The Boston Celtics wrapped up a perfect trip out west with a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
It was a mostly dominant performance for the Cs until the fourth quarter, when the Thunder raced to cut the deficit into single digits. In the end, the Cs were able to hold them off and claim a 132-123 victory to complete a 4-0 road trip.
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NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week Jayson Tatum continued to play at MVP level with 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Jaylen Brown added 25 points while Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard added 20 and 18 respectively.
Tre Mann did most of the damage for Oklahoma City with 35 points to set the Thunder rookie scoring record. The 21-year-old went 7 for 11 from 3-point range. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 31 points and nine assists for OKC.
Here are some takeaways from the Celtics’ win, which takes their record to 45-28 and ties them for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They will return home to face the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
Grant “Batman” Williams takes over
With Marcus Smart and Robert Williams both out for the second straight night, the Celtics needed a hero. Fortunately, they have Batman on their side.
Grant Williams took the start and took advantage of his opportunity. A night after dubbing himself “Batman” for his performance against “the Joker” Nikola Jokic, Williams posted career highs in points (20, including 10 in the first quarter) and rebounds (10). His previous career high for points was 18, which he has counted four times this season.
“It was pretty good,” Williams said of hitting a new career high in points. “I was just hoping that, you know, (Daniel) Theis and them were laughing at me and saying, ‘It’s going to happen again, 18.’ I guess the last rebound helped him, so it ended up working.”
If Williams continues like this, his Celtics teammates will have no choice but to adopt the Batman moniker. At first glance, Al Horford already is.
Payton Pritchard Stays Hot From 3
What a road trip it has been for Payton Pritchard, who was one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA last week.
Pritchard has double-digit points in all four of the Celtics’ games in the west. He finished the trip with 18 points in 25 minutes off the bench, drilling five of his 11 3-point attempts.
Over the Celtics’ last four games, Pritchard is 16 for 26 from beyond the arc. The second-year point guard is shooting 40.3% on 3 this season, which ties him for 23rd in the league.
The Jays are firing full throttle
The bad news: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown failed to make three consecutive games with more than 30 points each. The good news: they still play at a ridiculously high level.
Tatum had his third straight game with at least 30 points, totaling a game-high 36 to go with seven rebounds and six assists. The 24-year-old shot 11 for 19 from the field (5-11 from 3) as he argued for Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors.
Brown was just as effective as his fellow Celtics star with 25 points on 10 of 19 shooting. As Tatum knocked down all 3, Brown earned most of his points attacking the basket.
Off night for the defense of elite C
It wasn’t a banner night for the Celtics’ No. 1 defense. After leading by a whopping 26 points, Boston eased its footing late and saw the deficit narrow into single digits in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City scored 72 points in the second half.
The Celtics allowed the lowly Thunder to shoot 51.6% from the field and 45.9% from 3s. Perhaps the blame can be placed on him behind the last leg of the road trip and the second night of a back-to-back. It also doesn’t help that Marcus Smart and Robert Williams are absent. Either way, they’ll have to clean it up before heading home to TD Garden on Wednesday.
