Game ID: 22300462
Boston Celtics @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Tuesday, January 2, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
OKC 31 27 40 29 127BOS 29 32 25 37 123
BOS @ OKC ScoutingBOS @ OKC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
OKC availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restOUT Micić missed 2 since 12/21, returns tonight: 16 min (133% of 12)
OKC availability going into 12/27 · back-to-backBACK Micić back 12/18 after 2, 12 min since (97% of 12)
OKC availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 2 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Micić back 12/18 after 2, 12 min since (97% of 12)
OKC availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 3 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Micić back 12/26 after 2, 15 min since (124% of 12)
OKC availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 4 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Micić back 12/26 after 2, 14 min since (117% of 12)
OKC availability going into 1/03 · back-to-backOUT Dieng missed 5 since 12/26, out tonight
BACK Micić back 12/26 after 2, 13 min since (110% of 12)
OKC availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 6 since 12/26, out tonight
OKC availability going into 1/08 · 2 days' restOUT Dieng missed 7 since 12/26, out tonight
OKC availability going into 1/10 · 1 day's restOUT Dieng missed 8 since 12/26, out tonight
BOS availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Kornet missed 6 since 12/14, out tonight
BACK Queta back 12/15 after 4, 19 min since (174% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 12/15 after 2, 12 min since (112% of 10)
BOS availability going into 12/28 · 2 days' restOUT Kornet missed 7 since 12/14, out tonight
NEW Queta 11 to 17 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/29 · back-to-backOUT Kornet missed 8 since 12/14, returns tonight: 33 min (227% of 15)
NEW Queta 11 to 18 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restBACK Kornet back 12/29 after 8, 33 min since (227% of 15)
NEW Queta 11 to 17 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restBACK Kornet back 12/29 after 8, 25 min since (169% of 15)
BOS availability going into 1/05 · 2 days' restBACK Kornet back 12/29 after 8, 22 min since (146% of 15)
BOS availability going into 1/06 · back-to-backBACK Kornet back 12/29 after 8, 19 min since (129% of 15)
BOS availability going into 1/08 · 1 day's restBACK Kornet back 12/29 after 8, 18 min since (125% of 15)
NEW Brissett 10 to 18 min over the last 4
BOS availability going into 1/10 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 2 since 1/06, out tonight
NEW Brissett 10 to 19 min over the last 4
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 111, shooting 53 percent and 42 from three, 19 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 34 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 113, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Tatum at 28 and Porziņģis at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-7 a night and OKC minus-1 and the line, where Boston takes 25 free throws a game to OKC's 19. Call it OKC 119, Boston 118, Boston keeping it close.
12/26 vs MIN 129-106 — OKC notes
OKC won 129-106. OKC shot 60% (49 of 81) to MIN's 47%, 18 of 39 from three, and got to the line 16 times to MIN's 32. OKC turned it over 11 times to MIN's 21. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 34 (14 of 19, 0 of 3 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Jal. Williams added 21, Dort 20. The hinge was Q4, 27-15: a lead of 11 became 23. Giddey was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
12/27 vs NYK 129-120 — OKC notes
OKC won 129-120. OKC shot 54% (49 of 90) to NYK's 50%, 14 of 32 from three, and got to the line 22 times to NYK's 30. OKC turned it over 4 times to NYK's 18. The glass went 27-40 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 36 (13 of 23, 2 of 5 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Jal. Williams added 36, Holmgren 22. The hinge was Q1, 38-25: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 17. Dort was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
12/29 @ DEN 119-93 — OKC notes
OKC won 119-93. OKC shot 51% (46 of 91) to DEN's 42%, 12 of 35 from three. OKC turned it over 11 times to DEN's 16. The glass went 51-36 for them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 40 (14 of 20, 2 of 3 from three, 10 of 10 at the line); Holmgren added 24, Giddey 12. The hinge was Q3, 34-20: a lead of 6 became 20, and the lead reached 26. Dort was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
12/31 vs BKN 124-108 — OKC notes
OKC won 124-108. OKC shot 54% (45 of 83) to BKN's 38%, 18 of 33 from three, and got to the line 20 times to BKN's 31. OKC turned it over 13 times to BKN's 6, and BKN turned those into 9 steals. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 24 (7 of 15, 9 of 9 at the line); Giddey added 20, Holmgren 18. The hinge was Q3, 30-23: a lead of 3 became 10, and the lead reached 21. Holmgren was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
1/02 vs BOS 127-123 — OKC notes
OKC won 127-123. OKC shot 53% (48 of 91) to BOS's 46%, 18 of 40 from three, and got to the line 17 times to BOS's 29. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 36 (14 of 22, 3 of 5 from three, 5 of 8 at the line); Giddey added 23, Jal. Williams 16. The hinge was Q3, 40-25: OKC came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 12, and the lead reached 18. OKC trailed 58-61 at the half and won the second half 69-62. Giddey was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
1/03 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 122, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 23 free throws a game; Young at 29 and Murray at 23 a game. Without Hunter (5 straight), Krejčí (4 straight). 2 days' rest. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 110, shooting 54 percent and 45 from three, 18 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 34 and Jal. Williams at 20 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 45 percent from three to Atlanta's 33 and the defense, OKC allowing 110 a night to Atlanta's 122. Call it OKC 120, Atlanta 118, Atlanta keeping it close.
