On Tuesday night, the No. 13 Oklahoma City Thunder came to Boston ready to win. The Thunder ended a 14-game losing streak when they beat the No. 6 Celtics (119-115). The Celtics, who now have a 3-game losing streak, struggled to keep energy up. Along with struggling to keep up the energy, the Celtics were without Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, and Rob Williams.
The Thunder Outscore the Celtics
In Tuesday night’s matchup, the Thunder outscored the Celtics in three out of the four quarters. In the first quarter, the Thunder outscored the Celtics 29-24. In the second quarter, the Thunder outscored the Celtics 26-25, the score being 55-49, the Thunder on top. In the third quarter, the Celtics started to make their way back, outscoring the thunder 23-29, ending the third quarter tied 78-78. In the fourth quarter, the Celtics started to fall behind again and were unable to come back. Exploding for 41 points in the fourth quarter, the Thunder again outscored the Celtics.
The leading scorers for the Thunder on Tuesday night were Darius Bazley and Luguentz Dort. Bazley played 38 minutes, the most out of anyone on the team during this matchup. Six assists short of a triple-double, Bazley had 11 rebounds and 21 points. Dort ended his night with 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Making over 50% of his free throws, Dort went 11/13 from the line and 3/8 from the three-point line.
Brown and Pritchard Combine for 67 Points
Despite losing, both Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard played a great game. Being without Tatum, one of the leading scorers, meant others had to put up more points. Pritchard has been on fire for the Celtics lately, especially from the three-point line. Shooting from deep, Pritchard was able to sink 4 three-pointers during this matchup. From the field, Pritchard went 9/16 and 6/7 from the free-throw line. At the end of the matchup, Pritchard had reached a career-high 23 points, along with 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
Brown exploded for 39 points against the Thunder team. At the end of the second quarter, Brown had scored 18 points, doubling that by the end of the game. For 11 more points, Brown went off in the third quarter, having 29 points. At the final buzzer, Brown had ended with 39 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists. Between Brown and Pritchard, they were able to put up more than half of the points scored by the Celtics team during this matchup.
Up Next
On Thursday April 29th, the Thunder will host New Orleans Pelicans at 9:00pm. Wednesday, April 30th at 7:30 pm the Celtics will host the Charlotte Hornets.
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