The Fated Day is Finally Here.Oklahoma City Thunder @ Boston CelticsStarting Lineups
Celtics--Rondo------Pierce--Green---Sullinger--Garnett
Thunder--Westbrook--Lamb----Durant--Ibaka------Perkins
Injury reportA.Bradley --- Sprained Shoulder -
Out/2-4 Months
K.Martin ---- Bruised Rib -------
Hurt/Day-to-Day
E.Maynor ---- Dislocated Finger -
Hurt/Day-to-Day
This is a big matchup (One of the biggest) with matchups all across the board
First there's
Rondo Vs. Westbrook where Rondo will impact with his Crafty drives and Sweet playmaking and Westbrook will intimidate with his Thunderous Dunks.
Then there's
Durant Vs. Green with Green making life difficult for Durant but still Durant getting his shots off.
Next
Garnett Vs. Perkins where a young player meets his Mentor in an epic defensive showdown
Then there's
Pierce Vs. Durant trying to top one another in the clutch
Finally there's the whole
T.Williams in the real world Celtics and virtual Thunder twist.
It is 2 of the Top 3 Teams in their respective conferences going head on in an early season Battle and potentially a preview of the
NBA Finals.
Note-- I will be showing major plays from both sides so It might go a bit longer.Let's get started.
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1st Quarter0-2 Lamb hits a floater to start the game.
2-2 KG hits a baseline J.
2-4 Perkins Off. Putback
4-4 Pierce Freethrows
6-4 Garnett blows past Perkins and goes for the Dr. J layup for our first highlight of the night

6-6 Ibaka layup
9-6 Garnett cuts to the basket for an And-1 reverse layup.


9-8 Lamb flies to the basket for a dunk
11-8 Green mid J
11-9 Westbrook freethrow (misses 1)
13-9 Rondo with a floater over Westbrook's outstreched hand.
13-11 Durant mid J
13-13 Westbrook with a steal and Windmill Reverse Jam.



15-13 KG with a dunk over Ibaka
15-15 Ibaka fadeaway
17-15 Rondo to Green Ally-Oop Layup


19-15 Rondo finds Green cutting to the basket for a Reverse Jam.
21-15 Rondo finds Pierce cutting to the basket for a Jam. Partial Deja-Vu
23-15 Now Pierce finds a Cutting KG for the Jam. Celtics moving the ball around nicely and getting good looks.

23-17 Lamb J
25-17 KG mid J on the break. Meanwhile Westbrook settling for jumpshots missing his last 3 shots
27-17 Rondo to KG SlamDunk

27-19 Durant with a running hook shot
27-21 Durant layup on the break
29-21 Bass dunk on a pick n' roll
31-21 T-Mac dances on Williams and lays it up. Funny how both of them can play PG to SF positions.
31-23 Williams layup
33-23 Bass Mid J
35-23 Barbosa with a buzzer beating long 2 to end the quarter

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End of 1stThe
Celtics have abused the same formula over and over in the 1st quarter. Force a bad shot, Grab the Defensive board, Run on the break with Thunder bigs trailing and Attack the paint.
Celtics shooting 66/0/100%, 24 Points in Paint, 12 Assist, 12 Rebounds Dominating Thunder.
K.Garnett 15points/5reb almost reaching his season average through 1 quarter.
R.Rondo 2pts/7ast setting teammates up nicely.
Thunder shooting 45/0/50% with 3 Orebs
R.Westbrook 3pts/3reb/4ast/1stl doing everything on the floor except scoring efficiently (1-4 FG)
S.Ibaka 4pts/4reb
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2nd Quarter37-23 Bass with a putback to start the second.
37-25 Durant Mid J
40-25 Barbosa pops a 3 off the Pick
40-27 Durant another Mid J
42-27 Bass cuts to the basket and Dunks it home.
42-29 Ibaka Freethrows
42-31 Lamb layup
44-31 Melo Dunks inside off the Roll
44-33 Williams layup
44-35 Jackson J
46-35 Rondo rips the ball in the backcourt and goes for a dunk.


48-35 Rondo Rips it again and waits for Bass for a mid J


50-35 Melo Putback
50-37 Ibaka putback
52-37 Bass with another Jam off the Roll. He has 12 points.
52-39 Melo blocks Ibaka (Oh the Irony!) but Liggins finishes the play.
53-39 T-Mac freethrow.
53-42 Westbrook And 1 putback.
55-42 Bass runs the floor and T-Mac finds him at the Other end of the floor.
55-44 Durant makes Green hit the deck and Lays it up wide open.


