Everything you need to know about the Celtics’ 101-94 win over the Thunder in quickie form.
HEADLINES
Seven in a row: The Celtics looked like they were left for dead in the first half, digging an 18-point hole for themselves but a small-ball look in the second half (Marcus Morris for Aaron Baynes) quickly gave them life. A stellar defensive effort brought them back into the game, along with some hot shooting by Jaylen Brown, Kyrie Irving and Al Horford in stretches, enabling to pull out their most impressive win of the year. The seven-game winning streak continues to be the longest streak in the league and put the Celtics on top of the NBA overall with a 7-2 record.
Horford and Irving put on a show in fourth: After taking just five shots during the first three quarters, the big man stepped up in a huge way for Boston down the stretch, largely thanks to being set up by Irving on countless drives. Horford was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, while Irving added 13 points and four assists in the final frame, which helped close the door on the Thunder.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics closed out the third quarter on a 19-6 run, largely on the back of Jaylen Brown (eight points in the quarter) which helped trim an 18-point deficit to just four.
TWO UP
Irving in second half: After a complete dud of an effort in the first half, Irving turned things around in a hurry after intermission. He got going with a couple of baskets in transition in the third quarter and seemed to give him the confidence to attack the basket with purpose for the remainder of the game (accompanied by some open looks). He scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half, giving the C’s what they needed to come back from an 18-point deficit.
Jayson Tatum: The rookie was fairly quiet after the break, but he kept the Celtics in the game with his offense early: 13 first-half points on 4-of-8 shooting as he calmly waited out Thunder double teams to find a good shot for himself.
TWO DOWN
Kyrie Irving in first half: We’ve seen a couple of stinkers already from the All-Star point guard but his first half against the Thunder might have been the worst among them. He scored just three points in the first half on just 1-of-9 shooting and was also 1-of-4 from 3-point range. The poor offensive shooting was not pretty, but the bigger problem was that Irving gave the Celtics nothing else offensively, tallying zero assists in the first 24 minutes.
Team ball movement in first half: There were some signs of progress on that front during a C’s six-game winning streak but they almost completely dissipated in the face of double teams by the Thunder in the first half. A mere seven assists on 13 field goals paved the way for an ugly shooting half overall (31 percent) that dug an 18-point hole for Boston.
INJURIES
None
TOP PLAY
Brown with a hell of a throwdown.
JAYLEN BROWN ???#SunLifeDunk4Diabetes pic.twitter.com/uDVJIjL3XF
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 4, 2017