When Wednesday’s battle between the Celtics and Thunder tipped off, it was always going to come down to the final 12 minutes. That’s usually how these heavyweight fights go.
Unfortunately for Boston, Oklahoma City outclassed and outworked the defending champs throughout the final frame to push towards a 118-112 win that wasn’t as close as the final score may suggest.
“Regardless of who we play, just focus on the details and the margins and the things that go into winning,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said.
It felt like the Celtics were chasing all night, floating between nine-point deficits before falling behind by as many as twelve midway through the third. But Boston was able to stay within fighting distance, much to the efforts of Jayson Tatum who finished with 33 points and Al Horford who knocked down six threes.
“I thought (Tatum) generated good looks for himself and for others throughout the game depending on how he was being defended,” Mazzulla said.
But after Horford hit his sixth and final triple to tie the game at 98, the Thunder tightened their grip, raising the physicality that the Celtics couldn’t duplicate — or weren’t allowed to, depending on who you talk to.
“You have to match the level of physicality,” Mazzulla said. “We foul a three-point shooter, we jump at a pump fake. There is a level of physicality you have to play with, but you have to do your best without fouling.”
Boston got into foul trouble early in the final frame as Oklahoma City entered the bonus with 6:48 remaining. It didn’t help that Jaylen Brown committed three fouls through the first six minutes of the fourth and he was subsequently forced to sit down with five fouls.
“Tougher team sets the rules,” Brown said. “I could be more physical, I could use my body more. I settled in some spots, but I didn’t meet the level of physicality tonight.
“I’m not even going to blame officiating or nothing like that. Just one of those games where I couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
With the Thunder being in the bonus for over half the quarter, they racked up free throws, shooting 18 of their 35 attempts from the charity stripe in the fourth.
“When they have multiple ball handlers and bigs that can generate free throws, you have to do your best to defend without fouling,” Mazzulla said.
Despite some arguably ticky-tack fouls on Brown and Boston, you still have to execute and make your shots — and that’s what Oklahoma City did. It closed like a team ready to contend for a championship.
“I think on the offensive end, we generated some really good looks,” Tatum said. “It’s a make or miss league. We have all the confidence in the world in these guys taking the right shot. We missed 43 threes tonight — that won’t always be the case.”
After Horford knotted the game at 98, Kenrich Williams immediately followed with a triple from the corner to retake the lead that the Thunder wouldn’t relinquish.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued to do his thing as he knocked down two free throws — the guard was 10-11 from the line — and a fadeaway jumper to cap off a quick 8-0 run that put Boston in the danger zone.
“They made some timely shots in some different areas,” Horford said. “You have to give them credit. They earned this win tonight.”
The Celtics did have one last breath as Brown drove the lane and threw down a thunderous dunk to cut the lead to four, but the Thunder didn’t waver on the home court of the defending champs.
Chet Holmgren settled things down, getting to the line to knock down a pair of free throws for his 23rd point of the night. Cason Wallace buried the dagger a few minutes later, hitting a triple and a reverse layup to push the lead to 11 with just over two minutes remaining. Ball game.
“That’s what happens when you trust the game plan, trust each other offensively and you do the little things to earn a win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
In the end, the Celtics just didn’t make enough plays to beat a team as talented as OKC, and Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t look like he broke a sweat as he was orchestrating his squad’s late-game performance.
It didn’t help that Brown clearly wasn’t feeling like himself tonight as he finished with a season-low 10 points and fouled out after cutting the lead to four. But he put himself in that position, and the Celtics didn’t make enough winning plays.
OKC just made everything look much more difficult for Boston. Whether it was pressure coming off a pick-and-roll or contesting a shot down low, the Celtics labored for nearly every point, especially in the fourth.
Boston also had trouble from beyond-the-arc in the final frame, shooting just 3-14. The Celtics tied the NBA record for three-point field goal attempts in a game with 63.
“I’m pretty happy with it,” Horford said. “I feel like the vast majority of them were good looks. If we make more of those, maybe it’s a different story.”
If Wednesday proved anything, Oklahoma City is the clear-cut favorite out West, and if the Celtics can get themselves back to the Finals come June, they’ll have their hands full with a team that seems to have the winning intangibles necessary to win a title.
“Because they’ve done what we’re trying to do, the games are going to be heightened,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “There is no better test in the NBA. Something we get to test ourselves against, and I guess we passed two tests so far.”
Fourth quarter performances like the Thunder had tonight are ones that separate them from the rest of the pack. Whether it was getting to the line, hitting timely shots and getting big stops, the Thunder did a mix of everything to leave Boston with a win.
They played like a world champion — the Celtics played like the team in their way.
