OKC Thunder can't stop Boston Celtics minus stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams
BOSTON — It wouldn’t take Mark Daigneault’s genius to recognize what the Thunder was up against on Wednesday.
Oklahoma City was on the road, on the second night of a back-to-back, facing the league’s best record — a team that’s dominated the regular season so long that it began experimenting days before any other squad clinched a playoff spot.
Daigneault’s best chance of beating Boston was behind his back most of the night, in baggy pants and Timberland boots. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, sidelined once more with the injuries that held them out Tuesday in Philly, left a black hole in OKC’s offense.
Its single possession loss to the Sixers a night earlier had been kinder to them. Its 135-100 Wednesday night loss to the Celtics took a more sobering twist.
Proud owners of a top-three league defense, the Celtics only needed lawn chairs in the Garden. The Thunder offense could only earn so many advantages on its own. For paint touches, for real creases. They were tougher to come by, the ones actually available being more difficult to act on.
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Rookie Chet Holmgren got into some looks early, though he'd never have the force to convert at the level OKC would’ve needed to stand a chance. Josh Giddey (17 points, 6 rebounds) succeeded in headbutting Boston’s defense, though for a while, he’d been the only one.
Through a half, OKC shot 37% from the field and just 2 for 15 from deep. It dearly missed the dazzling drives, the shrug-worthy shotmaking.
The Thunder, granted some of the league’s best injury fortune for most of this season, has established an identity behind a whole group. With at least two of Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams accentuating another.
Even just one of OKC’s star ballhandlers being available has been sufficient, enough to draw help with so little as a look in the other direction.
“We're not asking too much of anybody,” Daigneault said. “It's just we have to work together for advantages on a lot of plays. And when we do that, we can generate them. But there's times where Shai's got the ball and they just double him and the advantage is created by the defense. That's not happening right now.”
OKC got as close as a couple of possessions in the third quarter, knocking down the looks, enjoying an efficient quarter and throwing its lone available wrench by getting to the free-throw line. It went 13 for 15 from the stripe, slowing the game and chipping away at Boston’s lead.
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But there was always another Al Horford 3. Or a Jayson Tatum drive that ended up in his own free throws, part of his 24 points. Or another demoralizing Kristaps Porzingis crossmatch and score, part of his game-high 27. Finding offense had been difficult enough for OKC.
After a 42-point fourth quarter, shooting 76.2% from the field and 6 for 9 from 3, Boston blew the game open. Each point looked more deflating than the last. Even when Daigneault had waved the white flag, Boston’s deep-bench reserves played with the same verve as its starters.
Life without SGA and Williams, a pair of dynamic creators with the horsepower of a couple Lamborghinis, saw the Thunder fighting for oxygen. Daigneault has undoubtedly been intrigued by what the short sample of games have provided. With the looks they’ve allowed OKC to experiment with, with how they’ve been able to stretch a couple guys’ minutes.
On the other hand, it’s commanded more from Holmgren, who on a night like Wednesday found himself with more 1-on-1 opportunities in end-of-clock scenarios or desperate possessions. On-ball chances that went awry with Holmgren needing to clash with Porzingis or handle against Boston's defensive smalls. He went 5 for 14, shrouded by the help defense that licked its chops at a lack of on-ball threats.
Wednesday asked for more of Giddey, too, who’s been stellar recently in his spots alongside OKC’s usual starters.
“He played with really good thrust, which is the way that you have to play against the defense like that,” Daigneault said of Giddey. “It gave him a good chance to get downhill. He was able to find some plays there. And those were our best possessions tonight, when we played with that sort of force.”
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Six games doesn’t sound unmanageable. It’s a decade in dog years if you’re in a race for the West’s first seed. It should be more than enough time for an organization that seemingly cares more about its pair of star scorers being healthy enough to do what they do best in the postseason.
The versions of Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams that chipped away at Boston in a January win are surely better than the hobbled versions that would play through injury — perhaps Gilgeous-Alexander realized that in a win over the Knicks — to keep the Thunder’s first-seed dreams afloat.
It’s a reality OKC hasn’t known, one that could very well end on Friday in Indiana. For all anyone knows, it could last multiple games more. Nevertheless, it was the Thunder’s reality during an ill-timed back-to-back.
“I'd say the biggest thing is just kind of the situation,” Holmgren said. “Back-to-back road games, not having any practice time to kinda plan for having Shai and Dub missing. We had a pretty consistent season of what we're going to, what looks we're going to have every night, and now that's different. So now we're kind of figuring out a new thing, and we have guys in the locker room that are gonna work extremely hard, including myself, to figure that out as soon as possible.”
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Western Conference playoff picture
Timberwolves (53-23): Beat Toronto 133-85 on Wednesday. Up next: At Phoenix on Friday.
Nuggets (53-23): Beat San Antonio on Tuesday night. Up next: at LA Clippers on Thursday.
Thunder (52-24): Lost at Boston on Wednesday night. Up next: at Indiana on Friday.
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Thunder at Pacers
TIPOFF: 6 p.m. Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (KSBI)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder falls to NBA-best Boston Celtics with top stars injured
