BOSTON -- — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 and Chet Holmgren had 23 points and 15 rebounds to help the Oklahoma City Thunder clinch a playoff berth by beating the Boston Celtics 118-112 on Wednesday night.

In a much-anticipated potential NBA Finals preview, the Western Conference-leading Thunder withstood a barrage of Boston 3-pointers — a franchise record 63 attempts in all — to sweep the defending NBA champions in the two-game season series and win for the 17th time in their last 18 games.

Jayson Tatum scored 33 for Boston, which had won five straight and 15 of its last 18 games. Al Horford added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Derrick White scored 22.

Oklahoma City scored the first nine points of the game and led by 12 midway through the third before Boston tied it 88-all on Tatum's three-point play to end the quarter. It was 98-98 in the fourth before the Thunder ran off eight straight points to pull away.

Takeaways

Thunder: After splitting a back-to-back against Denver, their closest competitor in the West, the Thunder controlled the game against the reigning champions and the likely No. 2 seed in the East.

Celtics: If the teams do meet for the championship, expect reigning NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown to play better than his 5-for-15 shooting night, missing all five 3-point attempts and scoring 10 points to match a season low before he fouled out.

Key moment

With the score tied at 98 and eight minutes to play, Kenrich Williams hit a 3-pointer, Gilgeous-Alexander made a pair of free throws and, after Williams hit a free throw, Gilgeous-Alexander made a 15-foot turnaround jumper to make it an eight-point game.

Key stat

Boston's 36 3-point attempts in the first half were the most in any half in NBA history. They finished 20 for 63 — tying the third most attempts in league history.

Up next

The Celtics visit Miami on Friday and the Thunder are in Detroit on Saturday.

