OKLAHOMA CITY — Kemba Walker scored 27 points, Jayson Tatum had 26 and the Boston Celtics beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 112-111, on Sunday (Monday, Manila time) for their seventh straight victory.
Jaylen Brown finished with 17 points for the Celtics, who made 16 3-pointers. One of them, by Marcus Smart with 8:19 remaining, gave Boston the lead for good.
Smart also stole the ball from Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 5.8 seconds left to seal the victory.
Danilo Gallinari and Gilgeous-Alexander each had 24 points for the Thunder, while point guards Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder finished with 22 apiece. Oklahoma City had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Boston led 109-101 after Walker made his second straight 3-pointer, but Oklahoma City battled back and had a chance to tie after Schroder blocked Gordon Hayward's layup. But Smart stripped Gilgeous-Alexander before he had a chance to take what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Brown and Daniel Theis both were questionable before tipoff with right ankle sprains, but both started and played at least 30 minutes. … Tatum scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the third quarter. … Smart picked up a technical foul because he stayed on the court after the halftime buzzer arguing with officials.
Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander didn't record a block for the first time in 10 games. … Terrance Ferguson played 26:18 in his third game back from an eight-game absence for personal reasons. He didn't score. … Darius Bazley didn't play after halftime because a right knee sprain. He injured his knee on a layup late in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Celtics: Visit the Houston Rockets on Tuesday
Thunder: Host the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph