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BOSTON (AP) — Steve Kerr spoiled the Boston Celtics’ last, best chance at another NBA title. And he thinks it would be harder this time around.
“This is, I think, the best version of this team that I’ve seen,” Kerr said this weekend before his Golden State Warriors were ambushed by their 2022 NBA Finals opponent 140-88 on Sunday.
“The idea is to give yourself a chance as many times in a row as you can. And they’ve done a great job of that,” Kerr said. “I think it’s just a matter of time that they break through.”
The Celtics won their 11th straight game on Sunday to improve to an NBA-best 48-12 on the season — six wins more than their closest pursuer. They are on pace for 65 wins, which would be the fourth-most in franchise history and the most since the 2008 team won an unprecedented 17th NBA championship.
The 52-point win over the longtime Western Conference power was the third-largest margin of victory in Celtics history. They are the first NBA team to record three 50-point wins in a season.
Boston led by 44 points at halftime, a franchise record. Boston’s only bigger blowout wins were by 56 points at Chicago in 2018, and by 53 against Sacramento in 2022.
“There’s a lot of respect for the Golden State Warriors,” said Jaylen Brown, who scored 29 points. “But we feel like it’s our time now.”