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Key Moment
Boston was an inch away from putting the Thunder in a very uncomfortable place, and quite possibly sending them to their 15th consecutive loss.
The Celtics trailed by 10 with just 68 seconds left in the game but stormed back into contention by rattling off seven straight points over only 13.1 seconds of action. They were down 110-107 following Marcus Smart’s two free throws with 47.9 seconds left.
Moments later, Boston nearly intercepted a pass to create what would have been at the very least a 3-on-2 possession going the other way in a hurry, and it might’ve even been a 4-on-2 possession.
Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart blitzed Luguentz Dort in the backcourt and the versatile wing picked up his dribble before looping an extremely dangerous pass about 20 feet forward toward his teammate, Darius Bazley. As the ball floated through the air, Evan Fournier charged in from behind Bazley and reached out with his right hand to break the pass up. He missed, if only by an inch.
Rather than Fournier taking the ball in the other direction via an interception, Bazley caught it off of his chest, turned toward the basket and took two hard dribbles before rising up from the middle of the paint. Unfortunately for Boston, no one was there to contest Bazley, and he hammered home a dunk to push Oklahoma City ahead by five with 38.6 seconds left.
Boston continued to push for a comeback but never had possession of the ball with a chance to tie or pull ahead. The Thunder wound up finishing off a 119-115 victory.
Key Player
Jaylen Brown wasn’t sure why his entire team didn’t bring it Tuesday night. He was one of the few who did.
Brown finished with a monster double-double that kept the Celtics within striking distance on a night during which they struggled as a team. He recorded game highs of 39 points and 11 rebounds, making his ninth double-double of the season and his second double-double in the last 20 days that included at least 32 points.
Brown shot 13-for-26 from the field and a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. He also contributed four steals and three assists on the night.
Box Score Nuggets
- Jaylen Brown led the game in both scoring (39 points) and rebounding (11 boards).
- Payton Pritchard scored a career-high 28 points on 9-for-16 shooting.
- Luguentz Dort led Oklahoma City with 24 points.
- The Thunder outrebounded Boston 51-39.
- Oklahoma City won the game despite committing 27 turnovers.
- Evan Fournier and Marcus Smart each individually matched OKC's team total in steals with five apiece.
- Luke Kornet came off of Boston's bench to total 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.
- Boston shot just 11-for-49 (22.4 percent) from long distance.
- Both teams scored nine fast break points.
- Brown shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.
- Isaiah Roby and Ty Jerome each tallied 15 points off of OKC's bench.
Quote of the Night
Jaylen Brown on what Boston must do over its final 10 games