On Sunday afternoon, the Boston Celtics easily defeated the Golden State Warriors, defeating them 144-88 in the process. Boston’s victory, which came at a score of 52 points, was their third victory of more than 50 points this season—a feat never before achieved by any other NBA team. 

After maintaining a tie at 21 through the opening six minutes of play, Boston pushed hard to conclude the half with a 61-17 lead, helped by Golden State’s dubious strategy that allowed Jaylen Brown to make easy 3-pointers while Draymond Green was slipping on defence. 

In just 22 minutes of play, Brown took full advantage of Green’s space, going 11-19 from the field and 5-10 from beyond the arc to end with a team-high 29 points, 19 of which came in the first quarter. 

In addition, the Celtics broke the team record for the largest lead at halftime, leading by 44 points in the half (82–38). 

Only a 53-point victory against the Sacramento Kings in 2022 and a 56-point victory over the Chicago Bulls in 2018 ranked higher for the club than the 52-point margin of victory. 

In Sunday afternoon’s victory, Celtics stalwart Al Horford also made some personal history as he became only the eleventh player in league history to record 14,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists, and 1,000 blocks in his career. 

As the only players to record such stats, Horford joins LeBron James, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dirk Nowitzki, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, and Chris Webber.