Celtics-Thunder Player Grades: Brown a Beast, but Bench Big as C's Nearly Steal a Win

Game Flow
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is too good
The Celtics made too many mistakes down the stretch
The C’s got into foul trouble
Shots didn’t fall
Player Grades

The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Nikola Vucevic, but they had a chance to beat the Thunder with a three-pointer in the air as the final buzzer sounded. It fell short, and the Thunder, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, were just too much for a valiant Celtics team. OKC wins, 104-102.

Box Score

Game Flow

The teams went back and forth early on, but the Thunder went on a run in the middle of the quarter that opened up a seven-point lead. The Celtics defense stepped up to end the quarter, forcing some OKC turnovers and re-taking the lead with a 9-0 run.

It was because of foul trouble, but they finished the first with a lineup of Ron Harper Jr., Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza, and Jordan Walsh, and it wasn’t bad.

The second unit (with Pritchard in for Gonzalez) extended their run and got the lead up to 12 behind tough defense and three-point shooting from Jordan Walsh. They went cold and the Thunder went on a run to retake the lead with 2:25 to go. It was back-and-forth from there, with the Celtics getting a buzzer-beater from Pritchard to go into the half up three.

The teams exchanged scoring streaks in the third quarter behind their stars, and the Celtics put together a little lead thanks to Jaylen Brown’s scoring and passing. They held onto it thanks to the bench effort, especially Gonzalez’s defense and offensive rebounding.

Both teams traded great defensive plays in the fourth, but the Celtics shot 2-11 through the first half the quarter. Amazingly, they were still tied at that point. The Celtics committed some tough turnovers on illegal screens and it game OKC a little bit of breathing room. The teams went back-and-forth, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a little bit more than the Celtics.

Here are four reasons the Celtics lost.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is too good

The whistle he gets is annoying. Jaylen Brown was caught on a the hot mic screaming how one of the fouls he got was not basketball. What is basketball, however, is how he gets to his spots and makes shots. He scored 35 points on 18 shots because he made 13 baskets. The mid-range shots he got late in the game were like layups. He’s impossible to guard when he’s going like that.

The Celtics made too many mistakes down the stretch

You have to play almost perfect basketball to beat OKC, and the Celtics just made too many mistakes down the stretch that cost themselves chances to take the lead. There’s no guarantee the possessions they committed offensive fouls, for example, would have resulted in buckets, but they didn’t give themselves a chance in those spots.

The C’s got into foul trouble

Having to go long stretches without Neemias Queta or Jaylen Brown wasn’t ideal. Luka Garza filled in nicely for Queta, but there were some possessions where the defense suffered. The Celtics bench was great, but having their best player on the floor would have been better.

Shots didn’t fall

The Celtics shot 40% from the field and 31% from three, which was not good enough against the Thunder, but it was worse in the fourth quarter. Boston shot 4-18 (22.2%) and 0-7 from three in the fourth. That's brutal in a loss like this that came down to the final shot.

Player Grades

Jaylen Brown: A- (34 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists)

Shooting efficiency wasn’t great, but he got to the line 14times, making 13. His seven assists continues a trend of high-assist games (he’s had at least seven in each of his last six games), and it could have been more if the C’s could hit shots.

Payton Pritchard: B+ (14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists)

He hit some big shots in this game, though he didn’t make a ton of shots, which drops his grade a bit. He also had a tough turnover late in the game, which really was an incredible play from Alex Caruso. He did a very good job though as Boston’s only true ball-handler.

I really thought his buzzer-beater was going in at the end.

Neemias Queta: C+ (4 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks)

He was much better in the second half, but his foul trouble was costly early. He also needs to be stronger with the ball sometimes, especially on rebounds than can get tied up and forced into jump balls.

Sam Hauser: B- (8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals)

A B from Hauser is the baseline. He should always be getting at least a B. It was dropped a little because of his 3-10 shooting night.

Baylor Scheierman: B (11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists)

Nice passing from Scheierman, who hit some big threes in this one. He was also good defensively, though I think he did get lost on a couple of possessions. He’s great on the offensive boards.

Hugo Gonzalez: A- (11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block)

Super-high energy game from Hugo. There's so much to like about what he brings to the table. He was part of the bench crew that not only kept the Celtics in this game, but gave them a lead early on.

Ron Harper Jr.: B+ (5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, +15)

The +15 was a team high, and he got it in just 12 minutes. His early stretch was very good, and it’s clear that he belongs at this level somehow.

Jordan Walsh: B+ (8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist)

He hit some big shots and played some good defense. I wonder if a couple of minutes of him in the fourth quarter would have helped, even if it gave Brown just a couple minutes on the bench.

Luka Garza: B (7 points, 4 rebounds)

Just one more made three (he shot 1-5) would have helped. He got mixed up on some coverages early on, but a decent night for him.