It was a disappointing return from the All-Star break for the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. Despite the excitement stemming from Kristaps Porzingis' debut in a Warriors' jersey in front of the Chase Center crowd, the Boston Celtics simply proved too much to handle.

A massive 37-19 fourth quarter from the Warriors wasn't nearly enough to overcome the 34-point lead the Celtics had built midway through the third off the back of a 38-19 second quarter. Boston eventually came away with the win, 121-110, dropping the Warriors to 29-27 on the season and dragging them further away from that coveted top-6 finish in the Western Conference.

In his postgame press conference, Steve Kerr praised the Celtics for how they've played this entire season entering Thursday night's game.

"I thought Boston was incredible. They're having an amazing season, and they're a machine right now. They've done such a good job, their staff have done a hell of a job with Joe (Mazzulla) and the group. They've got the continuity, but given the departures and the injuries, remarkable what they've done.

Kerr then dived into the game specifics, analyzing the Warriors' play in how it allowed the Celtics to dominate them.

"They just put on a clinic those first three quarters. We were slow to get moving. I've never liked the first game out of the break, it never feels great to have all that time off, so I felt like we were slow to get moving. It was good to see the fight and the rhythm we found late to at least make it respectable, and at least find some rhythm and momentum for the next game, which is important."

Kerr wasn't exaggerating when he said the Celtics had put on a clinic. Joe Mazzulla and his team came away winning most of the impactful team metrics on Thursday night.

The most impactful one was the points in the paint, where the Celtics scored an astounding 58 of their 121 points in the key, while the Warriors had just 44 points in the paint. Considering the Celtics came into the game with the second-lowest percentage of points scored in the paint at 38.8%, just ahead of the Warriors, it's a rough look.

That doesn't mean the Celtics went away from their normal three-point-happy identity, either. Boston won the battle from deep, too, shooting 17-40 for 43% compared to the Warriors' 20-55 shooting, good for just 36%.

The individual matchups weren't too pretty either. Jaylen Brown dominated the game, as the former Cal Bear posted a 23-point, 15-rebound, 13-assist triple double. Off the bench, Payton Pritchard led all scorers with 26 points on 6 triples, including a couple big ones down the stretch.

For the Warriors, seven players scored in double figures, led by De'Anthony Melton with 18 and Will Richard with 17, but it wasn't quite enough as a team, especially due to Draymond Green and Al Horford combining to shoot 2-17 from the field and 1-11 from deep.

The Warriors will look to take a couple days of practice to knock off the rust and come back stronger on Sunday afternoon against the Denver Nuggets.