Having trailed the Oklahoma City Thunder by as many as 15 points at TD Garden on Monday night, the Boston Celtics looked like they might be heading for exactly the sort of frustrating loss to a weaker opponent they experienced far too often at the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
Instead, the Celtics got their act together in the second half. The team’s backcourt players Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard provided the spark and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown provided the muscle Boston needed to get the job done.
Let’s take a look at what Celtics and NBA Twitter had to say about Boston’s comeback win against the Thunder.
First quarter
Only second time for home whites inside the Garden for Celtics this year. It's been Boston's most successful jersey: 4-0 so far this year.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) November 15, 2022
Frankly, I'm glad Grant got that tech. He needs to stop with the complaints.
— Dr. Justin Quinn (@justinquinnn) November 15, 2022
Not a great start for the C's defense. This OKC offense has some legit talent, and they're scoring from all over the floor here early on.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) November 15, 2022
Jaylen Brown’s midrange game has been nice tonight
— Meghan Ottolini (@Meghan_Ottolini) November 15, 2022
At no point during last season – not even when they were going really good – did the #Celtics pass like that.
— John Zannis (@John_Zannis) November 15, 2022
Starting to see how the #Thunder dropped 145 on the #Knicks yesterday.
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) November 15, 2022
Poku is so good at being bad. Legit could be a problem in 5-10 years
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) November 15, 2022
Second quarter
Tatum just fouled Pokusevski, smacked his hands in frustration because he was out of position, and just got called for a tech. Tatum was not upset at the call, more committing the foul. #Celtics #Thunder
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) November 15, 2022
It would be cool if NBATV talked about the Celtics-Thunder game they are broadcasting.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) November 15, 2022
The Thunder are on pace for almost 150 points tonight, which somehow would only be a slight improvement over last night.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) November 15, 2022
The Celtics would probably win this game 8 or 9 out of 10 times, but I do think it's a somewhat tough matchup.
The Thunder have lots of length and are spry enough to get back in transition.
OKC currently has a 10-4 edge in fast-break points and a 19-16 advantage on the glass.
— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass) November 15, 2022
https://t.co/k4ZdLRLHXb pic.twitter.com/Ns208TpMNA
— Celtics Lab Podcast (@CelticsLab) November 15, 2022
Marcus and Grant with words for officials after that first half. OKC 69, BOS 62. SGA 18, Jalen Williams 12, Dort 11; Brown 18, Tatum 15, Horford 10.
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) November 15, 2022
Third quarter
Giddey went right to the hoop without even an attempt to stop him. That was rough.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) November 15, 2022
Mazzulla is switching things up and sending Pritchard into the game for Grant just a few minutes into the second half. Going from double big to extra small.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) November 15, 2022
Walking back to the OKC bench gingerly https://t.co/o97YrUJPqP
— Cameron Tabatabaie (@CTabatabaie) November 15, 2022
Hauser is 3 for his last 15 (20%) from deep …
— Brian Barrett (@itsbrianbarrett) November 15, 2022
Hauser is 3 for his last 15 (20%) from deep …
— Brian Barrett (@itsbrianbarrett) November 15, 2022
Four games in six nights, Celtics were due for a yikes game.
— Matt John (@MattJohnNBA) November 15, 2022
FAST PP TAKEOVER BB
— Dr. Justin Quinn (@justinquinnn) November 15, 2022
Fourth quarter
Payton Pritchard is absolutely everywhere right now. He's completely changed the complexion of the game.
— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass) November 15, 2022
Jayson tatum just received the worst tech I’ve seen in the nba in a while. I’m actually laughing
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) November 15, 2022
Giddey just persuaded the Thunder to take an ill-advised challenge. One, it's off OKC. Two, it's less than a minute into the fourth quarter.
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) November 15, 2022
Goaltending called on OKC, count the basket for Tatum. He's got 19.
Four-point game, 107-103
— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) November 15, 2022
TIE GAME at the Garden. #Celtics
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) November 15, 2022
This would be a good spot for Tatum to heat up. MVP time.
— Mike Dynon ☘️🏀 (@MikeDynon) November 15, 2022
The Celtics are actually going to pull this off.
They looked dead 20 minutes ago.
— Matt John (@MattJohnNBA) November 15, 2022
FINAL: Celtics 126, Thunder 122
Boston was no good for the first 30 mins of this game before turning up to a notch OKC just couldn't match. Pritchard initiated the run, and then Smart finished it by scoring or assisting on 17 of the team's final 21 points.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) November 15, 2022
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