BOSTON -- Minutes after the final buzzer of the Golden State Warriors' 104-88 triumph over the Boston Celtics on Friday, the fire alarm inside TD Garden began blaring. Those not already moving toward the exits were advised to evacuate, and it took a few extra minutes for Celtics coach Brad Stevens to arrive at his postgame news conference after waiting for the alarm -- the result of a kitchen mishap -- to finally subside.
"I pulled that thing on my way in," Stevens deadpanned.
He probably wished he had considered that while Golden State outscored Boston by 22 in a lopsided third quarter that blew open what was a seven-point game at halftime. The apex of Golden State's third-quarter domination featured Zaza Pachulia doing some sort of uncoordinated hip-shake/butt-slap dance directly in front of the Boston bench.
Pachulia would claim the dance was a harmless inside joke, but the fact that Boston did little to respond only seems to lend credence to what Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas would suggest after the loss.
"I guess we gave up," Thomas said. "I mean, coaching staff as well. We started subbing, it was bad. Especially, I only played 27 minutes. We gave up."
Thomas later added, "We panicked too fast. Any game is winnable. As fast as you can get up [is] as fast as you can make a comeback. We have a game [Saturday night in Detroit], we have to turn the page. But we gotta be more consistent as players and as coaches."
While Thomas chastised Stevens for throttling his minutes, both he and Avery Bradley did play in the fourth quarter. Thomas' comments are more likely the product of frustration with Boston's continued uneven play as the Celtics navigate the early part of the season while being chomped on by the injury bug.
The Celtics, with all the preseason hype about their potential to push the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, are 1-3 in national TV games this season. Their lone victory came at home against the Chicago Bulls on a night when many were watching Game 7 of the World Series.
Boston had already lost to Chicago in prime time in the season's opening week. The night after besting the Bulls in a rematch, the Celtics fell at Cleveland in another national matchup.
Friday night was supposed to be a big stage for Boston to show again it can hang with the NBA's best. The Celtics even dusted off their black-trimmed road jerseys for the first time this season, the same shirts they wore when they ended Golden State's record 54-game home winning streak April 1.
This was a chance to remind Kevin Durant that he made the wrong decision by choosing to join the Super Villains out West instead of the scrappy underdogs of the East. The Celtics had played the Warriors closer than any team in the league over the past two seasons, taking Golden State to overtime here a year ago (and contributing to its first loss of the season the next night).
Outside the Garden, vendors hawked shirts mocking Durant (LeBron James was also a target). Jae Crowder, sidelined by an ankle injury, lamented not being able to guard Durant on Friday, this after voicing his displeasure with Durant's decision to join Golden State over the summer. Said Crowder: "It would be a hell of an interaction tonight if I could suit up, but I can't."
Fans showered Durant with boos when he was the first player introduced for Golden State, but Durant quickly took advantage of Boston's undersized lineups, hitting an early jumper over Bradley and looking to exploit his size at every opportunity. Durant finished with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals in 33 minutes.
Durant shrugged off the boos ("I didn't care," he said) and, adding insult to injury, Draymond Green wondered aloud if Boston fans booing might actually discourage future free agents from interviewing with the team.
"[The fans] must be desperate. Like, who can boo a guy for taking an interview?" Green mused. Later he added, "If you're that mad with what somebody else did with their life, you need to evaluate your own life."
The Warriors' third-quarter domination only hammered home the talent disparity between Boston's lovable bunch of overachievers and a Golden State team that is an obvious title contender. The Celtics have every right to wonder how this squad will look when healthy, but the return of Crowder and Al Horford is unlikely to immediately cure all that ails them.
It certainly didn't help that Marcus Smart suffered a left-ankle contusion in that disastrous third quarter; he will be reevaluated before Saturday's game in Detroit. It doesn't sound like a big concern for the Celtics, though Smart missed three games at the start of the season because of a left-ankle sprain.
Maybe sensing his players' frustrations, Stevens tried to provide a calming message after Friday's loss.
"It's a long year. Everybody knows it's a long year," Stevens said. "We've got 70 games left. We haven't played a game yet [without] two of our top rotation guys [out]. Everybody's got the [right] mindset. They know there are areas where we can improve."
As upset as Thomas was with the effort, he resolved to move forward.
"Just turn the page. The best players have the shortest memories, whether good or bad," Thomas said. "Once you go to sleep, wake up tomorrow, you forget about this loss. But I believe we gave up. For whatever reason, they hit us and we didn’t hit back."