The Celtics have had a string of games recently against potential playoff opponents, and all of those teams could pose challenges for different reasons. But the Thunder, who have roared to the top of the powerful Western Conference this season, could be the one that is most daunting.
They walloped the Celtics in Oklahoma City in January, and on Wednesday they came to TD Garden and mostly controlled their 118-112 win.
The score was tied at 98 early in the fourth when the Thunder capitalized on being in the free-throw penalty, and the Celtics went cold from beyond the arc. MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 34 points to lead the Thunder (54-12) and Chet Holmgren added 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Jayson Tatum had 33 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists to lead the Celtics, whose five-game winning streak was snapped. Boston made 20 of 63 3-pointers, 3 of 14 in the final quarter.
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Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis missed his seventh consecutive game due to an illness. He watched the game from the bench. The Thunder were without Jalen Williams (hip) and Alex Caruso (illness).
The Celtics started 0 for 5 from the field and quickly found themselves in a 9-0 hole. Horford snapped Boston’s mild drought with a 3-pointer at the 9:15 mark, sparking an unusual stretch for the Celtics.
Over a four-minute stretch that started with that basket, Horford and White combined to go 6 for 7 from beyond the arc, and when a White free throw was added to the tally, the duo accounted for the Celtics’ first 19 points as they pushed back and tied the score.
They eventually received some help, and just about all of it came from beyond the arc. In the first quarter, 22 of Boston’s 24 shots were 3-pointers. They were mostly clean looks that resulted from crisp ball movement.
It was a contrast in styles as the Thunder pummeled the Celtics closer to the rim and held an 18-0 edge in first-quarter points in the paint.
Some of the momentum from the Celtics’ comeback was washed away when Torrey Craig fouled Isaiah Joe on a 3-point attempt well beyond the left arc with 0.1 seconds left, the first of two frustrating ends to quarters in the opening half.
The Celtics tallied their first two-point field goal of the game when the Thunder were whistled for a goaltend on Payton Pritchard’s layup attempt with 10:56 left. That also gave Boston its first lead, 35-34.
With Gilgeous-Alexander and Tatum both on the bench to start the quarter, the Thunder deployed an active zone defense that the Celtics looked to find seams in by driving to the rim. The shift helped Oklahoma City stretch its lead to 48-39 before the Celtics responded with a 13-3 burst that was capped by a Tatum runner.
That basket appeared to ignite Tatum after a relatively quiet offensive half. He added a follow slam and a pair of 3-pointers, the second giving the Celtics a 60-58 lead with 40.5 seconds left. But Boston once again failed to muster a strong finish.
Isaiah Hartenstein converted a putback over Tatum, who was subsequently whistled for a technical foul after he complained that Hartenstein had not been called for a foul on the play. Then after Horford missed a 3-pointer, Gilgeous-Alexander banked in a 20-footer with 0.4 seconds left to give Oklahoma City a 63-60 lead at the break. The Thunder made 18 of 25 two-pointers in the first half.
The 3-point shot wasn’t much of a weapon for the Thunder throughout the night, but it gave them a jolt early in the third quarter. Holmgren connected on a pair before Gilgeous-Alexander added two more, giving Oklahoma City an 80-68 lead, its largest, with 7:20 left.
But the Thunder mustered just four points over the next five minutes, and the Celtics continued to linger thanks to their work on the offensive glass. Boston grabbed offensive rebounds on 6 of its 12 misses in the quarter, including a pair on one trip up court in the final minute that led to a Tatum 3-point play that tied the score at 88.
The Thunder entered the free-throw penalty with 7:17 left in the fourth while holding a 101-98 lead, and they capitalized with three non-shooting fouls that resulted in six free throws over the ensuing four minutes. Two of the fouls went against Brown, who fouled out with 3:36 left when he barreled into Holmgren.
The ensuing free throws gave the Thunder a 108-102 lead. Cason Wallace then extended the advantage to 113-102 with a 3-pointer and a layup, and Gilgeous-Alexander put the finishing touches on the win with a 15-footer in the final minute.
