What we learned from Warriors' blowout loss to Celtics

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SAN FRANCISCO -- A Wednesday night at Chase Center looked like a playoff game for the Warriors against the Boston Celtics. Things then got ugly in a hurry. 

Just as Golden State was getting healthy, more bodies went down, including Steph Curry in a 110-88 loss where medical updates will matter more than the final score.

The Warriors' superstar limped off the floor with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter when his left leg was rolled up on by Boston guard Marcus Smart. He initially was ruled questionable to return with left foot soreness, but during halftime was deemed unable to go the rest of the night. This wasn't the only time Smart was screamed at by angry Warriors fans, too.

It also wasn't the first time the Warriors lost a key player for the night. Rookie Moses Moody grabbed his right shoulder earlier in the second quarter and had to head to the locker room. He didn't return. 

That about sums up a second-quarter from you know where for the Warriors. They scored only 15 points in the frame after a 17-point showing in the first quarter. Their 32 points were the Warriors' fewest in any half this season.

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With Curry and Moody out, the Warriors didn't give up. They fought with everything they had, and behind a red-hot Jordan Poole, scored 37 points in the third quarter. Or five more than they did the entire first half.
However, it wasn't enough after such a lackluster start and losing Curry and Moody.

Poole led the Warriors with 29 points. Klay Thompson scored 18 and played like his minus-30, going 8-for-24 from the field and 1-for-11 from deep.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors' loss, snapping their four-game win streak and dropping them to 47-23 on the season.

Bay Area's Most Wanted Man

All it took was one sequence for Steve Kerr and all of Dub Nation to let Smart know exactly how they feel about him. Let's just say there were a whole lot of boos and words that can't be published. 

On the same play that Smart sent Steph to the injury report, he auditioned for the fifth season of Cobra Kai, giving Klay Thompson a flying kick to the chest. Take a look for yourself and try to take a screenshot of Smart. This isn't basketball. 

Not seen is Kerr absolutely giving Smart a taste of his mind. Kerr did so more than once and should have plenty to say about it to the media after this loss. 

Depth Tested

The Warriors already were without Andrew Wiggins, Nemanja Bjelica, Gary Payton II, Andre Iguodala and James Wiseman entering Wednesday night. Early exits of Moody and Curry only added to that list. 

Damion Lee, who didn't play in Monday night's win over the Washington Wizards and had played a total of nine minutes in Golden State's last four games, was given early minutes and was a major issue early on. He missed his first four shots -- all 3-point attempts -- had a rough turnover and a bad defensive possession led to a Kevon Looney foul. Lee played 17 minutes and though he didn't make a single shot, his plus-9 led the Warriors in plus-minus. 

Poole took over as the Warriors' lead scorer and put up 19 points while making five 3-pointers in the third quarter alone. That was after a first half where he scored two points, went 1-for-8 from the field and missed all four of his 3-point shots. 

Two-way player Quinndary Weatherspoon grabbed five rebounds and brought plenty of energy. Juan Toscano-Anderson made three of his four shot attempts and led the bench with seven points.

Welcome To The Playoffs

Coming into Wednesday night, the Warriors led the NBA in defensive rating at 106.1. The Celtics were right behind at 106.3. It was obvious early on which team has been the better defensive squad for a while now. 
The Celtics are long, physical, strong and aggressive. They get in the way of passing lanes, play vertical and horizontal and Robert Williams is a force in the paint. He blocked four shots and each one had anger behind them. 

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Recently, the Warriors have earned quality wins against playoff teams in the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks. But Boston, especially in the first half, gave Golden State a taste of what opposing teams will throw at them come postseason time. 

This team already is trying to become whole with only a dozen games left in the regular season. Now, we wait and see what's next with Curry and Moody's injuries. Those are a pretty big deal, especially the former. 
As if that really needed to be said.

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