Shooting Woes Among Takeaways From the OKC Thunder's Loss to Celtics

It doesn't happen often, but the Thunder fell short on Wednesday night, losing 109-119 to Boston.

Mar 25, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) goes to the basket against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

The Thunder in fact can still lose. 

Oklahoma City hasn’t suffered defeat in a long time, but that feeling is now apparent as the Thunder dropped Wednesday night's bout to the Celtics 119-109.

The balanced attack of the Celtics was too much for OKC, as Boston had six players who scored in double-digits. 

With the season coming to a close, the Thunder will need to bounce back from this loss fast and continue to end their season on a positive note. 

Here are three takeaways from the Thunder’s loss to the Celtics. 

Mar 25, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) shoots against Boston Celtics guard Hugo Gonzalez (28) during the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

1. Lack of threes causes problems

The Oklahoma City Thunder have never been the best at shooting from beyond the arc, and they know that. However, the lack of made threes has continued to hinder OKC in close games, and Wednesday night was no different. 

This started from the beginning of the game, as the Thunder only made six threes in the first half and shot 32% from beyond the arc. This is how the Celtics made up ground as they hit 10 threes, shooting 43%. 

This continued throughout the game with the Thunder making 12 threes in Wednesday night’s bout compared to Boston’s 18, along with shooting 32% from three and the Celtics shooting 44%. Unfortunately, this would be one of the factors that would result in the Thunder’s defeat, and OKC must continue to work on this or else this result will repeat itself. 

Mar 25, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) passes away from Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shows up once again

The MVP did all that he could to keep Oklahoma City in this game, as he carried the scoring load once again. Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points on an incredible 83.3% shooting night from the field. The Thunder star was even one of the lone ones to have a good night from three, shooting 75% from beyond the arc in this bout. 

He tried his best to do it all as he added eight assists and two rebounds to his resume when the night was all said and done. Gilgeous-Alexander was the reason that OKC was competitive throughout the stretch of the game, but in the end, not even the MVP could save them from defeat. 

Mar 25, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) tries to get a shot off against Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) during the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

3. The Thunder are leaving the door open

With a loss on Wednesday and the situation of a Spurs win, the Thunder are now just two games ahead in the West. As the end of the season is approaching, OKC must not fade in its quest of trying to secure this top spot. 

The Thunder had been thriving at this, winning 12 straight games before suffering a defeat to Boston. Now, with only nine games remaining, OKC must continue to finish the season out strong, or else its top spot in the West could be up for grabs.