NBA, Not even Boston stops Oklahoma: victory no. arrives for the Thunder. 15 in a row

Not even the Boston Celtics (26-10) manage to stop the run of the Oklahoma City Thunder (30-5), who have reached fifteen consecutive victories. At the Paycom Center, which has become a certainty (only two defeats of the season), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander&Co won the super challenge with the flavor of early finals with a score of 105-92. The Celtics dominated in the first half, then ran into a 27-point total in the second half (0 for Jaylen Brown, who had scored 21 in the first two quarters). OKC takes advantage of the opponent’s bad evening with the leadership of the number 2 (33 points, 48% from the field) and the clarity of Dort who closes the game in the last minutes with his baskets.

THE CELTICS QUARTET

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It is clear from the start that it is the match of the stars. In the first quarter, Brown and Tatum scored 19 points, Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams 16. But Okc’s team soon stopped shining. Boston continues to push, finding a lot of space both from the arc (14 triples attempted after 12 minutes) and in the area, where they continuously break through until they outclass the home team in free throws (14 attempts against 8). In the paint, supremacy also comes thanks to Porzingis’ centimeters, which Oklahoma struggles to contain. White, on the other hand, scores the +10 in the middle of the second quarter: first he mocks Wiggins with a fake shot, then he sets off towards the basket, supporting with his right hand. SGA tries to shake the Thunder, but it’s not enough. At the end of the first half the guests are ahead 65-55 with the four tenors already in double figures.

the turnaround

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A slow recovery (Boston scores only 15 points in the third period) suddenly lights up with a minute left in the penultimate quarter. Dort finds the first points of his game with a three-pointer, then Horford loses a bloody ball that triggers a counterattack closed by the Joe-Wiggins axis. The Thunder get to -1 with the comfortable triple from the number 21 coming off the bench and immediately after Williams scores the pass from the free throw. From this moment on the game takes a completely different direction. Having recovered, the Celtics remain paralyzed and Oklahoma takes advantage by launching one blow after another with their rediscovered stars: triple by Gilgeous-Alexander, blocked on the backboard by Tatum, dunk by Hartenstein on White’s head. With a run of 18-5 in six minutes, coach Daigneault’s boys escape at +9. Dort once again took care of closing the game, scoring 6 points (out of 14 in total) with two consecutive shots and making the Paycom Center explode with joy.

Oklahoma City: Gilgeous-Alexander 33 (11/23, 3/6, 8/8 TL), Wiggins 15, Dort 14. Rebounds: Gilgeous-Alexander 11. Assists: Gilgeous-Alexander 6.

Boston: Tatum 26 (7/17, 2/6, 10/12 TL), Brown 21, Porzingis 19. Rebounds: Tatum 10. Assists: Holiday 6.