BOSTON _ Trailing by two and with his mind wandering, Draymond Green, during a routine inbound in the first quarter, dribbled the ball into play, prompting the referee to assess a turnover.
All head coach Steve Kerr could muster was an uncomfortable smile. In Thursday's 119-104 loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, it was another one of those nights.
On the second stop of a five-city East Coast swing, the Warriors (10-39) were both overwhelmed and lacking energy. They failed to box out, struggled to move the ball and missed 27 of their 39 3-point attempts.
Point guard Kemba Walker's step-back 3-pointer, followed by his jumper a minute later gave the Celtics (32-15) a 17-point midway through the second quarter.
D'Angelo Russell's eight straight points in the final 1:04 of the first half cut the deficit to eight before Walker's buzzer-beating layup stretched the Celtics' lead back to double-digits at halftime.
To open the second half, the Warriors gave up a 12-4 run to dig a 72-54 hole. Despite a few runs, the game was never in reach, as the Celtics went on to establish their largest lead (19) in the game's final five minutes.
The Celtics shot 47.6% overall and followed up their few misses with 12 offensive rebounds, leading to an 18-2 advantage in second-chance points.
Before tip, the league announced the NBA All-Star game reserves. For the first time since 2013, the Warriors do not have a representative. Russell, however, made a late push.
In the midst of a five game stretch in which he's averaged 28.8 points per game, Russell finished with 22 points on 7-for-17 shooting (3 for 11 from 3-point range), three rebounds and five assists.
Guard Alec Burks added 18 points on 5-for-10 shooting off the bench, while guard Damion Lee chipped in 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting and seven rebounds.
Forward Gordon Hayward (25 points on 8-for-15 shooting and eight rebounds), guard Marcus Smart (21 points on 8-for-16 shooting) and forward Jayson Tatum (20 points on 7-for-14 shooting) paced the Celtics.
Losers of 15 of their last 16 games, the Warriors will play the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Saturday.
