The Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder went head-to-head on Wednesday night in a possible NBA Finals preview in Boston. Even though the Thunder were playing without star forward Jalen Williams, who is out due to a hip injury, the Thunder still came out on top 118-112.One of the biggest things that sticks out when you look at the stat sheet from this one is the free throw disparity between the two teams. The Thunder finished the game 25-for-35 at the stripe while Boston was just 10-for-12.
After the game, Jayson Tatum addressed the officiating without blaming it for the loss, via Daniel Donabedian of ClutchPoints.
“You’re not gonna keep them off the line. They’re very intentional about that,” the Celtics star said. “We’re not gonna be the first team where they shoot five free throws or something crazy like that, but there’s a balance between that and 35 free throws. Granted, some of them were fouls, some of them we’ve gotta be better at. I’m not saying that’s why we lost or it’s the refs’ fault or anything like that. That’s what you want, you want a physical game. That’s how it’s gonna be in the playoffs. You just want it to be the same on both sides, but that’s not why we lost at all.”
Of course, a 15-point difference in terms of made free throws is a massive difference that is enough to swing a game, and it did so in the Celtics’ loss in this one. The Thunder are one of the best teams in the NBA at getting to the line, but it has to be frustrating for opposing teams to manage that night in and night out.
Tatum was efficient and had another very strong performance in the loss as he steamrolls toward another First Team All-NBA selection. He finished the night with 33 points on 12-for-23 shooting with eight rebounds and eight assists.
The Celtics will still feel good about their chances at making another run at a championship despite this loss in front of their home fans. Boston has that championship experience that teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Thunder lack. If the Celtics can stop fouling, they should be in good shape in May and June.
