It’s been a topic around the NBA — players and coaches in the West saying they don’t fear the Thunder. It’s not simply a hot take in search of clicks, a couple of scouts/front office people have told NBC Sports that they see Oklahoma City as a regular season team that can be beat in the playoffs.
Someone might want to ask the Boston Celtics about that.
Oklahoma City went into Boston, had their defense excel in a playoff-like environment, and went on a late 15-4 run to pull away and beat the Celtics 118-112.
“We’re growing up, right before the world’s eyes,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said in his walk-off interview after scoring 34 on the night.
With the win, the Thunder clinched a top-six seed in the West and a playoff spot. Not that it was in doubt, Oklahoma City has an 11.5-game lead over second-place Denver in the West.
This showdown with Boston was a potential NBA Finals preview — it’s the betting favorite matchup according to our partners at BetMGM — and had the feel of a playoff game, not just because of the talent on the court but because of the high level of defense played by both teams.
There was a sequence where Gilgeous-Alexander was being hounded by Jrue Holiday, got the switch on a pick but All-Defense Derrick White picked him up, so SGA tried to free himself around another pick and this time Jaylen Brown jumped out on him — the depth of the Boston defense is why they are the defending champs. However, the Thunder still scored on that possession because of good ball movement and an Isaiah Joe 3-pointer.
On the other end, Cason Wallace was the primary defender on Jaylen Brown, and in the 4:28 he was on him, Brown shot 0-of-4. Brown finished the night 5-of-15 shooting (0-of-5 from 3) with 10 points, and he also fouled out. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 33 points but was 4-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Boston launched 3-pointers all night but the Thunder did a solid job contesting them and Boston was just 20-of-63 (317%).
The game was tight until OKC went on a 15-4 run in the second half of the fourth quarter, and Boston could never make the ground. Oklahoma City was aided by Chet Holmgren having a big night with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Don’t read too much into this as a playoff preview, the Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis and the Thunder were without Jalen Williams. However, this game did show Oklahoma City can be a matchup problem for Boston because the Thunder may be the one team that can match the Celtics’ size, depth and defense at their best. This was one of the better played games of the season, and if we get six or seven more like it in June, true basketball fans everywhere will be happy.
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