Plain and simple the Thunder have had no luck against the Boston Celtics. OKC entered their Sunday showdown having lost five straight against the C’s. That’s OKC’s longest losing streak against one team.
And to make matters worse, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed the game due to a hip contusion.
Former Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart got the scoring started early for the Celtics as he knocked down a three to give Boston an early lead. He had 19. One of five Celtics in double figures.
Terrance Ferguson, who started for SGA, landed an alley-oop to cut into Boston’s lead. Ferguson finished with just four points.
The before the half, Boston went on a massive 15-0 run where they couldn’t miss from deep. Gordon Hayward was one of the suspects during that run. He dropped 24 to lead Boston. Danilo Gallinari hit a triple to pull OKC to within 11 at the half. Gallo finished with 18. Which was as many as the Thunder trailed by in the second.
With just over a minute left, Chris Paul hit a jumper to give OKC a three point lead. He finished with 28 to lead all scores. He went 10-10 from the free throw line.
The Celtics managed to take the lead with under a minute to play off of a Jason Tatum layup.
But the play of the game happened and Boston’s luck ran out. As they tried to inbound the ball, up a point, Dennis Schroder came over and stole the ball from Kemba Walker on a double team. Schroder notched the easy layup to score his 27th point of the afternoon.
Beantown had one final shot to win it, but Tatum’s jumper was blocked late and time ran out as OKC picked up the 105-104 road win. Their 12th in their last 13 away from The Peake. OKC’s 18 point comeback was their 5th biggest of the season. Those five massive comebacks being down 18 or more are tied for the most by any team in the last 20 years.
Next up for the Thunder, they host Utah on Wednesday.
