 32). But the Celtics and Wizards are on two different basketball planets.The Warriors in the first quarter alone attempted six more threes than the Celtics and made one fewer. Trailing by 13 points at halftime, the Warriors in the first half shot 25 percent from three (9 of 24), compared to the Celtics shooting 42.9 percent (9 of 21). Of course, the Warriors’ first shot of the third quarter was a missed three. The Warriors went 3 of 10 from deep in the third quarter, and then 1 of 9 in the fourth. Those numbers brought them to 23.3 percent from 3-point range (10 of 43), which was a far cry from the Celtics going 14 of 39 (35.9 percent).Tatum’s Silver Lining Injuries have ravaged the Warriors’ season. They now have played 25 games since Jimmy Butler’s torn ACL and have gone 8-17. Curry has missed 19 straight during that stretch, too. So, with injuries stealing the spotlight, it only makes sense to watch a star who has come back from a devastating injury earlier than anybody ever expected. It’s still surprising to see Tatum on the floor less than a year from sustaining a torn Achilles. That’s the beauty of modern medicine and being 28 years old. His co-star was the Celtics’ best player, but Tatum wasn’t far behind. How he’s moving is equally impressive as the stats Tatum is putting up. Just look at what he did to a former teammate. JT went right by KP pic.twitter.com/G3xbMHlPn7 — Boston Celtics (&commat;celtics) March 19, 2026 Tatum now has played six games and has three double-doubles after dropping 24 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes. Again, silver linings matter in a lost season for the Warriors. Curry went through a strong individual workout each of the past two days, and Butler is taking his rehab head-on while competing against himself every day. If Tatum can help lead the Celtics to another championship, Butler and others coming back from injuries will turn to him as their lead example.Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

What we learned as Celtics blow out Warriors to spoil Kristaps Porziņ?is’ return

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