Oklahoma City Thunder visit Boston Celtics in potential NBA Finals preview

BOSTON – Two of the favourites to win the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship will meet on March 12 (March 13, Singapore time), when the Boston Celtics close out a seven-game homestand against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Boston (47-18) will enter the game as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (55-10). The Celtics have won five in a row and are 5-1 on this home streak, with the lone loss coming against the Cavaliers on Feb 28.

Oklahoma City, who are top of the Western Conference with a 53-12 record, are coming off a 140-127 home loss to the Denver Nuggets on March 10, which ended the team’s seven-game winning streak.

“We play so many games, so many good teams in the league – a win is never as good as it seems,” Oklahoma City star man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.

“But a (loss) is never as bad as it seems. That’s what I always tell myself... Tomorrow’s gonna be a new day.

“It’s life. It’s basketball. Just got to stay level-headed and learn from your mistakes and try to be better tomorrow.”

Thunder forward Jalen Williams did not play in the second half of the loss with what was described as a right hip strain. He was injured when Denver’s Peyton Watson landed on him after a foul in the second quarter.

Following the game, coach Mark Daigneault said Williams would be evaluated further before the Boston clash. Williams is averaging 21.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game this season.

The Celtics avoided what would have been an embarrassing loss by holding on to beat the Utah Jazz 114-108 on March 10. Boston nearly squandered a 24-point lead against visiting Utah, who are last in the West.

“I think a game like that, I think you would call it a trap game,” Boston’s Derrick White said.

“We just had a big game against the Lakers (on March 8), and obviously OKC’s coming... So games like this, it’s going to be up, it’s going to be down. You’ve just got to find a way to win them.”

The game will also feature two of the league’s marquee players in Gilgeous-Alexander and Boston’s Jayson Tatum.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a league-best 32.7 points per game and is a strong candidate to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award.

Tatum, who did not play in Boston’s victory over Utah because of a right knee issue, is averaging 27.2 points per game, which is tied for fourth.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points and 11 rebounds when Oklahoma City earned a 105-92 home victory against Boston on Jan 5. Tatum finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The Thunder held the Celtics to just 27 points in the second half of that game. Boston were just nine of 46 (19.6 per cent) on three-point attempts.

It remains unclear when Kristaps Porzingis, who has missed the last six games with a viral illness, will be available for Boston.

“He’s doing what he can to get back,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We’ve just got to kind of make sure he’s good, and we do what’s best for him.”

Meanwhile, in NBA action on March 11, Darius Garland scored 30 points as the Cavaliers staged a double-digit comeback to bag their 15th straight victory with a 109-104 home win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Cleveland looked to be heading for a shock loss after lowly Brooklyn raced into an 18-point lead in the third quarter against a Cavs line-up missing the rested Donovan Mitchell.

But Garland produced a late burst of scoring to haul Cleveland back into the contest and extend the Cavaliers’ home record to 30-4. REUTERS, AFP