By Conor Ryan
March 13, 2025 | 6:23 AM
The Celtics executed their game plan on Wednesday night at TD Garden.
Ever since Joe Mazzulla took over as Boston’s head coach, the Celtics have crafted a strategy on the hardwood that relies on a bombardment of shots from beyond the arc.
And as expected, the Celtics fired salvo after salvo from 3-point range against arguably the top contender in the Western Conference in the OKC Thunder.
Of the 30 points Boston accrued in the first quarter, 27 of them came via 3-pointers. At the half, Boston had attempted 36 shots from 3-point range — the most launched in a half in NBA history.
And by the time the final buzzer blared on Causeway Street, the Celtics had chucked up a franchise record 63 3-point shots.
It’s the type of approach that has usually paved the way toward lopsided wins for the Celtics over the last few years.
At least, so long as the Celtics are actually converting on that deluge of shots from downtown.
But in what has been a recurring theme this season, a skilled and tenacious Thunder team has been a fly in the ointment against Boston’s best practices — negating some of Boston’s strengths once again in an eventual 118-112 win over the defending champions.
An ill-time 3-point shooting drought has earmarked both of Boston’s setbacks against a Thunder team they could meet again in June.
While a reliance on those shots kept Boston afloat in the first half on Wednesday, the Celtics only connected on five of their 27 3-pointers (18.6 percent) in the second half.
During their 105-92 loss to the Thunder on Jan. 5? Boston only went 3-for-23 from 3-point range in the second half.
While the Thunder boast plenty of talent via the trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams (who missed Wednesday’s game due to injury), OKC has also routinely blown out the competition this year behind a stingy defense that can both clamp down the paint and pressure shooters around the arc.
Entering Wednesday’s game, OKC was holding opponents to just 33.6 percent shooting from 3-point range.
An athletic team capable of throwing several good wing defenders against the Celtics’ 3-point barrage could cause some havoc for Mazulla’s team come the postseason.
Granted, the Celtics also weren’t necessarily bemoaning their circumstances postgame when it came to their inability to sink shots from deep.
“Bet a few guys wish they could have some shots back that they would normally make,” Jayson Tatum noted. “And sometimes it’s as simple as that. It’s a make-or-miss league. But we have all the confidence in the world in those guys taking the right shots.
“We swing it to the corner, we drive, we draw two, pass up a good shot for a great shot. You’ve got to live with the result. We missed 43 threes tonight. So that won’t always be the case.”
As evidenced during last year’s run to Banner 18, the Celtics have enough talent outright to overcome cold shooting spells during playoff action.
But a team like the Thunder also made life miserable for Boston when it came to outmuscling them in the paint.
While a 35-12 disparity in free-throw attempts would seemingly signal a frustrating night from the officiating, Jaylen Brown harped on Boston’s inability to match OKC’s aggressiveness — especially once their shots stopped falling.
“I’m not even going to blame officiating or anything like that — just one of those games where we couldn’t get anything going offensively or defensively, … OKC was a tougher team for a large stretch,” Brown said. “[Isaiah] Hartenstein came in, was aggressive. Holmgren, [Cason] Wallace — all of those guys used their physicality, and I got to be better at meeting that level.”
Brown in particular struggled to get going on Wednesday, finishing with just 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting with zero free throw attempts.
“I give credit to OKC,” Brown said. “Tougher team sets the rules. They had a good level of physicality tonight. I could be more physical. I could use my body more. I settled in some spots.
“I didn’t meet the level of physicality tonight. Like, I got no free throw attempts, and that’s unusual. So just making sure you get your body healthy, but I didn’t meet the level of physicality tonight.”
As Tatum noted, there won’t be many games where the Celtics miss 40-plus shots from 3-point range. The absence of Kristaps Porzingis was evident on Wednesday. And there are very few teams across the NBA that boast both the talent and personnel to both regularly pressure Boston’s 3-point shooters and lock down the paint.
But OKC sure is one of them.
And if the Celtics do have their sights set on a 19th title in June, they might have to go through a Thunder team that could give them fits in the NBA Finals.
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