The NBA world saw two of the best teams in the NBA face off as the OKC Thunder traveled to the TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics on the road. The Thunder held on to a 118-112 win in a very close game decided in the fourth quarter of the game.
OKC were without the No. 2 option Jalen Williams but it wasn’t a problem. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made his MVP case stronger with 34 points (11-20 FG), five rebounds, and seven assists. Chet Holmgren contributed 23 points (8-14 FG) and 15 rebounds while Cason Wallace scored 14 points (5-6 FG). Lu Dort (13 PTS), Isaiah Hartenstein (11 PTS), Isaiah Joe (11 PTS), and Kenrich Williams (10 PTS) all scored in double digits.
This win has convinced fans that OKC are the title favorites and Shai should win MVP.
“That’s a great win for OKC. 2 4Q wins against Boston and SGA was the best guy both times. Doesn’t seem like the Celts can guard him. (Maybe nobody can.) The Celts need to look in the mirror a little — 62 threes is just absurd even with no KP. You can’t win 4 rounds that way,” said Bill Simmons about how much better OKC looked.
“Would be a little surprised at this point if OKC doesn’t win the title this year,” said one fan predicting the first NBA title parade in Oklahoma City.
“Keep talking about how this OKC team is overrated and can’t win a title. Without one of its top defenders and its second-best player, the Thunder just went into Boston and beat the Celtics,” said one fan wanting people to take OKC as seriously as possible.
“At some point, you have to stop with the qualifiers & yeah buts, The Oklahoma City Thunder are the best team in the NBA as of this moment. Doesn’t mean they’ll win the title but the excuses about ‘they ain’t that good’ need to stop,” said another fan begging fans to stop casting doubt on a juggernaut OKC squad.
“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just walked into the defending champs’ crib and walked them down… MVP,” said one fan hailing Shai as the league MVP.
“Shai, stop flopping and play basketball,” said one fan, highlighting the biggest negative aspect of Shai’s playstyle.
The Celtics simply didn’t get enough production from their roster. The only notable absence was Kristaps Porzingis, with Jayson Tatum leading Boston with 33 points (12-23 FG), eight rebounds, and eight assists. Derrick White had a great performance with 22 points (7-14 FG), eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, and three blocks. Al Horford held his own with 18 points (6-14 FG) and 10 rebounds.
Jaylen Brown disappeared with just 10 points (5-15 FG), which likely was the difference-making factor in this loss. It was a fiercely competitive game, but Brown lacked in production, which was all OKC needed to eke out this win.
This was a tense clash between the teams with the second and third-best record in the NBA and might’ve been a Finals preview for the season.
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