Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said the stark difference was because Lu Dort made it his mission to slow down Brown. Safe to say he did that and then said. "We moved Lu Dort o

Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stuffed the stat sheet with an MVP-caliber performance in his 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocks. He also went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Dort finished with 14 points, six rebounds, one block, and a steal.

Boston is coming off a 109-86 drubbing of the Houston Rockets. In that game, Kristaps Porzingis finally returned to action after spraining his ankle. He played 28 minutes and had 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. The Celtics still didn't have their full starting lineup up there.

Jaylen Brown noted how the entire Boston Celtics team must improve following a tough loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder

He poured in 21 points in the first half but was held scoreless in the second half of Boston’s 105-92 loss that stretched the Thunder’s winning streak to 15.

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The Sacramento Kings erupted in the fourth quarter against the Celtics, who got boos on their home court in Boston.

The Boston Celtics lost their first game of 2025 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, Jan. 5. Joe Mazzulla's team looked good value for its money heading into halftime; however, some masterful defensive adjustments by head coach Mark Daigneault led the Celtics to score 27 points in the final 24 minutes of the game.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points with 11 rebounds and looked unstoppable against the Nuggets after similar spurts in a brutal loss at the Thunder.

Since the big man returned to the lineup, Boston has been inconsistent. Porziņģis's performance against Denver on Tuesday was encouraging.

Jayson Tatum collided with the first row of seats during the loss to the Thunder, bruising his forearm, but he was not listed on Boston’s injury report. Nor was Jaylen Brown, who missed the first two games of the road trip with a shoulder strain before returning to the court on Sunday.