vs. 
Okla. City Thunder (45-28, 21-15 road) at Boston Celtics (47-26, 23-13 home)
TV: KSBI (Cox 15, HD 715)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 6:30 CDT
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 107.4 (14th), Celtics – 107.0 (17th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.4 (6th), Celtics – 102.4 (1st)
Pace: Thunder – 92.8 (14th), Celtics – 91.7 (21st)
View from the enemy: Celtics Hub
Playing Boston after two weeks rest at home isn’t easy. So playing in Boston on the second of a back-to-back definitely isn’t easy. The good news for the Thunder though is the a good numbers of their players got some rest in a blowout win over Philly last night and also, that Paul Piece likely won’t play tonight.
The Celtics are older and a little slower, but just like the Spurs, know what it takes to win. This is a classic young, fast and athletic team vs. the older, slower but wiser team. I like these type of matchups to watch the contrasting play.
Boston coming in: The Celtics lost Sunday at home against San Antonio by 20. They have won six of eight though, with some big wins over good teams. They’re a good home team at 23-13 and are tied for third in the East.
THE MATCHUPS
Kevin Durant lit the Celtics up for 36 on 13-19 shooting in the first meeting, but he didn’t get much help. And I actually thought Paul Pierce did and Tony Allen did a solid job on KD. No team has grabbed, pushed, pulled, punched and whatever else they did to Durant as much as the Celtics. So if Pierce is out, someone will attempt to rough up Durant. Maybe Allen, maybe Marquis Daniels or maybe even Ray Allen some.
What hurt the Thunder in the first meeting was the inability to match Boston’s strength inside. Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins beat up the Thunder big men so much that Scott Brooks actually inserted Etan Thomas just for the reason to get physical back. But now that Serge Ibaka has really matured and is kind of OKC’s de facto enforcer, things might be different. It will be big for Nick Collison, and Nenad Krstic to play well, because Jeff Green will have his hands full with Garnett for sure. (Perkins missed the last two games as Rasheed Wallace has been starting at the five, but Perk will likely return tonight.)
Rajon Rondo against Russell Westbrook will be a treat. Both are lightning quick, have great hands and are superb athletes. It’ll be fun to watch. The big matchup for the Thunder is Ray Allen against Thabo. Allen can get his shot off against anyone, but Thabo needs to bring the clamps. If Pierce is out, Boston could struggle to score and will really look to Allen to provide it.
The Celtic bench is deep with Michael Finley, Nate Robinson, Tony Allen, Daniels and Glen Davis. Not all are great players, but they sure can shuffle in a number of them. OKC’s bench was fantastic in Philly so another performance similar to that would be nice. Especially if OKC wants to hang in there.
There’s just something special about playing the Celtics. It makes everything a little more fun. But there’s also something special about beating the Celtics. A win tonight would be massive for the Thunder because it would ensure a winning road trip, as well as edge them up in the Western standings.
Tip at 6:30 CDT. Go Favorite Team.
@Tapdog72
@Sammy
@Tapdog72
@Bruno
Thanks guys, I was wrong but what a freaking great win.
So how was the officiating in this one? A lot of Celts fans feel like they got jobbed in this one. Other than the Pierce phantom-foul, what did you guys see? Were there a lot of non-calls going OKC's way?
@Brew
I thought the same, but we were tied.
it sure seemed like the first time the Thunder won in a hostile environment in this kind of situation, it was a huge playoff atmosphere.
as much as I hate Boston, they have quite a crowd there.
@Tapdog72
In both the Phoenix and Washington games, we fell behind during the fourth before winning.
@Brew
We were tied going into the fourth.
@Brew
Not sure about trailing in the fourth, but the last time we started the fourth trailing and won was Portland right before the All-Star break. The only other times were against Memphis (12/11) and the Clippers (11/11). We've also won twice when tied after three quarters: Phoenix (12/23) and Washington (12/29). All of those games were on the road.
does anyone know when the team arrives in OKC? I want to meet them at the airport? awesome game!!!
Good win for OKC. If we can stay in the 6th seed spot and give 50 wins I will be happy.
justin :
This was such a weird one. The pace was slow, only 89 possessions. But the ORTG’s were very high, ours 123 and Boston’s 117. This will hurt our defensive ranking a bit but do wonders for our offense, which was excellent..
Do you think our defense being average lately is because of effort, or because we have been exploited?
Is this the first game we have won when trailing in the fourth, on the road no less?
@justin
I didn't really think we'd win this game when we were up 7 going into the second quarter...
This was such a weird one. The pace was slow, only 89 possessions. But the ORTG's were very high, ours 123 and Boston's 117. This will hurt our defensive ranking a bit but do wonders for our offense, which was excellent..
justin :@andrew
Russ can get a little feisty sometimes but most of his shots this game were good ones evidenced by his FG%..
The difference between Russ and Rondo was very apparent when they played together. Rondo was a huge liability for Boston at the end of the game we practically begged him to shoot. While the Celtics had to be concerned whenever Russ touched the ball.
This was definitely a playoff style game.. crazy that we won it. Did anyone think we would win this game at the start of the fourth?
nope. This was the first time in awhile that I remember winning a game that came down to the end.
I had this one marked down as a loss about halfway through the third to be completely honest. Rondo would be the best PG in the league imo if he could just develop some semblance of a jumper.
@andrew
No, don't pause!
@The Don
Westbrook not always finding Durant seems like a minor sin when the team has much more pressing issues to sort out, like the awful overrated defense (or lack of it), amirite?
@andrew
Russ can get a little feisty sometimes but most of his shots this game were good ones evidenced by his FG%..
The difference between Russ and Rondo was very apparent when they played together. Rondo was a huge liability for Boston at the end of the game we practically begged him to shoot. While the Celtics had to be concerned whenever Russ touched the ball.
