Shorthanded Thunder Stomp Celtics

Oklahoma City, OK — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not play tonight, and that may have fueled the Celtics’ overlooking of the Thunder.

The Oklahoma City Thunder crushed the Boston Celtics 150-117 Tuesday night without their best player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Oklahoma City outscored Boston in every quarter and led by as many as 37 points, the largest deficit the Celtics have faced this season.

Five different Thunder players scored 20 points or more and this helped offset Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combining for 56 points in the first 3 quarters. The Thunder made 38/58(66%) of their 2-point shots and 20/40(50%) from beyond the arc, helping the Thunder hand the Celtics their worst loss of the year.

The Celtics sorely missed Robert Williams tonight as the Thunder did not have to work for any shot in the offensive halfcourt and dominated on the glass (+8 margin).

There is really nothing to celebrate from the Celtics’ perspective tonight and this is a game that can be difficult to move past.

The Celtics now travel to Dallas to take on the red hot Mavericks and finish up their road trip in San Antonio on Saturday.