1/05 @ BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Brooklyn comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 120, shooting 40 percent and 27 from three, 24 free throws a game; Cam. Johnson at 15 and Bridges at 15 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Simmons (28 straight), Walker IV (17 straight), Clowney (4 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 117, shooting 53 percent and 45 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 34 and Jal. Williams at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 45 percent from three to Brooklyn's 27 and the glass, where Brooklyn has been plus-2 a night and OKC minus-4. Call it OKC 120, Brooklyn 114.
1/08 @ WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 122, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 15 free throws a game; Kuzma at 23 and Avdija at 16 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 15 a night. Without Shamet (2 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 118, shooting 53 percent and 43 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Holmgren at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where OKC has been minus-4 a night and Washington minus-15 and the arc, OKC at 43 percent from three to Washington's 34. Call it OKC 122, Washington 115.
1/10 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 112, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 28 free throws a game; Adebayo at 23 and Herro at 19 a game. Without Butler III (4 straight), Martin (6 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 128 a night and allowing 125, shooting 55 percent and 46 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 32 and Jal. Williams at 19 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, OKC at 46 percent from three to Miami's 34 and the defense, Miami allowing 112 a night to OKC's 125. Call it OKC 117, Miami 116, Miami keeping it close.
12/25 @ LAL 126-115 — BOS notes
BOS won 126-115. BOS shot 51% (46 of 91) to LAL's 48%, 13 of 42 from three, and went to the line 28 times to LAL's 21 — 21 points from the stripe to their 16. Porziņģis led with 28 (11 of 19, 2 of 8 from three, 4 of 7 at the line); Tatum added 25, Brown 19. The hinge was Q1, 32-23: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 18. Porziņģis was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
12/28 vs DET 128-122 — BOS notes
BOS won 128-122 in 1 overtime. BOS shot 48% (48 of 99) to DET's 48%, 11 of 39 from three, and went to the line 25 times to DET's 19 — 21 points from the stripe to their 12. BOS turned it over 12 times to DET's 18. The glass went 43-57 against them. Porziņģis led with 35 (13 of 21, 3 of 9 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Tatum added 31, White 23. The hinge was Q3, 35-16: BOS came in trailing by 19 and left it level. BOS trailed 47-66 at the half and won the second half 81-56. Porziņģis was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
12/29 vs TOR 120-118 — BOS notes
BOS won 120-118. BOS shot 49% (43 of 88) to TOR's 46%, 17 of 39 from three. BOS turned it over 16 times to TOR's 4, and TOR turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 52-38 for them. Brown led with 31 (11 of 16, 5 of 6 from three); White added 21, Kornet 20. The hinge was Q1, 35-20: from level to 15 ahead, and the lead reached 20. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
12/31 @ SAS 134-101 — BOS notes
BOS won 134-101. BOS shot 54% (51 of 95) to SAS's 43%, 15 of 42 from three, and went to the line 22 times to SAS's 12 — 17 points from the stripe to their 9. The glass went 57-39 for them. Tatum led with 25 (10 of 17, 5 of 10 from three); Brown added 24, White 17. The hinge was Q3, 40-23: a lead of 12 became 29, and the lead reached 37. Porziņģis was the night's best plus/minus at +33.
