Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is grateful for everything he's accomplished alongside Golden State Warriors centers Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Less than two years ago, they captured an NBA championship together in dominant fashion, and the first-year Warriors both played major roles in that title run.
However, just because Brown enjoyed his time with Horford and Porzingis doesn't mean he's not going to go easy on them when the Celtics face the Dubs in San Francisco on Thursday night. Brown, who officially became a five-time All-Star last weekend, paced the Warriors with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists – enough for his third triple-double of the season.
His impressive performance helped the Celtics score 34 points and win 121–110 at Chase Center. After the double-digit win, he thanked and teased his former teammates via an NBA on Prime Video broadcast.
"Well, those guys helped us win a championship in 2024, so there's no better way to honor them than giving them the belts tonight," Brown said with a smile.
Jaylen Brown on playing against Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis tonight:
“Well those guys helped us win a championship in 2024, so there's no better way to honor them than giving them the belt tonight.” pic.twitter.com/O084Hq0kIf
- Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) 20 February 2026
Despite a winning effort from the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, the Celtics couldn't completely dismantle the Warriors on Thursday evening. Golden State cut Boston's lead to 11 points in the fourth quarter and won the final frame 37–19.
However, time was not on Golden State's side, and Porzingis' seven points in the final 12 minutes of the game were not enough to complete the comeback. In his Warriors debut (and first game since January 7), the Latvian big man recorded 12 points and one block in 17 minutes off the bench.
As for the other ex-Celtics on the floor, Horford struggled offensively, missing eight of his 10 shots en route to a five-point outing. However, he was far from the worst Warriors center to take the court, as veteran big Draymond Green did not score in 18 minutes of play and posted the team's worst plus-minus rating of minus-28.
Awesome post-game scene when Al Horford and his son Ian made their way to say hello to almost everyone at the Celtics - almost as if they were both former Celtics pic.twitter.com/iWUdN2or5H
- Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) 20 February 2026
Without real size and, most importantly, the presence of star shooting guard Stephen Curry due to a knee injury, the Warriors could not keep up with the overachieving Celtics. Brown and company will now look forward to their successful reunion in the Bay Area and look forward to Sunday afternoon's showdown with the rival Los Angeles Lakers.
