\u201cEffort was good,\u201d Mazzulla told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston. \u201cIt\u2019s effort, toughness, execution. I thought our effort and toughness were great. We played two great teams like that. Obviously, every possession matters, so a couple of possessions didn\u2019t go our way \u2014 that\u2019s the difference in the game. I thought we played very well, credit to the guys, and how we have the possessions that we know we have to be better at.\u201d<\/p>\n
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK \u2013 MARCH 12: Jaylen Brown #7 is helped up by Baylor Scheierman #55 of the Boston Celtics during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 12, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant\/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Early on, it was the bench that elevated the Celtics. Luka Garza and Jordan Walsh battled for second-chance possessions, both at the forefront of a 20-5 headstart advantage in bench points over the Thunder. Hugo Gonz\u00e1lez contributed with a go-ahead 3-pointer in the corner, and Boston had found its rhythm despite being shorthanded while facing the league\u2019s best team.<\/p>\n
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The seamless transition in maintaining their competitive edge came as no surprise to the Celtics. The veterans in the locker room have worked alongside the younger, less experienced crew all season, preparing them for opportunities \u2014 including those unforeseen.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City was simply their latest of many challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just got some young wolves, man,\u201d Brown told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston. \u201cWe play inspired basketball. We come out every night and we compete, regardless of who\u2019s on the floor. We\u2019re not afraid of anybody, and we play together and play as a team. I\u2019m proud of my group. I\u2019m proud of our approach to every game. We came out on the road and we put their game to the test.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gonz\u00e1lez came up with a huge block in the third quarter, denying a Jaylin Williams 3-point attempt. Scheierman led the team with three offensive rebounds, two of which turned into second-chance baskets. It was another example of Boston\u2019s readiness. Every player on the roster is prepared to step in at any moment to keep the engine running. That has been the theme since Opening Night, when Tatum\u2019s return date was unknown, and the identity of the 2025\u201326 Celtics was still taking shape.<\/p>\n
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Pritchard also sees no reason to be surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not learning anything,\u201d Pritchard told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston. \u201cYou guys have already seen it. They come ready to play and play winning basketball. So it\u2019s nothing new. We\u2019re almost through the (regular) season now, so it\u2019s what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the season commenced, team president of basketball operations Brad Stevens labeled most of the roster\u2019s newcomers as \u201cunprovens.\u201d Comprised of minimally experienced arrivals, the offseason overhaul posed a mammoth challenge alongside Tatum\u2019s recovery from his ruptured right Achilles tendon. The challenge was to maintain their standard as if Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet had never left and to compete with the league\u2019s best while carving their place among that elite company.<\/p>\n
Thursday night\u2019s trip to Oklahoma City was proof that Boston has rendered that image in detail.<\/p>\n
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In San Antonio, the Celtics nearly overcame a 39-point double-double from Victor Wembanyama. Against the Thunder, they came even closer to overcoming Shai Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s history-making 35-point performance, as he surpassed Wilt Chamberlain for the most regular-season games with 20-plus points, recording his 127th against Boston.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s obviously a great player,\u201d Mazzulla told reporters. \u201cSo you have to pick your poison and what you\u2019re going to take away. He only shot eight free throws, so that\u2019s a part of that. We took away some of the transition stuff \u2014 a couple of layups that we could\u2019ve been better at in our shifts. So it just goes back to those possessions we can get better at, and the ones where you know you don\u2019t have to change your spots.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to feel good about dropping two in a three-game road trip, yet somehow, the Celtics did enough to earn it \u2014 even if they won\u2019t admit it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jaylen Brown drove left, pump-faked, spun around, and drilled a 19-foot equalizer over Lu Dort, putting the Boston…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[869,7,1266,45,75,39798,1243,839,568,3528,78,6563,77,2675,4989,2038,17915,4996,6249,4986,310,475,179,405,2080,969,209,693],"class_list":["post-656413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-al-horford","tag-basketball","tag-baylor-scheierman","tag-boston","tag-boston-celtics","tag-copyright-notice","tag-derrick-white","tag-dort","tag-getty-images","tag-hugo-gonzalez","tag-jaylen-brown","tag-jaylin-williams","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-joe-mazzulla","tag-jordan-walsh","tag-jrue-holiday","tag-luka-garza","tag-luke-kornet","tag-nbc-sports-boston","tag-neemias-queta","tag-oklahoma","tag-oklahoma-city","tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","tag-payton-pritchard","tag-sam-hauser","tag-san-antonio","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116222831452789383","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}