The Celtics had the Thunder where they wanted them, but imploded in the second half of the marquee matchup.
The Boston Celtics have made a habit of snapping winning streaks. However, even the reigning champions couldn't stop the rolling Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon, as the Green Team fell 105-92 following an abysmal second half.
In November of the 2024-25 regular season, the Celtics snapped the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers' 15-game winning streak. The Thunder, who sit atop the Western Conference, needed one more win to extend their longest winning streak in franchise history to 15 games.
After the first half, it looked like the C's were on the verge of ending the Thunder's impressive run. Boston led 65-55 and was shooting 51.1% from the field against the number one defense in the NBA. Oklahoma City then showed why it boasts the best defensive rating and is an incredible 17-2 at home.
The final 24 minutes of Sunday's marquee matchup was a disaster for Boston. The Celtics put up 27 points in the second half and missed 21 of their 24 attempts from deep. In fact, they scored eight more points in the first quarter than they did in the entire third and fourth quarters. Unsurprisingly, Sunday afternoon marked Boston's lowest-scoring half of the season.
The Celtics in the 1st half vs. the Thunder: ☘️65 points on 23-of-45 FG The Celtics in the 2nd half vs. the Thunder:
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, who finished the loss with 19 points and nine rebounds, didn't mince words when talking about the second-half collapse, via Bobby Manning of CLNS Media.
“We were fine [in the first half]. Once they turned it up a little bit in the second [half], we played stupid and we just gave some possessions away,” he admitted. “And once you start giving up possessions, it was just downhill for us and the rest of the time was just battling uphill.”
Just how bad was Celtics' second half against Thunder?
Boston recorded 10 turnovers and just three assists in the second half. Conversely, Oklahoma City posted 10 second-half assists while shooting 48.7% from the floor and 50% from 3-point land. Like they've done to most of the league, the Thunder fed off the Celtics' mistakes. Although Boston doesn't usually have a turnover problem, it conceded twice as many points off turnovers as OKC (22-11).
“It's not something unsolvable, but just an ugly second half for us offensively,” Porzingis stated.
On average, the Celtics score 119.3 points per game and shoot over 37.1% from beyond the arc and 46.2% overall. None of those season averages were surpassed against the Thunder, revealing how much Boston struggled offensively but also how hungry Oklahoma City is on the defensive side of the ball.
WHAT A SEQUENCE FOR THE THUNDER 😱 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander DENIES Jayson Tatum and lobs it up to Isaiah Hartenstein for the alley-oop POSTER on Derrick White 🙌
The bad news for the C's is that things don't get any easier for them with their next contest. The Green Team will face the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday evening at an arena they haven't won in since 2022. As for the Thunder, they'll have another challenge too as they hit the road to take on the red-hot Cavs.
The now 26-10 Celtics will have a chance to redeem themselves against the Thunder on March 12 at TD Garden. They'll need to maintain a high level of play for all 48 minutes to prevail in the rematch, as the Thunder have solidified their championship contender status.
