Boston, MA
Warriors make a statement in Boston, but Stephen Curry says there's 'a long way to go'
BOSTON — The Golden State Warriors will close out a five-game road trip this week against the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA’s three top teams through three weeks.
“We’ll know if they’re for real after that,” a Celtics executive conceded before the first of those games.
Consider the first test passed. Behind Stephen Curry’s excellence, a pair of Kevon Looney put-backs and a Buddy Hield dagger, the Warriors closed out a fourth quarter that featured four lead changes. The Warriors’ 118-112 victory improved their record to 7-1, half a game better than the defending champions.
“It’s a statement,” said Hield, whose wide-open 3-pointer on a feed from Curry gave Golden State a 111-104 advantage with 47.2 seconds remaining. “If we don’t win this game, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, they didn’t play nobody.’ So you’ve gotta come make a statement on the road, right? That’s how the basketball world talks. They say if you haven’t played nobody yet, you get battle-tested, and you have to see if it’s real.”
Much of the hype around Wednesday’s game pit Jayson Tatum opposite Steve Kerr, as if the Celtics star might send a message to the Warriors coach. Kerr benched Tatum for two games at the Paris Olympics. You would not have known it — at least after the TD Garden crowd booed Kerr’s pregame introduction.
“From the beginning, the whole thing was, ‘We’re in this together. We’ve got 12 Hall of Famers, and we’re committed to winning,’” said Kerr. “And we won the gold medal, so I don’t give it a whole lot of thought.”
Otherwise, the 2022 NBA finalists went to work in a brilliant basketball game. One point separated them to start the fourth quarter. Derrick White’s seventh 3 of the night gave the Celtics a 95-88 edge midway through the final frame, and then what Hield described as “championship habits” took over. The Warriors scored on their next seven possessions, including all 10 of Curry’s fourth-quarter points, to seal the deal.
“Normal Steph,” joked Looney.
It is too early — and maybe too far-fetched — to consider the Warriors a serious title contender again. Curry is 36 years old. Draymond Green is 34. Klay Thompson is gone, and in his place is a collection of talented players, none of whom is a future Hall of Famer, most of whom Kerr is still trying to sort out.
Even Curry is not shooting for his fifth championship at this moment. After failing to make the playoffs last season for the third time in five years, he and the Warriors are first in search of relevancy again.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” he said. “A good team, or a relevant team, wins the games they’re supposed to win, steals a couple on the road against good teams and protects home-court. We’ve done those things so far, but we have two more games on this road trip — two tough tests. …
“I like where we are, obviously, but a long way to go.”
What gave Curry pause in that response was Golden State’s deep rotation, something he described as uncomfortable. He does not know who will be contributing on a nightly basis; he just knows they have to.
“Until proven otherwise, that’s how we have to play,” said Curry. “Coach has talked about it until he’s blue in the face already. Every practice, every film session, every pregame talk, it’s the same message. It’s who we are right now; it’s who we have to be. You obviously know as the season goes on rotations get tighter.”
It is working, though, especially on defense. The Warriors held Boston to a season-low 40 first-half points, sending waves of defenders at the Celtics. Gary Payton II likened Kerr’s 11-man rotation to a line change in hockey. “A lot of fresh legs,” he said, most of which were directed at Tatum. The Celtics star saw two defenders for most of the night, finishing with 32 points but just two assists to four turnovers. It did not help that Boston was without his co-star, Jaylen Brown, whose hip injury has listed him as day-to-day.
“Obviously Boston was without Jaylen Brown and [Kristaps] Porzingis, so this is not the best version of their team,” conceded Kerr, “but they’re still damn good. It’s a hell of a win in a tough environment.”
Golden State’s defense is now rated second in the NBA behind the Thunder, allowing 103.5 points per 100 possessions. That recipe — stout defense, full of energy, surrounding one Stephen Curry — is one that should win a lot of regular-season games. It has won five straight. Cleveland and Oklahoma City await.
“It was a great test,” Curry said from Boston. “We haven’t done a damn thing, but it felt good.”
Boston, MA
Practice Report: Bruins Have Last Skate in Boston Before Leaving for Buffalo | Boston Bruins
“It is a division team, we’ve played them enough to know kind of what they’re about. They’ve had a great season. They’re a high rush team, a lot of speed and a lot of skill. It is going to be a fun matchup,” Lindholm said. “It is a fun challenge for us, coming in a little bit as an underdog and prove people wrong.”
Lindholm has also been quarterbacking the second power-play unit, which is primed to feature James Hagens. The 19-year-old forward signed his entry-level contract on April 8 and played in the final two games of the regular season. The B’s, however, did not get on the man advantage in either game, so Sturm has yet to see Hagens on the power play outside of practice. The coach thinks it is one of Hagens’ best assets, though.
