This was the perfect game for a family-friendly Sunday afternoon game between two playoff teams. The Boston Celtics entered the Chesapeake Energy arena on a six-game winning streak, while the Thunder entered on a four-game winning streak.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, the Celtics came in, executed at a high level and knocked the Thunder off by one-point, 112-111. Jayson Tatum finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds while Kemba Walker finished with a game-high 27. Four Thunder players scored more than 20 points but two had an exceptionally poor performance, which made the biggest difference in this loss.
Steven Adams scored four points on 2-10 shooting from the field in 30 minutes of play. Adams averages 11 points per game. Terrance Ferguson played 26 minutes and went scoreless on one shot attempt and the largest statistic he held was his foul count at four.
It’s safe enough to say that if Adams would have had his average night, the Thunder could have and probably would have won this game. Four points on 2-10 shooting is completely inexcusable when the furthest of Adams’ 10 shots came from 12-feet out, which was a miss. Every other shot came from within 10 feet.
As for Ferguson, he’s missed significant time due to personal reasons but by date, he hasn’t hit a bucket since Jan. 13. Breaking it down, Ferguson has only played five games since that date but he’s attempted eight shots and only converted on one of those attempts. He’s played a total of 79 minutes during that time and scored three points.
His lack of production on the offensive end has been detrimental to the team and Luguentz Dort is outplaying him. Plain and simple. Considering Ferguson’s missed time, there’s a good chance he’s trying to finding his groove. The only way for him to do that is to take some chances on the offensive end to see where his game is.
Other than Adams and Ferguson, the Thunder did a spectacular job keeping up with the Celtics multi-talented squad. Between guarding Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Tatum, and Walker, there wasn’t an easy task to conquer. OKC did a satisfactory job guarding them. It was a classic case of star power stepping up when needed most. OKC played great defense, Boston’s was just better down the stretch. One thing is for sure, though. If Adams and Ferguson would have contributed more to the offense, the Thunder would have won their fifth-straight game.
The Thunder are still doing well, especially considering the time of the season. They’ve won nine of their last 12 games, with two games remaining until the all-star break. Both of their remaining games are against two non-playoff teams in the Spurs and Pelicans.
