In one of the most anticipated games of the NBA season thus far, the Oklahoma City Thunder took on the eastern-conference-leading Boston Celtics.
It was yet another chance for OKC to earn a spot atop the NBA’s proverbial food chain, and the Thunder wasted no time in setting the tone.
Behind an 11-point performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder raced out to a 31-29 lead after the first. Along with Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey also got off to a strong start. Giddey racked up eight points in the opening frame, pulling down three rebounds and dishing out an assist.
Boston responded with a 32-point second quarter, led by Jayson Tatum who brought his first-half total to 14, and Kristaps Porzingis, who scored 18 points and blocked two shots in the first two quarters.
The Celtics killed OKC from beyond the arc in the first half, knocking down 45% of their looks from three and getting contributions from up and down the roster with seven players connecting from deep.
OKC came out firing in the third. Behind an explosion of three-point shooting from Giddey, the back-and-forth affair turned into a masterpiece of offensive execution that resulted in a 40-point quarter from the Thunder.
Giddey was once-again joined by Gilgeous-Alexander in leading the offensive charge. Gilgeous-Alexander had 16 points in the quarter and brought his overall total to 33 with a three pointer that extended the OKC lead to 12 heading into the fourth quarter.
After trailing by as many as 18-points in the early stages of the fourth, Boston whittled the lead down to just two late in the quarter.
With less than 30 seconds remaining, Jalen Williams was matched up with Tatum following Boston cutting the lead to just two points. Williams took the ball to the rim and then pulled back generating enough space to get a shot over the outstretched arm of Tatum. Williams drained the shot, putting OKC up four with 26 seconds remaining.
Williams’ shot was followed by the teams trading points over the remainder of the game, but OKC still had the four point lead Williams gave them as the final buzzer sounded, and the Thunder secured a 127-123 win over one of the NBA’s best teams.
The win secures OKC’s spot as one of the NBA’s best teams, and closes the gap between the Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves for the top spot in the Western Conference.
The Thunder have made a habit of knocking off the best the NBA has to offer over the past few weeks, and if OKC can play like it has recently for the rest of the season, it will find itself playing deep into the summer months.
Good story on a great Thunder win!