The Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 123-107 in the reproduction of last season's NBA Finals at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on Saturday.

Before Saturday, the Celtics were 21-5, the best in the league, while the Warriors were only 13-13 and 11th in the Western Conference. However, the Warriors seemed so confident in hosting the Celtics, even without Andrew Wiggins guarding Jayson Tatum. During the series in June, Wiggins gave Tatum a hard time during most possessions.

Having averaged 30.5 points and 3.4 triples this season, Tatum grew even better from the remarkably-performing 2021-22 campaign. However, he still seemed clueless about how to beat the Warriors defending on him. They didn't have anyone who could contain Tatum by himself, but Klay Thompson was often there deflecting his mid-range jumper; Draymond Green made Tatum invest extra efforts every time he charged the rim; sometimes Tatum could find Stephen Curry or Jordan Poole in mismatch, but as soon as he made his move, double-teaming would happen immediately.

Of course, no defense is perfect. The Warriors left Tatum many open 3-pointers, but he failed to make them after shooting 2-for-9 from downtown. Though he only committed two turnovers, but he delivered no more than two assists, failing to punish the opponents for double-teaming him.

By contrast, the Celtics were disappointing in containing the Warriors, especially the "Splash Brothers," Curry and Thompson. The two combined to go 10-for-22 at the 3-point line, scoring 66 points. Thompson contributed 12 points in both of the first two quarters to help the Warriors establish a safe lead in the first half; Curry drained 3-pointers in each of the four quarters to shut down the Celtics' momentum every time they tried to launch counterstrike.

The Celtics don't lack elite defenders: Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon are all reliable on most defensive occasions. Nonetheless, none them seemed passionate enough on Saturday night to beat screens to deflect Curry’s shooting. Moreover, the Celtics’ players were often easily tricked by Thompson's pump fake. When jumped but deflected nothing, they had to watch Thompson make open jumpers in the middle range.

The Celtics' poor defense came from the absence of Al Horford and Robert Williams III. The team started Blake Griffin in Saturday's game, but Griffin was too slow to close out when Curry called a screen. In fact, Griffin dropped down in most defensive possessions, which was why Thompson could shoot easily one step into the 3-point line.

However, even though Griffin remained closer to the rim, he was disappointing in protecting the rim or rebounds. The Warriors beat the Celtics in both offensive rebounds (11-6) and points in the paint (46-38). Considering all the injuries and surgeries Griffin has gone through, the Celtics should have never made him play this role on defense.

The Warriors gave both Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody longer time than usual to fill in the vacuum in the forwards positions. Kuminga's performance was more impressive as he shot 6-for-9 from the field to get 14 points, five rebounds and three assists with two turnovers. As long as he held himself from dealing with the ball too much, Kuminga's size, power and athleticism could be good help to the team.

Other games on Saturday (away teams come first):

Los Angeles Clippers 114-107 Washington Wizards

Both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard played against the Wizards at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Leonard was still struggling with his shooting, but he delivered six assists for the Clippers without any turnover. However, without his normal scoring production, the team watched their deficit fluctuate around 10 points in the third quarter.

That's when George stood out to save the day. Having contributed 20 of his 36 points in the second half, George led the Clippers to finish the third quarter with a 15-0 run, gaining the lead and then keeping it until the end of the game. The Wizards tied the score multiple times during the final two minutes, but Leonard first made a layup and then assisted Nicolas Batum to make a triple for the Clippers to lead again before George sealing the deal by making four free throws.

Utah Jazz 110-115 Denver Nuggets

It's hard to say if the Jazz have made up their mind to tank for Victor Wembanyama. Though they sidelined four major members on the roster – Mike Conley, Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson – the rest of the team were still tough enough to hold the Nuggets to the final minute of Saturday's game at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

The Jazz's solid performance was why Nikola Jokic had to drop a triple-double of 31 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists for the Nuggets to win. He was very active on the defensive end too with four blocks. Jamal Murray didn't achieve much behind the arc, but he shot to kill 8-for-10 in the middle range to score 30 points for the home team.

Minnesota Timberwolves 118-124 Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons proved they made the better back-court pair than D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards, not only in numbers, but also in the controlling of timing to explode at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday night.

Edwards' score stopped 26 points, all of which he got for the Timberwolves in the first three quarters. In the final period, he missed all three field goals (FGs) and earned no free throws. Russell went 3-for-5 from the field to get seven points, but he didn't earn any free throw either. By contrast, Lillard and Simmons both scored nine points for the Trail Blazers. That's why their team entered the final quarter leading by two points and won by six in the end.

San Antonio Spurs 115-111 Miami Heat

Brooklyn Nets 136-133 Indiana Pacers

Oklahoma City Thunder 102-110 Cleveland Cavaliers

Dallas Mavericks 115-144 Chicago Bulls