Warriors vs Celtics: Head to Head History

by James Idayi
Warriors vs Celtics: Head to Head History

Few teams in the NBA play a more beautiful brand of basketball than the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. And only one franchise (the Lakers) can say that they’ve won as many or more NBA Championships than either the Celtics or the Warriors. While it’s a shame that the Warriors and Celtics rarely play each other during the regular season (since they’re in separate conferences), it’s a delight for fans whenever these two teams do face off — proven by their 2022 NBA Finals series. Although only one of these teams was able to emerge victorious in that series, both teams emerged afterwards with a newfound respect for one another. And with it, an expectation that the Warriors and Celtics could rematch in another NBA Finals in the future. Will that rematch come in 2024? Only time will tell.

In this article, we’ll analyze the head to head history between the Warriors and Celtics, discuss notable past matchups, break down the 2022 NBA Finals, and predict how matchups between these teams will go in the 2023-24 NBA season.

Warriors vs Celtics Head to Head History

The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics have played each other a total of 377 times. Of those, the Celtics hold the all-time edge, going 227-150. The Celtics also hold the playoff edge, having a 18-11 advantage in 29 games.

Golden State and Boston — two of the NBA’s oldest franchises — first played each other on November 26, 1946, in a game that the Celtics beat the (then Philadelphia) Warriors, 66-54. The most recent matchup between these teams was on January 19, 2023, when the Celtics beat the Warriors in overtime.

The longest winning streak within this all-time series was when the Celtics beat the Warriors 13 straight times, which occurred from December 5, 1984, to February 7, 1966.

Here a game log of Miami Heat and Boston Celtics from 2022-23 Season to 2010-11 season

Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Game Log

GameDateHome TeamAway TeamResultScoreOvertime (OT)StreakHead-to-Head BOS-GSW
348Jan 19, 2023Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW121 – 118OTCeltics won 1209 – 139
347Dec 10, 2022Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL107 – 123Warriors won 1208 – 139
346Mar 16, 2022Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW110 – 88Celtics won 1208 – 138
345Dec 17, 2021Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL107 – 111Warriors won 1207 – 138
344Apr 17, 2021Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW119 – 114Celtics won 5207 – 137
343Feb 2, 2021Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW111 – 107Celtics won 4206 – 137
342Jan 30, 2020Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW119 – 104Celtics won 3205 – 137
341Nov 15, 2019Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW105 – 100Celtics won 2204 – 137
340Mar 5, 2019Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW128 – 95Celtics won 1203 – 137
339Jan 26, 2019Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL111 – 115Warriors won 2202 – 137
338Jan 27, 2018Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL105 – 109Warriors won 1202 – 136
337Nov 16, 2017Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW92 – 88Celtics won 2202 – 135
336Mar 8, 2017Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW99 – 86Celtics won 1201 – 135
335Nov 18, 2016Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL88 – 104Warriors won 1200 – 135
334Apr 1, 2016Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW109 – 106Celtics won 1200 – 134
333Dec 11, 2015Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL119 – 1242OTWarriors won 5199 – 134
332Mar 1, 2015Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL101 – 106Warriors won 4199 – 133
331Jan 25, 2015Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL111 – 114Warriors won 3199 – 132
330Mar 5, 2014Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL88 – 108Warriors won 2199 – 131
329Jan 10, 2014Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL97 – 99Warriors won 1199 – 130
328Mar 1, 2013Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW94 – 86Celtics won 1199 – 129
327Dec 29, 2012Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsL83 – 101Warriors won 1198 – 129
326Mar 14, 2012Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW105 – 103Celtics won 3198 – 128
325Mar 4, 2011Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW107 – 103Celtics won 2197 – 128
324Feb 22, 2011Boston CelticsGolden State WarriorsW115 – 93Celtics won 1196 – 128

Warriors vs Celtics Notable Past Matchups

The Warriors and Celtics have played each other in five playoff series; all of which except one the Celtics have won. The first such series came in 1958, during the East Division Finals. The Celtics won this series in 5 games. Then these franchises met in the 1960 East Division Finals — and the Celtics won that series, too, in 6 games. Two years later, the Celtics won the 1962 East Division Finals in a very evenly matched 7 game series.

