OKLAHOMA CITY – This is another record win for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points and Oklahoma City defeated the NBA-leading Boston Celtics 127-123 on Tuesday night to secure its fifth straight victory.
Oklahoma City has won eight of nine games. In that span, the Thunder have beaten defending champion Denver twice, ended the Los Angeles Clippers' winning streak at nine, beaten Western Conference leader Minnesota and are now atop the Celtics.
This one was harder than some of the others. The Thunder beat Minnesota by 23 and Denver by 26 on the road last week.
This time, the Celtics cut an 18-point deficit to two in the fourth quarter before Oklahoma City held on.
“I thought we were pretty resilient tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought we took a few hits.”
Josh Giddey had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Chet Holmgren contributed 14 points, seven assists and four blocks for the Thunder, who entered the night with the fourth-best record in the league.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points and Jayson Tatum 30 for the Celtics, who had won six straight and 11 of 12.
“I thought they were two great teams,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “The game went exactly as I thought it would, right down to the last few possessions.”
Boston led 61-58 at halftime behind 18 points from Porzingis. Gilgeous-Alexander kept the Thunder in control with 17.
The Thunder got off to a strong start in the second half and Giddey's low 3-pointer gave Oklahoma City a 76-69 lead. Things got so frustrating for the Celtics that Mazzulla was called for a technical error in the third quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting in the period, helping Oklahoma City take a 98-86 lead into the fourth round.
Oklahoma City started hot in the fourth period. Jalen Williams started a fast break, cocked the ball back with his right hand and brought it down with a dunk, giving the Thunder a 108-90 lead.
The Celtics rallied late. Derrick White hit a three-pointer with 41 seconds left to cut Boston's deficit to 121-119. Williams responded quickly with a short floater to extend the lead back to four.
Porzingis was fouled with 15.2 seconds left and he made both free throws to cut Oklahoma City's lead to 123-121.
Giddey was fouled with 12.1 seconds left. His first free throw rolled in and his second was perfect to bring the Thunder within four.
Porzingis shot deep into the left corner with 3.7 seconds left. It was called a 2-point throw because his foot was determined to be on the line, and this was confirmed upon review, so Boston still trailed by two points.
Gilgeous-Alexander was fouled with 2.8 seconds left. As the crowd chants “MVP!” He made both free throws to decide the game.
“I got a nice lead in the fourth quarter and they kept growing,” Daigneault said. “They're obviously a really talented team. I thought we were a little sloppy on both ends of the court trying to close the door on this game, but then we made big plays down the stretch and executed them with confidence.”
NEXT
Celtics: Host the Utah Jazz on Friday.
Thunder: Visit the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
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