“He doesn’t have to play or make special plays. He has some really good players on that unit. As long as he’s going to play fast and keep it simple – I think that is something that might be different from college and NHL,” Sturm said. “I think it will be fine because Buffalo, they will come, they pressure hard. So you don’t want to be surprised. You want to be quick, you want to be fast. That’s something that has to be in his mind.”
Hagens has been skating on the third line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, and that stayed the same in Saturday’s practice. The three youngsters will all be playing in their first NHL postseason.
“Every night you have to give it your all. You have to give everything you possibly have. This is playoff hockey – you want to win every single game like always. Nothing changes, but there are a lot higher stakes,” Hagens said. “This is something you dream of. Something you grow up watching and praying that you could be in the moment one day and be playing in. Now that it’s reality, it’s something that is really surreal.”
After having a whirlwind start to his pro career, it has been helpful for Hagens to get full practices in with the group.
“It’s been great to be able to be out there, practice with these guys. Not only to learn the systems but to be able to talk to teammates, get feedback from coaches,” Hagens said. “Just the repetition, being able to do reps, try to learn day by day.”
The energy is palpable for Boston, but the team knows the work has just begun.
“Everyone is equal in this room. We’re a tight-knit group here, we’re all good buddies…Just go out there and play with that joy that we have in the locker room,” Lindholm said. “It is a really serious time of year, but I think within this room here, just go out there and enjoy, too. Play for each other – I think that’s how you win this time of year.”
Hao-Yu Lee called up by Detroit Tigers after Zach McKinstry hits IL
Tigers call up infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee as Zach McKinstry hits 10-day IL; Lee starts at Fenway, strong vs. lefties.
Boston — Can’t lose at home. Can’t win on the road.
The Tigers are establishing a very unhealthy pattern early this season. Coming off six straight wins at Comerica Park, they rode an eight-game road losing streak into Fenway Park Friday night.
Make it nine straight road losses.
Scoreless through regulation, the Boston Red Sox scratched across a run in the bottom of the 10th inning to take the opener of a four-game series, 1-0.
“We don’t look at it like that,” said catcher Dillon Dingler of the home-road contrast. “We played a tough game tonight. Just not a ton of hitting. I left three guys out there myself.”
Dingler nearly ended the game-winning threat before it started. With speedy Jarren Duran at second as the free runner, reliever Will Vest threw a pitch in the dirt. Duran got a good break off second but Dingler pounced on the ball and threw a seed to third base.
It would have been a bang-bang play, but third baseman Hao-Yu Lee, in his big-league debut, was unable to catch the throw.
“I don’t know how that play would’ve gone,” manager AJ Hinch said.
Vest struck out Ceddanne Rafaela, then with one out, Hinch brought Javier Báez in from center field, using a five-infielder, two-outfielder alignment against Red Sox lefty-swinging pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida.
“Our backs were against the wall,” he said. “We were hoping he hits it at somebody. He ended up chopping it over the infield.”
Yoshida’s high-bouncer went over the infielders’ heads and ended the game, leaving the Tigers to rue their two missed chances late in the game.
BOX SCORE: Red Sox 1, Tigers 0 (10)
The Tigers put runners at second and third against Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the top of the ninth. Jahmai Jones ripped a double into the left-field corner, sending rookie Kevin McGonigle (safe on a fielder’s choice) to third.
But Champman punched out Dingler with back-to-back heaters — 100 mph and 101 mph.
They stranded the free runner in the top of the 10th against right-handed reliever Garrett Whitlock, too. With Dingler at third and one out, Wenceel Perez struck out and Spencer Torkelson grounded out to short.
Hinch had left-handed hitters Kerry Carpenter and Colt Keith available on the bench.
“Obviously we were looking for contact (from Perez),” he said. “Generally, Whitlock is going to keep the ball down. (Perez) just chased at the end.”
But, as Hinch said, there was a lot more going on than just the 10th inning.
“I mean, a zero-zero game at Fenway in the 10th inning?” Hinch said. “That’s a game that’s very rare around here.”
Credit starting pitchers Casey Mize and Red Sox lefty Ranger Suarez for that. They put on a show, impressively trading outs in their own unique style.
The Tigers got two singles off Suarez in the first inning and then nothing over the next seven.
Mize, with a four-seam fastball that was hitting 96 mph that greatly enhanced the effectiveness of his splitter and slider, allowed three hits through 6.2 innings.
“Casey was incredible,” Hinch said. “I told him afterward, that was the best combination of stuff, execution and the way his body was moving. He was excellent. Unfortunately, so was their guy.”