This was definitely a playoff style game.. crazy that we won it. Did anyone think we would win this game at the start of the fourth?
@andrew
"pause" to last comment. :)
@justin
Dude, you apparently have forgotten that Westy will never become a viable PG in this league.
Haha but seriously I vote we all love each other and enjoy the win.. 4-4 over the last 8 games gets us 50 wins!
We've had a few heartbreaks along the way, but Feb. record was 9-2 and we just finished March 11-5. I'll take that.
GO THUNDER!
@The Don
You're ridiculous. Durant is 5th in the league in Usage Pct. That's like saying Mo Williams freezes out LeBron.
@Bob
I ripped on him for his tendency to ignore KD and especially on that play where he jacked up a 3
I never said he didn't have a great game overall
It's just that this tendency to freeze out KD is really starting to get under my skin
Scoring title update: KD 29.66 to LBJ 29.72... separated by .06 pt/g
Almost every single game the rest of the year has epic implications standings wise. just look at our schedule. Wow!
Tapdog72 :I wore a Thunder shirt on Friday, and we beat the Lakers. I wore my Durantula shirt today, and we beat Boston. Guess what I’m doing the rest of the year…
Got get a few more so you can keep wearing them every game. And I am sure you still remember where you got them... http://www.treeandleafclothing.com/catalog/ Lol...
46 won games and counting... :)
KD outscored Bron by 14 points tonight..
Sammy :
I don’t understand how anyone can rip RW after this game. Sure the last play was pretty stupid – he obviously wanted to run down the clock and didn’t consider much beyond that – but I thought overall his game was stellar, the kind of performance I see him having every night if/when he reaches his peak.
The DON ripped on him but the rest got a bit upset when he took it to much to the rack. I think everybody knows that he had a great game.
@Bob
many others were advocating it was an okay play in that situation.
what I'm saying is, Russ' play wasn't that horrible, of proof that he's selfish and stuff like that.
it was just a bad play by a 21 year-old point guard
Coming into tonight, we were 8-16 in games that were within 3 points after 3 quarters. Oddly enough, we've gotten worse later in the season instead of better. We were 5-5 in such games before Jan 1, and 3-11 (now 4-11) after. We've won only one such game at home, Dec 31 vs. Jazz.
Bruno :
It felt better than the Lakers one because this one went down the road, and the Thunder had AMAZING offensive execution in the final minutes.
even Russ 3, which some are killing, wasn’t that terrible.
there were people on these boards that were OK with Thabo shooting a potential game winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, so why don’t let Russ do it on an awesome night by him?
Nobody was OK with Thabo shooting that three(except me maybe lol).
I wore a Thunder shirt on Friday, and we beat the Lakers. I wore my Durantula shirt today, and we beat Boston. Guess what I'm doing the rest of the year...
@Sammy
Agreed..
I don't understand how anyone can rip RW after this game. Sure the last play was pretty stupid – he obviously wanted to run down the clock and didn't consider much beyond that – but I thought overall his game was stellar, the kind of performance I see him having every night if/when he reaches his peak.
So we are are only a game in a half away from Denver in the standings. Man they have slipped here lately!
Every Thunder was shooting more than 50%... except Krstic... he was 2-7.
It felt better than the Lakers one because this one went down the road, and the Thunder had AMAZING offensive execution in the final minutes.
even Russ 3, which some are killing, wasn't that terrible.
there were people on these boards that were OK with Thabo shooting a potential game winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, so why don't let Russ do it on an awesome night by him?
I really cannot belive this negative and obscene commenting directed at our players.
andrew :
Garnett is on his last NBA contract in my opinion.. He canned open shots tonight but has absolutely no athleticism to finish at the rim.
I am really sad about that too.. Garnett used to be my favorite player its sad to see him not being able to be as explosive and dominate.
I cannot describe how happy I am right now.. I absolutely despise the Celtics and it makes my year to watch them hobble around and lose to us. Unless they work some major magic through trades they are going to be bad for many years now... (Garnett/Sheed consuming half their cap)
JG............................ Those were great plays. Because of KD, Celtics had to put 2 or 3 players to guard him and JG were wide open both times, and of course he also made them too. Good game.
Really nervous when Celtics were hot almost the whole game until the end, but it's nice that they cooled off at the right time and give credit to the Thunder that hung in there. Beside, KD, JG, RW(not overal imo), Maynor was great. Got some points and assists that helped the team to stay in the game. Good game.
I didn't mind the phantom foul on KD... felt it made up for the phantom foul Nick Collison fouled out on.
AWESOME game!!!
jhoan :
also did anyone notice KG push sefolosha from behind after the final buzzer? ive never felt so good watching a player from the thunder be pushed..
jeff green is my hero. Big shot green? we’ll work on it . glad they pulled it out!
I saw the push it made my day.
Also this game was on the road..
also did anyone notice KG push sefolosha from behind after the final buzzer? ive never felt so good watching a player from the thunder be pushed..
jeff green is my hero. Big shot green? we'll work on it :D. glad they pulled it out!
Lakers win was big but it was done by the 3rd quarter. I'd say this and the Jazz win earlier this month are the biggest in 2010.
not to rain on our parade, but the play of the game imo was the foul call on pierce when he cleanly stripped KD towards the end.. Without that call I think we have a hard time winning.
Now its time to beat Dallas.. Who knows thought. It could happen man think how huge that would be for this last stretch of games! Man 3 game winning streak would be so SWWWWEEEEEETTTTTT!!!!
I would make the case that this was a bigger win than the victory over the Lakers because the Lake Show gave up early in that game and Boston played very very well in this one and gave max effort throughout – OKC just played better. What a game.
what a great game.