Kristaps Porzingis scored 27 points, while Jaylen Brown returned and had 23, as the Boston Celtics romp the Shai-Gilgeous Alexander-less Oklahoma City Thunder, 135-100, for win no. 60 of the season.
Crushed Q4 for the W ?#DifferentHere pic.twitter.com/WO69CfxsjA
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 4, 2024
Porzingis added 12 rebounds, five blocks, and four assists in a remarkable game on both ends for Boston, which now improved to a league-best 33-3 home record.
Derrick White steals it and finds Porzingis on the lob! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/emjjTHvuhx
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 4, 2024
"Got put in the friend zone by Porzingis"
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 4, 2024
🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/SIixmGooXJ
Jaylen Brown returned from a one game absence due to a left hand sprain and scored 15 fourth quarter points, while Jayson Tatum added 24 of his own.
It’s the first 60-win season of the Tatum-Brown era in a Celtics uniform, the last being in the 2008-09 season under the Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett-Ray Allen triumvirate.
The Celtics used a 42-17 fourth quarter to break the game wide open even more as Brown’s turnaround fadeaway jumper at the the 10:24 mark enabled his squad to reach the 100-point mark.
so pure 🤌🏾 pic.twitter.com/pXmW7SCYe9
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 4, 2024
From that point, Boston surged to a 35-13 blast on their way to a third straight win and the 10th successive dub at home. Al Horford, Sam Hausser, and Payton Prtichard combined for 37 markers off the bench.
Meanwhile, Josh Giddey took the scoring cuddles for OKC with a team-high 17 points as Lu Dort added 15 points. But the Thunder finished with 14 turnovers and shot poorly beyond the arc, going just five-of-24.
Without All-Star and leading scorer in SGA, who sat for the fourth time in five games with a bruised right quadriceps, along with Jalen Williams, the Thunder could not find a way to match the Celtics offensive firepower.
Rookie Chet Holmgren was just limited to 11 points on five-of14 shooting against the much more intimidating Porzingis, but held his own in some one-on-one matchups.
Cason lob to Chet for the slam 🔨#ThunderUp | @okcthunder | @BallySports 📺 pic.twitter.com/8Mflbzkeqv
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) April 4, 2024Boston (60-16) now holds a 13-game lead over the second-leading Milwaukee Bucks (47-29), while the Thunder (52-24) now trails one game back of the West leaders Minnesota Timberwolves (53-23) and Denver Nuggets, who have the same records.