1/02 @ OKC 123-127 — BOS notes
BOS lost 123-127. BOS shot 46% (42 of 92) to OKC's 53%, 15 of 40 from three, and went to the line 29 times to OKC's 17 — 24 points from the stripe to their 13. Porziņģis led with 34 (12 of 18, 2 of 3 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Tatum added 30, White 19. Q4 was theirs, 37-29, the deficit cut from 12 to 4, but the other 3 periods went 98-86 against them. Holiday's -15 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/05 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 117, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 25 free throws a game; Porziņģis at 28 and Tatum at 28 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. 2 days' rest. Utah comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; Markkanen at 23 and Sexton at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Hendricks (4 straight), Horton-Tucker (3 straight), Juzang (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Boston 122, Utah 116.
1/06 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 135 a night and allowing 118, shooting 55 percent and 41 from three, 26 free throws a game; Haliburton at 22 and Turner at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Nembhard (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 113, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 26 free throws a game; Tatum at 29 and Porziņģis at 26 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 41 percent from three to Boston's 36 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Indiana plus-0. Call it Indiana 123, Boston 121, Boston keeping it close.
1/08 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 121, shooting 53 percent and 36 from three, 26 free throws a game; Haliburton at 21 and Mathurin at 20 a game. Without Nembhard (3 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Tatum at 31 and Brown at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-12 a night and Indiana minus-4 and the defense, Boston allowing 109 a night to Indiana's 121. Call it Boston 122, Indiana 120, Indiana keeping it close.
1/10 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 112, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Tatum at 31 and Brown at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 106, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Edwards at 27 and Towns at 25 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and Minnesota minus-1. Call it Boston 117, Minnesota 110.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSAH A. Horford
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
KP K. Porziņģis
LK L. Kornet
PP P. Pritchard
PO Porzingis
SH S. Hauser
OKCAW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IJ I. Joe
JG J. Giddey
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
JW Jay. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
MI Micic
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
VM V. Micić
BOS/OKC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Gilgeous-Alexander scores 36 as Thunder top league-leading Celtics for 5th straight win
OKLAHOMA CITY -- — That's another signature win for the Oklahoma City Thunder .
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points and Oklahoma City held off the NBA-leading Boston Celtics 127-123 on Tuesday night for its fifth straight victory.
Oklahoma City has won eight of nine. During that stretch, the Thunder have beaten defending champion Denver twice, ended the Los Angeles’ Clippers win streak at nine, beaten Western Conference leader Minnesota and now topped the Celtics.
This one was tougher than some of the others. The Thunder beat Minnesota by 23 and Denver by 26 on the road last week.
This time, the Celtics trimmed an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to two before Oklahoma City held on.
“I thought we were pretty resilient tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought we took some punches."
Josh Giddey had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Chet Holmgren added 14 points, seven assists and four blocks for the Thunder, who entered the night with the league’s fourth-best record.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points and Jayson Tatum had 30 for the Celtics, who had won six straight and 11 of 12.
“I thought it was two great teams," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. "The game went about how I thought it would go as far as it coming down to the last couple of possessions.”
Boston led 61-58 at halftime behind 18 points from Porzingis. Gilgeous-Alexander kept the Thunder in it with 17.
The Thunder got off to a strong start in the second half, and Giddey's deep 3-pointer gave Oklahoma City a 76-69 lead. It got so frustrating for the Celtics that Mazzulla was called for a technical during the third quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting in the period to help Oklahoma City take a 98-86 edge into the fourth.
Oklahoma City started hot in the fourth. Jalen Williams took off on a fast break, cocked the ball back with his right hand and brought down the hammer on a dunk to give the Thunder a 108-90 lead.
The Celtics rallied late. Derrick White hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining to cut Boston's deficit to 121-119. Williams quickly responded with a short floater to push the lead back to four.
Porzingis was fouled with 15.2 seconds left, and he made both free throws to cut Oklahoma City's lead to 123-121.
Giddey was fouled with 12.1 seconds left. His first free throw rolled in and his second was perfect to put the Thunder up four.
Porzingis hit a shot deep in the left corner with 3.7 seconds left. It was called a 2-pointer because it was ruled his foot was on the line, and that was upheld upon review, so Boston still trailed by two.
Gilgeous-Alexander was fouled with 2.8 seconds remaining. With the crowd chanting “M-V-P!” he made both free throws to put the game away.
“Opened up a nice lead in the fourth quarter and they kept coming,” Daigneault said. “They’re obviously a really talented team. I thought we were a little sloppy on both ends of the floor trying to slam the door on that game, but then made big plays down the stretch and executed with poise.”