Said Dingler: “Robin (Lund, assistant pitching coach) said Casey’s slider strike percentage was 93 percent. He was dominating that outer rail with all three of his pitches. It was fun to catch. He made my job easier.”
The third hit, a two-out infield single in the seventh, ended Mize’s night. But he was brilliant. He struck out seven with one walk. He got 14 whiffs on 42 swings and 16 called strikes.
“We had a good game plan,” said Mize, who dominated a lot of the same Red Sox hitters last September at Fenway. “I was able to execute at a pretty high clip tonight. I felt like I was moving well and the ball was coming out well. When you execute, more times than not you are going to have nights like this.”
Suarez, meanwhile, was mixing changeups, curveballs and cutters off his 91-mph sinker and getting the Tigers’ hitters to beat the ball in the ground. Nine ground ball outs and nothing but weak contact.
“There’s a reason he signed a deal with these guys,” said Mize of Suarez’s five-year, $130 million deal with the Red Sox. “He’s a really good pitcher and it made it tough on our team and on myself, knowing I was going to have to match him zero for zero.”
McGonigle singled with one out in the first and Jones followed, belting a line drive off the Green Monster in right field. McGonigle breezed into third but center fielder Rafaela played the carom expertly and threw out Jones at second base.
“Once he settled in, he was in and around the zone just enough,” Hinch said. “The ball never moved the same way twice. He’s tough.”
The Tigers’ only runner after the first against Suarez was Dingler, who drew a two-out walk in the fourth.
Suarez set down 13 straight hitters after that through the eighth.
Dingler, besides calling a smart pitch-mix for Mize, helped out with two defensive plays befitting a Gold Glove catcher. He ended the second inning by pouncing on a topper in front of the plate to retire Rafaela. Dingler ran through Rafaela to get the ball, knocking him out of the base path.
He took Rafaela off the bases again in the fifth. This time, he threw him out at second trying to steal second base. The throw was perfect, an 87-mph dart that popped into the glove of shortstop McGonigle in 1.85 seconds.
“Ding is such an influence behind the plate,” Hinch said. “It starts with the game-calling. And he threw it well tonight. We know they’re going to be aggressive. They have a ton of athleticism and speed. And Ding is a big weapon for us to stop it.”
Friday was the big-league debut for Tigers’ infielder Hao-Yu Lee. He went hitless in three at-bats against Suarez, though he did drive a ball to track in right-center field the Rafaela ran down in the fifth.
Playing third base, he ended seventh inning fielding a ground ball behind the bag at third and throwing across the diamond to retire Rafaela and stranding a runner at second. First baseman Spencer Torkelson made an outstanding scoop on Lee’s low throw.
Lee’s throwing error in the bottom of the ninth extended the inning but caused no damage.
“It’s a big stage,” Hinch said. “I think he handled himself well.”
For Mize, it was his third start this season where he allowed one run or less. The Tigers are 1-2 in those three starts.
“Yeah, you know, I feel good,” he said. “I feel fine. But we’ve got to translate them into wins. That’s what I care about the most.”
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
Dare we say this could be one of the deepest women’s pro fields we’ve seen assembled for the Boston Marathon? The 130th edition of the race from Hopkinton to Boylston Street gets underway on Monday, and a slew of the top racers in women’s road running currently will look to finish atop the podium at one of the toughest of the World Marathon Majors.
Defending champion and course record holder (2:17:22) Sharon Lokedi returns as one of the favorites to win yet another Boston Marathon title, and she enters coming off a notable 2025 marathon campaign that featured wins in both Boston and New York. Among some of her top challengers are fellow Kenyan Irine Cheptai, who took fourth in Boston last year, and Ethiopia’s Workenesh Edesa, who dipped under the 2:18 mark to win the 2025 Hamburg Marathon.
But perhaps the biggest storyline to follow on Patriots’ Day? The competition among the U.S. contingent. With American record holder Emily Sisson running the Boston Marathon for the first time in her career, as well as 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials winner Fiona O’Keeffe, Paris Olympian Dakota Popehn, 2025 Boston Marathon top U.S. finisher Jess McClain, and plenty of other notable names all toeing the line together, expect an entertaining battle to play out on race day.
Content hype editor Ashley Tysiac breaks down what you can expect from the women’s race on Monday. You can continue to stay in-the-know on all things Boston with our watch guide, and you can follow along with Runner’s World’s coverage of the 2026 Boston Marathon by exploring our full collection of stories. You can also dive into our preview of the men’s race here.
Ashley is Editor of Content Hype at Hearst’s Enthusiast & Wellness Group. She is a former collegiate runner at UNC Asheville where she studied mass communication. Ashley loves all things running; she has raced two marathons, plus has covered some of the sport’s top events in her career, including the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials and multiple World Marathon Majors.
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