Boston Celtics (48-24) beat Oklahoma City Thunder (57-16) 119-109 at home on Wednesday, March 25, after falling far behind. The Celtics were down 11 at one quarter break and still finished 10 ahead.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Thunder struck first, taking the opening quarter 31-20 and a 11-point lead after one. The Celtics cut into the deficit with a 29-22 second quarter, though the Thunder still led by 4 at halftime.
The Celtics won the third 39-30 to turn the game around, taking a 5-point lead into the fourth. The Celtics took the fourth 31-26; the Celtics finished the job for a 119-109 regulation win.
What flipped it
The Celtics grabbed 18.4% of their own misses, while the Thunder recovered 10%. The Celtics made 30.9 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 26.3 for the Thunder. The second chances kept adding up.
The Thunder did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 7.4 against 13. The Celtics made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 97 possessions per team, the Celtics produced 122.6 points per 100 possessions to 112.3 for the Thunder.
The Thunder's reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 44-30.
Who carried the comeback
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the game's biggest individual force for OKC: 33 pts, 2 reb, 8 ast on 10-12 shooting. His Game Score of 32.8 led everyone. His team was +1 with him on the floor.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 31 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast on 9-17 shooting, good for a 26.1 Game Score.
Jayson Tatum (19 pts, 12 reb, 7 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 51% for the Celtics.
Across the last 3 meetings in our records, Oklahoma City Thunder lead 3-0.
The Celtics are now 48-24, and the Thunder are 57-16. The Celtics last five before this game: W-W-W-W-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.