SAN FRANCISCO – There was a lot of green attire at Chase Center on Friday night, and there was a bit too much green on the court for the Warriors to keep up.
The Boston Celtics came into town as the hottest team in the NBA, and the Warriors responded with a spirited performance that fell short in a 105-100 defeat.
It was the sixth consecutive loss for the Warriors (2-11), and the 10th straight win for the Celtics (10-1), who had a significant fan presence in the arena.
Alec Burks scored a team-high 20 points in 30 minutes off the bench.
Add another name to the Warriors' extensive injury list, as guard D'Angelo Russell left the game in the third quarter after sustaining a sprained right thumb.
Sports
Here are three takeaways from Warriors' 350th consecutive home sellout:
Curry-less lineup with possibilities
In search of a group that can come together as a unit Stephen Curry's absence, the Warriors tried yet another starting lineup. This one exhibited some encouraging signs.
The lineup: Eric Paschall and Draymond Green at forward, Willie Cauley-Stein at center, Glenn Robinson III and Russell at guard. Those five built an early lead – that eventually got as high as 15 – and provided the momentum for a 32-23 advantage in the first quarter.
The most appreciable difference? Green running more point, which generated more passing and flow than is the case when playing predominantly through Russell. The Warriors in the first quarter recorded eight assists, with one turnover, as better execution resulted in fewer easy buckets on the other end.
In their game as the starting forwards, Green finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes, while Paschall totaled 16 points and eight rebounds in 33 minutes. Expect to see more of these two playing together.
D-Lo's awful, painful evening
Playing off the ball theoretically gives Russell a bit of a break from ball-handling to spend more time at shooting guard. After all, he is by far the team's No. 1 scoring threat.
Yet he somehow found his way to nine turnovers in the 25 minutes. It is conceivable Russell's thumb was bothering him throughout, and he simply tried to play through it without success.
In any case, he was ineffective with the ball. There were a couple reasonable attempts that simply didn't succeed. But most of the damage came off awful passes, ill-conceived and poorly timed, and risky dribbling that turned restless.
Russell played 25 minutes before departing, finishing 12 points, (5-of-10 shooting from the field, including 1-of-6 from beyond the arc), seven assists and two rebounds.
New role, same struggles for Poole
Jordan Poole, who has been mostly ineffective while starting the last eight games at shooting guard, was moved to the bench in the new lineup.
It didn't seem to help the 20-year-old shooting guard, who entered the game shooting 28.2 percent from the field and also 28.2 percent from deep.
[RELATED: Robinson laughs at notion of tanking]
Poole scored 4 points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field, including 0-of-5 from beyond the arc, over 22 minutes. He snagged five rebounds.
The University of Michigan product did, however, make both of his free throws and is now shooting 96.2 percent (25-of-26) from the line. It's Poole's free-throw shooting that gives the Warriors reason to believe his field goals will begin to fall at a higher rate.
