In a showdown between two NBA champions, the Boston Celtics' win against the Oklahoma City Thunder put the rest of the Eastern Conference on notice. With a completely healthy roster, the Thunder entered TD Garden in rare form, which led many to anticipate a win for the defending champions. Joe Mazzulla said the Celtics were on another level. And it all started on the defensive end of the floor.
Trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half, shooting at a 29.2% clip in the opening frame, the Celtics' offense was reminiscent of their fourth quarter collapse in a 102-92 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Still, Boston's top-ranked defense never let up, despite the Thunder's hot start that opened up a 31-20 lead at the start of the second quarter.
For Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, with All-NBA forward Jalen Williams in tow after his return to the starting lineup in a 123-103 blowout win against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics were just the challenge the Thunder needed. Amid the final stretch of the regular season, Daigneault anticipated a playoff-like atmosphere, closing out a five-game road trip — Oklahoma City's lengthiest of the regular season — in Boston.
Plus, the Thunder had a 12-game win streak on the line. This game undoubtedly mattered, and Daigneault wasn't afraid to admit it, especially considering the fact that Williams was back in his lineup, and Jayson Tatum was starting for Celtics' Mazzulla.
“Obviously, both teams get a boost of depth at the top, and it makes it a great challenge,” Daigneault said before the game. “It'll give us a very accurate depiction of where we are right now against an elite team.”
When a reporter asked Daigneault about the difference between the NBA's last two champions — the Thunder and Celtics — he didn't take the bait in trying to compare the two teams.
“We don't get caught up in the narrative around the game, but I do know, as we head towards the playoffs, we're trying to continue to get better, and continue to learn about our team,” Daigneault said. “We haven't been whole very much this season at all. So, we're still kind of learning our team as crazy as that sounds this deep into the season, and this deep into a multi-year run.
“When you're doing that, you want to do it against great teams in relevant environments. And this is as relevant a game as you can get. So, this is a great opportunity for us.”
Williams, with only 27 regular-season games under his belt, has a matchup against one of the better teams in the NBA that is meaningful. While this year's Celtics team is missing the depth of veterans such as Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday, they managed to grab the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Without Tatum, Jaylen Brown led a Celtics team that leaned on its defensive principles. Neemias Queta emerged from a fringe NBA player to a reliable starting center. Payton Pritchard, as a starter or in a sixth-man role, thrives as a high-level scorer, and Derrick White is entering his prime.
“I like the fact that we brought the physicality. I like that we brought our offensive organization. I like that we executed,” Mazzulla said. “I like that we took it to a different level defensively.”
Challenging the rest of the Thunder players not named Gilgeous-Alexander, the Celtics' defense locked down the perimeter, slowed down Oklahoma City in transition, and cleaned the glass. The Celtics not only out-rebounded the Thunder, 43-35, but they also outworked All-Star Chet Holmgren, who was exhausted in trying to keep up with Boston's offense.
The Celtics' game plan to slow down the Thunder began to unfold in the second half, stringing together defensive stops that yielded open looks, often from deep, where the Celtics connected on 18-of-41 from beyond the arc.
The Thunder finished 12-for-37 from deep.
The Celtics quickly emerging as favorites to win the East
There isn't a team in the Eastern Conference as deep as the defending champion Thunder, which can only build confidence for a Celtics team that just added a six-time All-Star in Jayson Tatum to its starting lineup. It should also strike some fear in potential opponents, including the No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks.
Although the Knicks were on a seven-game win streak before running into the Charlotte Hornets, who handed them a 114-103 loss on Thursday, the consecutive victories paled in comparison to the Celtics' emphatic win over the Thunder.
Considering the Knicks defeated non-playoff-contending teams such as the New Orleans Pelicans, the Washington Wizards, the Brooklyn Nets, and the Indiana Pacers, a loss to the Hornets, a potential first-round upset, speaks louder than the seven straight wins.
While All-Star Cade Cunningham's status remains unknown, not having him available will diminish the Pistons' chances of making a deep playoff push. At the same time, Tatum is getting the necessary reps between now and the end of the regular season that will get him ready for the Celtics' postseason push.
