Roughly 24 hours after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics in the second half of a 105-92 win, Gilgeous-Alexander posted on Instagram. After scoring 21 first-half points, Brown was scoreless against Lu Dort and the Thunder after halftime, going 0-for-7 from the floor. Did Shai take a jab at the Celtics All-Star on social media?
Gilgeous-Alexander wrote the following caption to his Instagram.
“Scratching things off my bucket list i can’t go back and forth with somebody that’s bucket-less,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
The clever wordplay with “bucket” stands out most from SGA’s post. Given that Brown finished the second half without making a single bucket, some perceive the Instagram post to be a slight at Jaylen’s offensive struggles. The Thunder’s defense held the champion Celtics to 27 second-half points, including a 12-point fourth quarter. Oklahoma City erased a 13-point deficit en route to a 13-point win punctuated by Dort’s going 3-for-3 from deep in the final 2:22.
Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stuffed the stat sheet with an MVP-caliber performance in his 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocks. He also went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Dort finished with 14 points, six rebounds, one block, and a steal.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s blunt postgame comments after beating the Celtics stood out during his media availability, as did his latest Instagram post.
Lu Dort’s honest admission about guarding Jaylen Brown
Thunder guard Lu Dort decided to switch with Cason Wallace to defend Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown. Then, he scored nine of the Thunder’s last 11 points down the stretch.
“We had to finish the game,” Dort said. “It’s a game of runs. They made their own. We make our run. It got to a close game. So, we just had to stack possessions.”
He switched to Brown defensively before Dort finished the Thunder’s 15th consecutive win.
“I kind of did it on my own, honestly,” Dort said. “He had it going. We were switching anyways, and then I was like, let me start on him. We have so many great defenders, and we were switching anyway. But, just me starting on him, being a little more physical, that was my approach. He had the second half that he had, but that was my approach going into it.”
After a five-game homestand, the Thunder will begin a four-game road trip against the Cavs on Wednesday.
