Thunder top Celtics for franchise-record 15th-straight win

OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away from the Boston Celtics 105-92 on Sunday for their franchise-record 15th straight win.

The Thunder, who improved to 30-5, have not lost a game that counted in the standings since Dec. 1. Their loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup final does not count on the team’s record.

Jayson Tatum had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the defending NBA champion Celtics. Jaylen Brown scored 21 points, but went scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in the second half.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine points in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the game to help the Thunder take an early lead, but Boston rallied and led 65-55 at halftime.

The Thunder trimmed the deficit to 80-76 at the end of the third quarter and regained the lead, 81-80, on a pair of free throws by Jalen Williams early in the fourth.

The Thunder remained in control, and back-to-back 3s by Lu Dort put the Thunder up 100-88 with just under two minutes to play. Dort scored 11 points and made all three of his shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter.

Takeaways

Celtics: Boston remains a team that can lose at any time because of its heavy dependence on 3-pointers. The Celtics made just 9 of 46 shots from deep.

Thunder: Oklahoma City, much like it did Friday against New York, refused to cave when it fell behind by double digits. The Thunder hung around, then outscored the Celtics 29-12 in the fourth quarter.

Key moment

Gilgeous-Alexander crossed over Holiday, then hit a huge 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 92-85 lead at the midway mark through the fourth quarter.

Key stat

Oklahoma City held Boston to a season-low 27 points in the second half. The Celtics’ previous low was 44.

Up Next

Celtics: At Denver Tuesday.

Thunder: At Cleveland on Wednesday night.