Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's fourth-quarter surge and clutch play propelled OKC to a thrilling, comeback victory over the shorthanded Celtics.
The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled off yet another win on Thursday night, this time against an Eastern Conference contender in the Boston Celtics. And while the Celtics were without Jayson Tatum and Derrick White, the Thunder was also without Isaiah Hartenstein and Jalen Williams. Even so, it was Oklahoma City that came away with the 104-102 win, fueled by a fourth-quarter flurry.
A five-point swing in the final frame gave the Thunder a two-point lead, and it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander once again delivering in the clutch. In the fourth quarter alone, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting. It was another remarkable finish from him, as he scored nearly half of Oklahoma City’s points in the period to help seal the victory.
With the win, OKC is now 10-0 since the All-Star break in games Gilgeous-Alexander has played. Holistically, the Thunder shot better than the Celtics from the floor, though it converted on only 25% of its three-point attempts. Oklahoma City was also uncharacteristically sloppy with turnovers in the first half, but cleaned that up after the break. And while Boston did win the battle on the glass, it was not by as much as you might expect considering Hartenstein did not play.
Outside of Gilgeous-Alexander, nobody on the Thunder scored more than 15 points. Ajay Mitchell led that secondary group with 15, while Chet Holmgren added 14. No one else reached double figures.
From here, the Thunder will pivot to Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Timberwolves back in OKC as the homestand continues.
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