How the Boston Celtics’ third-quarter woes cost them the game vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Boston Celtics in a game that was closer than it looked with a final score of 127-123. The Celtics struggled in the tilt’s third quarter, but made a comeback attempt that would ultimately fall short.

While the Celtics’ comeback efforts fell short, defensive lapses in particular can be pointed to as a concern against top teams with larger scoring wings. The coaching battle between the Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla and the Thunder’s Mark Daigneault added an extra layer of intensity to the game, with the former perhaps needing a little more creativity deployed when the offense gets stagnant for Boston.

The Celtics, despite their offensive firepower, faced challenges in containing the Thunder’s dynamic play, an area of potential weakness that could be solved internally, but also might be an area the Celtics could look to make a smaller trade to address.