But it wasn’t until 1964, once the Warriors migrated to San Francisco, where these teams met in the NBA Finals for the first time. Unfortunately, the change of scenery didn’t change the outcome for the Warriors, who lost these 1964 NBA Finals to the Celtics in 5 games. Unfortunately for Warriors fans, they had to wait 58 years until they were given an opportunity to exact Finals revenge against Boston.

Of course, Warriors fans have been given much else to celebrate in the 21st century. Their team has won 4 NBA Championships, while the Celtics have only earned one Championship since 1986 (which came in 2008).

2022 NBA Finals

After finishing the 2021-22 NBA regular season with a record of 53-29, the Golden State Warriors entered the playoffs as the #3 seed in the Western Conference. They defeated the Denver Nuggets in the first round, beat the Memphis Grizzlies in the conference semifinals, then defeated the Dallas Mavericks in 5 games to advance to the NBA Finals.

The Boston Celtics finished the 2021-22 NBA regular season with a 51-31 record; earning them the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics then swept the Brooklyn Nets in round one, won an intense, 7-game series against the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference semifinals, then win another 7-game series against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Therefore, the stage was set for the Warriors and Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals.

Game 1 took place in Golden State. While the Warriors took a comfortable lead into the fourth quarter, the Celtics dominated that final frame, outscoring the Warriors 40-16 and stealing a Game 1 win by a score of 120-108.

Game 2 was also in Golden State, and felt like a must-win for the Warriors after dropping Game 1. Golden State went on to play some of the best defense they’d played all season, and at the offensive end were led by Steph Curry’s 29 point, 5 three-point performance to win Game 2 107-88, and even the series 1-1.

The Finals traveled to Boston for Game 3 — and the Celtics made use of their home court advantage. Fueled by 27 points from Jaylen Brown, 26 points from Jayson Tatum, and 24 points from Marcus Smart, the Celtics were able to nullify a 31 point performance from Steph Curry, and beat the Warriors in Game 3, 116-100.

Although none of the games in this Finals series ended up being particularly close, Game 4 was the most exciting of them all. In a game that saw 10 lead changes and 10 ties, along with 43 points from Steph Curry and 44 combined points from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Warriors pulled away late in the fourth quarter to win Game 4 by a score of 107-97. Therefore, the series was even again, and was headed back to California for Game 5.

Jayson Tatum was on fire from three-point range during the entire Game 5, nailing five threes on nine attempts. Yet, Game 5 was also one where Andrew Wiggins scored 26 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and had perhaps the best defensive game of his life; propelling the Warriors to a 104-94 win at home, and making them one win away from being NBA champions.

Golden State’s previous championship pedigree proved to be the difference maker in Game 6, as Steph Curry scored 34, Draymond Green nearly got a triple double, and Klay Thompson also played his part on offense and defense, as the Warriors beat the Celtics 103-90 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, and won their fourth NBA Championship in the past 8 seasons.

2023-24 Matchup Analysis

The Warriors and Celtics play each other 2 times in the 2023-24 regular season: on December 19 (in Golden State), and on March 3 (in Boston).

While the Warriors have the same core players that won them the 2021 NBA Finals, they have also added Chris Paul into the mix for 2023-24. It will be fascinating to see what the Warriors’ guard-heavy roster can do against a massive Boston squad that added Kristaps Porzingis during the offseason. One would imagine that these two contrasting styles of play would benefit the bigger, more physical Celtics. But, as Celtics fans and players both know all too well, one can never could out the magic of Steph Curry. If each these teams manage to stay healthy throughout the regular season, they both should be top seeds headed into the playoffs. And if Jayson Tatum continues to perform at an MVP level, perhaps a 2021 Finals rematch will be in store for these two elite squads.

James Idayi
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