BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 14 of his 31 points a pivotal third quarter and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-109 on Wednesday night, snapping the defending champions’ 12-game win streak.
Jayson Tatum recovered from back-to-back rocky performances to add 19 points and 12 rebounds while also contributing seven assists as Boston earned a split in the two regular-season matchups between the past two NBA champs.
Brown
added eight rebounds and eight assists, and his big quarter helped the Celtics take an 88-83 lead into the fourth. Boston’s edge grew as high as 14 in the final period.
OKC got within 115-109 with 1:30 remaining, but a layup by Brown, and two free throws by Derrick White helped Boston close it out.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points and eight assists. But Oklahoma City was outscored by the Celtics 19-2 in second-chance points and shot just 12 of 37 from the 3-point line.
Lu Dort added 14 points. Jalen Williams finished with seven points in his second game back following a 16-game absence with a hamstring injury.
The Thunder earned a two-point victory in the first meeting between the teams two weeks ago in Oklahoma City. But that game was played with both sides missing key players.
The Celtics were without both Tatum, who hadn’t returned from Achilles tendon rehab, and White (bruised right knee). Oklahoma City didn’t have Williams (strained right hamstring) or Isaiah Hartenstein (bruised left calf).
All four were on the floor for Wednesday’s rematch in a rare late-season pairing of elite NBA teams still with things to iron out before the playoffs. The Thunder entered topping the West and owning the NBA’s best record, while the Celtics came in boasting the East’s second-best mark.
The Thunder started fast and led by 11 heading into the second quarter before the Celtics used a 29-15 burst to take their first lead of the night, 49-46.
Thunder: Host Chicago on Friday.
Celtics: Host Atlanta on Friday.
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