OKC Thunder Come out on Top in Defensive Battle Against the Boston Celtics

It took a while to get hot but the Thunder picked up its scoring and ran away with a double-digit victory over the Boston Celtics.

Jan 5, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots the ball defended by Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

A heavyweight battle between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics resulted in a 105-92 victory for the home team. This victory extended OKC's winning streak to 15 games.

There's a short list of teams atop the NBA that appear to be capable of competing with OKC and Boston is one of them. That showed early on with the Celtics jumping out to an early lead. Guard Jaylen Brown posted a hot first half, ending that time with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting.

The duo of Brown and star forward Jayson Tatum, as usual, was effective throughout the game. Despite only combining for 32 of the team's 65 points in the first half, the second half would result in a different story.

Both teams' identities revolve around their ability to defend, which was apparent late in the game, as well as its entirety. The Thunder

A back-and-forth first quarter kept the game within reach for Oklahoma City. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Boston duo exchanged buckets, leaving the Thunder trailing 35-32 at the quarter's end. Boston pulled away to end the second part of the half, however, leading 65-55 at the end of the first half.

For the second straight game, guard Aaron Wiggins saw valuable minutes and, in turn, was a volume scorer for Oklahoma City. He ended the first half with 10 points and finished with 15 when the buzzer sounded.

Boston's defense was a perfect match for the Thunder in this battle, effectively limiting everyone but Gilgeous-Alexander. Jalen Williams had difficulty knocking down shots, finishing the game with only 10 points. Despite other's struggles, Gilgeous-Alexander was still finding his shots. He saw defensive looks from Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, but Gilgeous-Alexander still managed to reach his usual scoring output.

The high-intensity defense and physicality on that end made hitting shots from the perimeter challenging for both teams. OKC shot 16-for-38 from the perimeter and Boston 9-for-46. OKC has faced issues making perimeter shots all season long, but the Celtics have been slightly better all season. OKC picked up its perimeter efficiency in the fourth quarter but, on the other end, Boston struggled until the game was over.

Closing the gap in the third quarter would be vital for the Thunder to give themselves a better opportunity to take the lead in the fourth quarter, which Boston made a challenge. The Celtics' lead hovered around 10 points for most of the third quarter, disallowing Oklahoma City to generate any runs or momentum until the end of the quarter.

A late third-quarter run was jumpstarted by a corner triple from guard Lu Dort, followed by a late shot-clock layup from Gilgeous-Alexander after a string of offensive rebounds. An Al Horford turnover shortly after would result in a Wiggins fast-break layup. Tatum tacked on two technical foul free throws to end it, along with a mid-range jumper from Kristaps Porzingis, to give the Celtics an 80-76 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

OKC got out to a quick start in the fourth quarter, immediately taking the lead. None of the first nine points scored by the Thunder to propel them ahead of Boston were scored by Gilgeous-Alexander, something that hadn't occurred at any other point. Cason Wallace scored four straight and Williams finally managed to get to the free-throw line.

The Thunder continued its run thanks to Gilgeous-Alexander and more suffocating defense, headlined by a contested step-back triple by the OKC star. A sequence with a Gilgeous-Alexander block on Tatum and a dunk from Isaiah Hartenstein extended the Thunder lead, generating that much-needed momentum.

Gilgeous-Alexander played the part of a superstar against Boston, finishing with 33 points, 11 rebounds and six assists on 11-for-23 shooting. His defense matched the intensity the Thunder brought as well.

OKC had to fend off the Celtics until the final buzzer but the perimeter finally became its friend. Three triples from Dort in the final two and a half minutes sealed the deal and Dort finished with 14 at the game's end.

The Thunder have another tough battle in its next game, taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers at 6:00 p.m. CT on Jan. 8 on the road.

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