Surging Oklahoma City Thunder hold off Boston Celtics،
OKLAHOMA CITY – Add another contender to the list of impressive recent conquests for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder built a big lead over Boston and held off a late comeback attempt for a 127-123 victory Tuesday night over the Celtics, owners of the NBA's best record.
Oklahoma City has won eight of its last nine games, putting the Thunder in second place in the Western Conference with a 23-9 record. This period was marked by victories over elite competition, including the first place teams of both conferences (the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Celtics) and the defending champion Denver Nuggets, whom Oklahoma City defeated twice on the road.
“They're a young, talented team, and I don't think it's a fluke for them,” Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis said after his 34-point, 10-rebound performance wasn't enough to stop the streak. of six consecutive victories for Boston. be broken. “They played really well. They're at the top of the West, right? So they're a really good team to play against and a really good experience for us.”
The Thunder's five-game winning streak includes a 23-point home win over the Timberwolves and a 26-point road loss to the Nuggets. Oklahoma City appeared to be on the verge of another lopsided victory against the Celtics, going up 18 with 8:25 left in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma City, which boasts the NBA's second-youngest roster, is building a case to be considered a contender after improving from 14 wins last season to 40-42. The Thunder have the fourth-best record in the league, ranking third in net rating (plus-8.5), fourth in defensive rating (110.7) and fifth in offensive rating (119.2).
The Thunder, however, have no interest in discussing whether he already has a place in the contender conversation.
“It shows that we really play together and prioritize winning over anything else,” Rookie of the Year favorite Chet Holmgren said of the Thunder's strong streak after his contribution from 14 points, 7 assists and 4 blocks. Tuesday. “But in the long run it doesn't really prove anything, you could say, or it doesn't satisfy anyone.
“We know we have a long way to go. We're 32 games into the season, so we still have 50 games left. We have a lot of lessons to learn, a lot of lessons that we've already learned and that we have already learned. I have to kind of keep that in the back of our minds.”
Oklahoma City superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's third-leading scorer, turned in another spectacular performance with 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting. However, his only points in the fourth quarter came on a few free throws as the Celtics cut the lead, making it a one-possession game in the final minute.
Gilgeous-Alexander's biggest plays down the stretch were feeding center Holmgren for a 3-pointer with 2:06 left and setting a screen to free forward Jalen Williams for a driving floater with 26 seconds to play.
“He's learned how to impact the game in a different way and that's why he's a really good player,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of Gilgeous-Alexander, who also had six rebounds and seven assists. “He’s not just a hired scorer.”
Daigneault called the final minutes of the game “sloppy” for the Thunder, a description echoed by some Oklahoma City players. They also expressed their belief that having to fight down the stretch to get the win against the Celtics presented some of the lessons Holmgren referenced.
“I think we all stay in the moment and I think that’s why we’ve been able to improve,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We just stay in the moment, attack the day, attack the program in front of us. Then we all have the right intentions and want to win at the end of the day.”
