OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder were on FIRE on Tuesday night after they dominated the NBA-leading Boston Celtics with a final score of 150-117. The Thunder set a record for points since the team moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, with the previous mark being 149 points in 2013.
Leading the charge for the Thunder was Josh Giddey, who scored a season-high 25 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is ranked fourth in scoring this season with 30.8 points per game, missed the game due to a non-COVID illness.
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However, Luguentz Dort stepped up with 23 points and 5 rebounds, and Jalen Williams, Tre Mann, and Isaiah Joe each added 21 points for Oklahoma City. The team shot an impressive 59.2% from the field and made 20 of their 40 3-point attempts. Read more: Latest NBA results, summary; winners and loser on December 28
For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 56 points, with Brown scoring 29 and Tatum adding 27 points and 6 rebounds. Malcolm Brogdon contributed 17 points off the bench, and Payton Pritchard finished with 17 points as well.
However, the Celtics were without key defender Robert Williams due to an injured left knee and struggled on defense, allowing the Thunder to lead by as many as 37 points late in the fourth quarter.
In terms of team stats, Oklahoma City dominated in the paint, scoring 70 points on 35 of 54 shooting, while the Celtics scored 46 points on 23 of 40 shooting. The Thunder also had an advantage in second chance points, with a 16 to 13 edge over the Celtics, and in fast break points, with a 21 to 9 advantage.
In the end, you could see that this win was a results of a complete team effort for the OKC, who outplayed the Celtics in every aspect of the game. “We have to play with a sense of humility every night knowing your opponent wants to beat you,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “We have to match that, and we didn’t. We got outplayed in every aspect of the game.”
Next up, the Celtics will face off against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, while the Thunder will take on the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
NBA RESULTS FROM LAST NIGHT
Tuesday’s Games
Oklahoma City Thunder 150, beat Boston Celtics 117
Milwaukee Bucks 123, beat Washington Wizards 113
Sacramento Kings 117, beat Utah Jazz 115
