Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, left, prepares to shoot in front on Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) through the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
OKLAHOMA CITY — That’s one other signature win for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points and Oklahoma City held off the NBA-leading Boston Celtics 127-123 on Tuesday night for its fifth straight victory.
Oklahoma City has won eight of nine. During that stretch, the Thunder have beaten defending champion Denver twice, ended the Los Angeles’ Clippers win streak at nine, beaten Western Conference leader Minnesota and now topped the Celtics.
Shai was LOCKED IN tonight.
36 PTS
6 REB
7 AST
14-22 FGM@okcthunder top Boston at home! pic.twitter.com/zXFZ8YVnvF— NBA (@NBA) January 3, 2024
This one was tougher than among the others. The Thunder beat Minnesota by 23 and Denver by 26 on the road last week.
This time, the Celtics trimmed an 18-point deficit within the fourth quarter to 2 before Oklahoma City held on.
“I assumed we were pretty resilient tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I assumed we took some punches.”
Josh Giddey had 23 points, eight rebounds and 6 assists, and Chet Holmgren added 14 points, seven assists and 4 blocks for the Thunder, who entered the night with the league’s fourth-best record.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points and Jayson Tatum had 30 for the Celtics, who had won six straight and 11 of 12.
“I assumed it was two great teams,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “The sport went about how I assumed it will go so far as it coming right down to the last couple of possessions.”
Boston led 61-58 at halftime behind 18 points from Porzingis. Gilgeous-Alexander kept the Thunder in it with 17.
The Thunder got off to a powerful start within the second half, and Giddey’s deep 3-pointer gave Oklahoma City a 76-69 lead. It got so frustrating for the Celtics that Mazzulla was called for a technical through the third quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting within the period to assist Oklahoma City take a 98-86 edge into the fourth.
Oklahoma City began hot within the fourth. Jalen Williams took off on a quick break, cocked the ball back along with his right hand and brought down the hammer on a dunk to provide the Thunder a 108-90 lead.
The Celtics rallied late. Derrick White hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining to chop Boston’s deficit to 121-119. Williams quickly responded with a brief floater to push the lead back to 4.
Porzingis was fouled with 15.2 seconds left, and he made each free throws to chop Oklahoma City’s result in 123-121.
Giddey was fouled with 12.1 seconds left. His first free throw rolled in and his second was perfect to place the Thunder up 4.
Porzingis hit a shot deep within the left corner with 3.7 seconds left. It was called a 2-pointer since it was ruled his foot was on the road, and that was upheld upon review, so Boston still trailed by two.
Gilgeous-Alexander was fouled with 2.8 seconds remaining. With the gang chanting “M-V-P!” he made each free throws to place the sport away.
“Opened up a pleasant lead within the fourth quarter they usually kept coming,” Daigneault said. “They’re obviously a extremely talented team. I assumed we were slightly sloppy on each ends of the ground attempting to slam the door on that game, but then made big plays down the stretch and executed with poise.”
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host the Utah Jazz on Friday.
Thunder: Visit the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
