The Warriors were driven by the Celtics in Kristaps Porzingis’ debut with Golden State

SAN FRANCISCO – The Kristaps Porzingis era in Golden State is off to a rough start.

In their first game since taking over five games, the Warriors fell behind by 34 points and trailed by double digits throughout the second half of a 121-110 loss to the Boston Celtics. And, for the most part, the deficit piled up while trying to match Porzingis, who finished with 12 points in 17 minutes.

“It’s not easy to go to a new team, practice and play,” said coach Steve Kerr, adding a positive image to Porzingis’ debut. “You see his talent, his sense of the game, his ability to set up the floor, protect the rim. It’s good to have him on our team, that’s for sure.”

Porzingis was one of six Warriors to finish in double figures, led by De’Anthony Melton’s 18, but Golden State never recovered from its disastrous first game.

Without Steph Curry (kneeling) for the sixth game in a row, coach Steve Kerr made no changes to the starting five for the Warriors’ first game after being laid off eight days into the NBA All-Star break, opting to bench Porzingis as he played under the 15-20 minute limit per game.

No team in the NBA has attempted more of their shots from beyond the perimeter this season than the Warriors (50.4%), but they played without their top two scoring options (Curry, Jimmy Butler), upping the ante. Of their 50 attempts from the field in the first half, 31 came from distance (62%) – but only 11 fell (35.5%).

The Warriors offered little resistance in the paint or beyond the perimeter. Jaylen Brown drove the rim at will while recording a triple-double (21 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists), while Peyton Pritchard and Sam Hauser combined for 42 points on 10-of-15 shooting from three-point range. The Celtics, not far behind Golden State by three points, took 15 fewer attempts than the Warriors but scored just nine points.

“They put in the clinic those first three quarters,” Kerr said. He described the Celtics (31-13) as “a machine,” while the Warriors, he said, “were slow to move.”

Will Richard hit the Warriors’ seventh 3-pointer of the first quarter as the opening period wound down, pulling Golden State within 36-32, and scored 15 of his 17 points off the bench in the first half. But Golden State pulled within 74-51 after Boston went on a 17-2 run in Porzingis’ first minutes in a Warriors uniform.

The 30-year-old commercial discovery made its debut to start the second quarter, drawing cheers from the crowd. Things quickly went south, however, and by the time Porzingis scored four minutes later, the Warriors’ deficit had grown to 15 points – 53-34.

The closest the Warriors would get after that came with minutes to go in regulation, after a desperate full-court press helped them pull to 11. The big man grabbed one rebound, and the Warriors dominated on the boards, 54-40.

Porzingis missed one of his attempts from 3 and was hunted by the Celtics on the other side of the floor in what looked like a bad first game. Acquired by Golden State on Feb. 5 to Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, Porzingis had not played since Jan. 7 while recovering from an Achilles injury.

The Warriors rolled with Porzingis, and when he got rid of the rust, the new acquisition played consistently better. The same goes for the Warriors, who beat the Celtics by 15 and were down in the second half after being down 19 before halftime.