Thunder strike
Celtics nearly erase 18-point hole in fourth, but six-game win run ends
OKLAHOMA CITY — Celtics guard Derrick White stood in a corner of the locker room after his team’s 127-123 loss to the Thunder on Tuesday, the eyebrow above his left eye black, blue, bloody, and stitched up.
“I’ve gotten stitches on this eyebrow five times, at least,” he said, shaking his head.
White took a shot to the face on a drive early Tuesday, and the gnarly gash served as a visible and accurate representation of how Boston’s night unfolded. The Thunder, the upstarts of the Western Conference, did some things that most teams struggle to do against these mighty Celtics. They got to the rim with relative ease and converted baskets when they arrived. They swarmed Boston’s players and forced turnovers. They did not back down as they snapped the Celtics’ six-game winning streak.
Oklahoma City’s ascension has come a bit earlier than most thought, but this city is certainly embracing these players, and everyone involved seemed to thrive in the big-game atmosphere that simply has not been present in recent years.
“That’s a talented young team,” Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis said, “and I don’t believe this was some fluke game for them.”
Still, the Thunder’s dominant third quarter put the Celtics in an unusual position. Boston entered the night with just six losses, three of which came in overtime. But midway through the fourth quarter, the Thunder had surged to an 18-point lead and left the Celtics on the cusp of just their second blowout loss of the year.
So Boston’s players were at least pleased that they did not fold. Big comebacks were fairly common the last few seasons, but this team has been so dominant that they have rarely been required.
In this case, while the Thunder seemed focused on running out the clock rather than maintaining the mentality that helped them build their cushy lead, the Celtics roared back, twice pulling within two.
In the end, though, the Thunder hit timely free throws and the Celtics could not finish off their impressive rally.
“I liked our fight tonight,” Porzingis said. “And I think even though it’s a loss, it’s something that we’re going to take with us.”
As if completing such a big comeback against a talented team such as this one wasn’t challenging enough, the Celtics were also held back slightly by Porzingis’s size-16 sneakers.
After a pair of Josh Giddey free throws gave the Thunder a 125-121 lead, the Celtics pushed the ball upcourt and Jayson Tatum found Porzingis wide open in the left corner. It briefly appeared that his dart with 3.7 seconds left had pulled Boston within one, but the front of his right sneaker was on the line, just barely, making it a 2-point shot. The Celtics’ only hope at that point was a steal or a missed Thunder free throw, but neither happened.
“Honestly, the corner is a little bit dangerous for me,” he said. “I’m afraid of stepping out because my stance is a little bit wide, so I was a little bit afraid of stepping out and stepping on the line. And then I was right on the line. So, tough one. That would have made a little bit of difference there.”
He finished with 34 points and 10 rebounds and Jayson Tatum added 30 points and 13 rebounds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 36 points and 7 assists to lead the Thunder, who made 18 of 40 3-pointers and scored 50 points in the paint.
“[Gilgeous-Alexander] is crafty, changes pace, finds a way to get to his spots,” White said, “and they do a good job of spacing the floor and creating confusion and doing a lot of other things. So, a tough team to guard.”
The Celtics were ultimately undone by the Thunder’s 40point third quarter, but there was a good chance for them to avoid it.
With 8:52 left, Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul for pushing Porzingis. Most coaches would remove a player in that situation, but the Thunder rolled with their star, and the gamble paid off.
The guard got past Boston’s first line of defense with little trouble and got to the rim with ease, a feat few have accomplished so easily against the Celtics this season. He scored 12 points over the rest of the third quarter, all without picking up his fifth foul.
“We went at him almost every possession,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I thought he did a good job of staying out of it. They were bringing help.”
Gilgeous-Alexander was switching on screens, and the Celtics consistently sought matchups involving him guarding the 7-foot-3-inch Porzingis. There were a few rocky moments for the Thunder, but they did not prove to be harmful.
“We of course tried to attack him a bit more knowing that he was in foul trouble,” Porzingis said, “but he was being smart knowing that he needs to stay out there for his team. He wasn’t gambling as much — or maybe he was gambling but he wasn’t like trying to foul.”
The Celtics’ frustration, meanwhile, began to boil over. With 3:22 left, Mazzulla stormed on the court after a no-call involving Porzingis in the paint was followed by a Chet Holmgren shooting foul on a fastbreak. Mazzulla was whistled for a technical foul on the play.
The Celtics trailed, 110-92, with 6:30 left, and it felt as if they were just one or two bad possessions from perhaps calling it a night. But runs unfold suddenly at this level. White drilled a pair of 3-pointers during an 8-0 run that took just 53 seconds to transpire.
A pair of 3-pointers by Holmgren with the shot-clock running down at least kept the Celtics at a safe distance, but Oklahoma City’s powerful attack had lost some of its pep. After Tatum pulled the Celtics within 121-116 with a pair of free throws, he found White for a 3-pointer from the left corner that made it 121119 with 40.8 seconds left.
Jalen Williams answered at the other end, hitting a tough 8foot pull-up with 26.1 seconds to play.
After a scattered Boston possession, Porzingis was fouled with 15.1 seconds left, but the Celtics used up a lot of time to get there. His free throws once again made it a 2-point game.