The Warriors got their statement win. You're still hungry for more. – The Mercury News

BOSTON — In the far right corner of a TD Garden that rocked from pregame introductions to the final buzzer, Steph Curry moved his shoulders and rocked on his tiptoes.

Curry had just gotten past Buddy Hield for a game-winning 3-pointer that capped the Warriors' first win of the season, a 118-112 victory over the defending champion Boston Celtics.

Hield, a nine-year veteran but new to the Warriors-Celtics rivalry, knew how big the game was.

“What do you think?” Hield said after the game. “It’s a statement. If we don't win, everyone says, “Oh, they didn't play nobody.” You have to make an explanation, right? And on the street. That's how the basketball world talks. You would say that you haven't played against anyone yet. (But now) we’re battle tested and this team is real.”

The win was proof that the Warriors are capable of more than just prevailing against weaker competition. That the defensive identity they've been playing around on is real. That their depth makes it easier for them to play. That their championship DNA still shines through. This Curry – who finished with 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals – is still undeniably one of the game's best players at 36 years old.

The fifth straight win brings the Warriors to 5-1. Curry wants more.

“We haven’t done anything yet,” Curry said at his locker in Boston. “A good team, a relevant team, wins the games they are supposed to win. On the road against good teams you steal a few. You protect your home court. We have done these things so far. But we still have two more games left on this road trip, two more tough tests.

And it's still the way we play, every night is different. This means you never get too comfortable because you have to stay on your toes. You don't know who's playing, you don't know whose night it's going to be. You just know that this season everyone is being asked to contribute. Of course I like where we are, but there is still a long way to go.”

The word “relevant” is, well, relevant. Before the season, Curry said he believed the Warriors were “capable of being a relevant team early and getting into the competition and then assessing where we are.”

The Warriors' strong start doesn't necessarily meet those criteria for Curry. But there's still a lot to like about their style of play.

On Wednesday, the Warriors held Boston — the league's best offensive team — to 40 first-half points. They steadied themselves after the Celtics made their inevitable run in the third quarter, sealing the game with more defensive stops and key plays from Kevon Looney, Hield and Curry.

Even without De'Anthony Melton (back) and Brandin Podziemski (illness), Steve Kerr played against 11 players for at least 13 minutes. Without them, they might not be able to play the kind of tight defense and up-tempo style that they have become accustomed to.

“We have a lot of fresh legs,” said Gary Payton II. “It’s kind of like a line change. There are five more coming, fresh and ready to go. Stick to being aggressive on defense. And when that’s out, we’ll get another line change and more fresh legs back.”