Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominates as the Thunder fall late to Boston

Thunder’s best performer off the bench:

OKC’s bench was rather underwhelming for the most part in Boston. While Kenrich Williams wasn’t exactly a splashy performer throughout the night, he does provide a calmness to the team. Sometimes the most valuable thing off the bench for a young team is someone who will go out and play their role to perfection. In his 19 minutes of play, Williams scored seven points, nailed a three, and added a steal.

Best opponent:

For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum has been the guy for a while now and this game was no different. Tatum finished with a subpar shooting night as he hit just one of his nine attempts from deep. However, his impact was undeniable in the fourth quarter where he dropped 10 of his 27 points and willed the Celtics into a position to win the game. Tatum finished the night impacting both sides of the floor with 27 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks.

Final thoughts:

Once again, the Thunder played a competitive and gritty game against a playoff opponent. The squad certainly needs to work on finishing games but this is to be expected of a young up-and-coming team. Overall, there are certainly more positives than negatives to take away from this game as the team heads to Washington to continue its road trip.