TEhe Boston Celtics entered Wednesday night’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a chance to clinch home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, including if they reach the Finals.
The C’s also entered the evening having won ten straight tilts at TD Garden, the site of this potential preview of who might represent the Eastern and Western Conferences in June. They did so by an average of 24.3 points.
Catching the visitors on the second night of a back-to-back after a 109-105 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right quad contusion) and Jalen Williams (left ankle sprain) inactive, the hosts built a 30-23 lead entering the second quarter.
At the root of that was effective ball movement that translated to assisting on 9/12 field goals, as Boston consistently facilitated quality looks throughout the frame.
The Celtics also produced 16 points in the paint and parlayed five offensive rebounds into 11 second-chance points in the opening 12 minutes, helping them stage a late 11-0 run and play from ahead early.
The hosts wisely stuck to that approach in the second period, including effectively moving the rock before Payton Pritchard left Kenrich Williams in his wake, driving middle, then working the other way, freeing himself for a layup.
There was also Kristaps Porzingis doing damage on the boards, throwing down a put-back dunk over Aaron Wiggins and Chet Holmgren, and grabbing his own miss, then kicking the ball out to Pritchard for a corner three.