------

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Chet Holmgren vs. Al Horford (Cason Wallace gains possession)	0	0
11:41	Luguentz Dort makes 26-foot three point jumper (Cason Wallace assists)	0	3
11:18	Jaylen Brown misses 18-foot pullup jump shot	0	3
11:15	Al Horford offensive rebound	0	3
11:11	Jayson Tatum misses 25-foot three point jumper	0	3
11:10	Luguentz Dort defensive rebound	0	3
11:02	Luguentz Dort makes two point shot	0	5
10:50	Jayson Tatum misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	0	5
10:49	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	0	5
10:39	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses driving layup	0	5
10:38	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander offensive rebound	0	5
10:37	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes tip shot	0	7
10:22	Chet Holmgren blocks Jaylen Brown 's 3-foot two point shot	0	7
10:20	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defensive rebound	0	7
10:14	Derrick White blocks Chet Holmgren 's 5-foot two point shot	0	7
10:13	Chet Holmgren offensive rebound	0	7
10:12	Derrick White personal foul	0	7
10:01	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lost ball turnover (Al Horford steals)	0	7
9:42	Jrue Holiday misses 24-foot three point jumper	0	7
9:41	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defensive rebound	0	7
9:33	Cason Wallace makes driving layup	0	9
9:33	Celtics Full timeout	0	9
9:16	Al Horford makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	3	9
8:51	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes driving layup	3	11
8:31	Jaylen Brown misses 26-foot three point jumper	3	11
8:29	Jayson Tatum offensive rebound	3	11
8:26	Al Horford makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	6	11
8:07	Al Horford blocks Chet Holmgren 's 26-foot three point jumper	6	11
8:06	Chet Holmgren offensive rebound	6	11
8:01	Chet Holmgren makes 1-foot two point shot	6	13
7:49	Derrick White makes 26-foot three point jumper (Jaylen Brown assists)	9	13
7:36	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes driving layup	9	15
7:23	Derrick White makes 25-foot three point jumper (Al Horford assists)	12	15
6:58	Cason Wallace misses driving layup	12	15
6:57	Aaron Wiggins offensive rebound	12	15
6:57	Aaron Wiggins misses tip shot	12	15
6:56	Derrick White defensive rebound	12	15
6:50	Jrue Holiday misses 26-foot three point shot	12	15
6:48	Aaron Wiggins defensive rebound	12	15
6:40	Derrick White blocks Aaron Wiggins 's 4-foot driving layup	12	15
6:38	Al Horford defensive rebound	12	15
6:22	Jayson Tatum misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	12	15
6:20	Al Horford offensive rebound	12	15
6:13	Isaiah Hartenstein enters the game for Cason Wallace	12	15
6:09	Al Horford misses 28-foot three point jumper	12	15
6:08	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	12	15
5:55	Aaron Wiggins misses 25-foot three point jumper	12	15
5:54	Chet Holmgren offensive rebound	12	15
5:53	Chet Holmgren makes two point shot	12	17
5:53	Jrue Holiday shooting foul	12	17
5:53	Chet Holmgren misses free throw 1 of 1	12	17
5:53	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	12	17
5:44	Derrick White makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	15	17
5:25	Chet Holmgren makes driving layup	15	19
5:11	Al Horford makes 26-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	18	19
4:59	Luguentz Dort misses 24-foot three point jumper	18	19
4:57	Derrick White defensive rebound	18	19
4:49	Chet Holmgren shooting foul	18	19
4:49	Derrick White misses free throw 1 of 2	18	19
4:49	Celtics offensive team rebound	18	19
4:49	Payton Pritchard enters the game for Jrue Holiday	18	19
4:49	Kenrich Williams enters the game for Chet Holmgren	18	19
4:49	Isaiah Joe enters the game for Aaron Wiggins	18	19
4:49	Derrick White makes free throw 2 of 2	19	19
4:38	Isaiah Joe steps out of bounds turnover	19	19
4:29	Derrick White misses 25-foot three point jumper	19	19
4:28	Isaiah Hartenstein defensive rebound	19	19
4:20	Luguentz Dort makes 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	19	22
4:00	Jaylen Brown misses 24-foot three point jumper	19	22
3:59	Payton Pritchard offensive rebound	19	22
3:52	Jayson Tatum makes 26-foot three point jumper (Al Horford assists)	22	22
3:51	Thunder Full timeout	22	22
3:51	Torrey Craig enters the game for Jaylen Brown	22	22
3:51	Sam Hauser enters the game for Derrick White	22	22
3:51	Luke Kornet enters the game for Al Horford	22	22
3:36	Luke Kornet shooting foul	22	22
3:36	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 1 of 2	22	23
3:36	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses free throw 2 of 2	22	23
3:35	Celtics defensive team rebound	22	23
3:25	Payton Pritchard lost ball turnover (Kenrich Williams steals)	22	23
3:18	Luguentz Dort misses running pullup jump shot	22	23
3:16	Sam Hauser defensive rebound	22	23
2:59	Payton Pritchard misses 31-foot three point jumper	22	23
2:56	Celtics offensive team rebound	22	23
2:44	Torrey Craig misses 26-foot three point jumper	22	23
2:42	Thunder defensive team rebound	22	23
2:30	Kenrich Williams makes 23-foot three point jumper (Isaiah Joe assists)	22	26
2:13	Payton Pritchard makes 25-foot three pointer	25	26
2:00	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes 15-foot two point shot	25	28
1:31	Payton Pritchard misses 27-foot three point shot	25	28
1:30	Isaiah Joe defensive rebound	25	28
1:22	Isaiah Hartenstein out of bounds bad pass turnover	25	28
1:00	Jayson Tatum bad pass (Kenrich Williams steals)	25	28
57.1	Luguentz Dort lost ball turnover (Torrey Craig steals)	25	28
52.1	Sam Hauser misses 26-foot three point jumper	25	28
47.0	Luke Kornet offensive rebound	25	28
46.1	Kenrich Williams shooting foul	25	28
46.1	Luke Kornet makes free throw 1 of 2	26	28
46.1	Luke Kornet makes free throw 2 of 2	27	28
36.0	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes 15-foot pullup jump shot	27	30
19.1	Jayson Tatum makes 29-foot three pointer	30	30
2.2	Torrey Craig personal take foul	30	30
2.2	Al Horford enters the game for Payton Pritchard	30	30
2.2	Jrue Holiday enters the game for Luke Kornet	30	30
0.0	Torrey Craig shooting foul	30	30
0.0	Isaiah Joe makes free throw 1 of 3	30	31
0.0	Isaiah Joe makes free throw 2 of 3	30	32
0.0	Isaiah Joe makes free throw 3 of 3	30	33
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	30	33

Related Tags

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics Live StreamWatch Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics FreeThunder vs Celtics Live ScoreOKC vs BOS GameNBA Stream Oklahoma City ThunderNBA Stream Boston CelticsTD GardenNBA Live StreamBasketball Streams

Explore More

Oklahoma City Thunder Standings Boston Celtics Standings Oklahoma City Thunder Stats Boston Celtics Stats NBA Standings NBA Schedule

Article Sections

Check all game sections

Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

TD Garden

Boston, MA

Date & Time

11:30 PM, March 12, 2025

Coverage

ESPN, NBC Sports BO, FanDuel SN OK

Attendance

19,156

Referees

Phenizee Ransom, Nick Buchert, Tyler Ford

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

2025-26 Atlantic Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Boston	39	20	.661	W1
New York	38	22	.633	W1
Toronto	35	25	.583	W1
Philadelphia	33	26	.559	W3
Brooklyn	15	44	.254	L7

Need Help?

Explore our comprehensive NBA streams guide for all available options and platform comparisons.

View Streaming Guide

Celtics

Thunder

West-best Thunder come to home of NBA champs and beat Celtics to clinch playoff berth

Game Analysis

Regular Season Series

Game Analysis

Game Stats

Game Article

Game Recap