56-44 Green Freethrow
59-44 Rondo finds Terry For a 3
59-46 Durant freethrows
62-46 Pierce with an And-1 J
64-46 Pierce steals the ball, Misses the layup but Sullinger saves the play.



64-48 Westbrook hookshot
66-48 KG with a quick spin off Collison for a Layup.
66-50 Westbrook misses the layup but it goes to Lamb who lays it up.
66-52 Westbrook with the steal and the Jam.


68-52 Pierce mid J
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Halftime Report
Celtics shooting 61/50/75% form the floor, moving the ball, getting steals, grabbing boards and attacking the paint.
K.Garnett -- 17pts/5reb
B.Bass ----- 14pts/3reb
R.Rondo ---- 4pts/1reb/9ast/2stl
Thunder fighting back but still trail by 16
R.Westbrook -- 10pts/4reb/5ast/2stl
K.Durant ----- 14pts/2reb
S.Ibaka ------ 8pts/6reb
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3rd Quarter70-52 Pierce blocks Lamb on one end and Sully putbacks KG miss on the other
70-54 Lamb J
72-54 Lamb hits Rondo with the ball and Rondo dunks it in retaliation.


72-56 Westbrook layup
72-57 Lamb rejected by Pierce and Westbrook fouled on the follow.
72-60 Lamb posterizes Everybody for an And-1 Jam.

74-60 Sully with a layup inside
74-62 Westbrook layup
76-62 Rondo to Green Oop


76-64 Durant Cherrypicks
76-66 Westbrook recovers his own shot an lays it back
78-66 Pierce Mid J
80-66 Pierce steals the ball and lays it up.
80-68 Perkins throws down Pierce and frees up Lamb for a layup.


82-68 Bass with another Mid J.
82-70 Westbrook Mid J
84-70 Barbosa Floater
86-70 Rondo to Green Ally-Oop


86-72 Durant freethrows
86-74 Westbrook Mid J
88-74 KG inside shot.
88-76 Durant Mid J
90-76 Melo running Hook Shot
90-78 Liggins layup
92-78 Pierce baseline J
92-80 Durant layup
92-83 Durant for 3. And they cut the lead to single digits.
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End of 3rdWestbrook and Durant starting to take over as the
Thunder shooting 48/20/83% and regaining the edge on Rebounding.
K.Duarnt ----- 25pts/6reb on 10-19 shooting
R.Westbrook -- 21pts/8reb/8ast/3stl on 9-16 shooting
J.Lamb ------- 17pts/2reb/2ast on 8-15 shooting
Celtics shooting 55/33/75% getting big contributions from their bench.
K.Garnett -- 19pts/5reb/1ast/1stl
B.Bass ----- 16pts/4reb
P.Pierce --- 15pts/2reb/3ast/2stl/2blk
R.Rondo ---- 6pts/2reb/12ast/3stl
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4th Quarter94-83 Sullinger sets a hard screen and T-Mac lays it up


94-85 Lamb mid J
94-87 Lamb long 2
96-87 Sully with 2 Orebs and draws the foul.
96-89 Lamb layup. #TakingOver
96-90 Westbrook freethrow
98-90 KG turnaround J
98-92 Westbrook layup
98-94 Durant mid J
100-94 Sully Mid J
100-96 Lamb layup
100-98 Durant layup.
102-98 KG layup
102-100 Durant layup
104-100 Barbosa freethrows
106-100 KG layup
108-100 Green layup.#PullingAway
108-102 Westbrook freethrows
110-102 Green scores over Durant. 2 min mark coming up. Time for the stars to shine.110-105 Durant And-1 layup.
112-105 Pierce tough layup
112-108 Lamb 3 on the second try
114-108 Pierce mid J
114-110 Durant layup. Good 'ol shootout
114-112 Sully blocks Durant but Ibaka puts it back
114-114 Durant steals the ball and Dunks it on the break with 10 sec to go.
#NailBiter #Comeback116-114 Green Dunks it home with 5 sec remaining. #Clutch.

116-116 Westbrook lays it up to tie the game. We are going Over-Time.

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End of 4thBattling It Out the whole game the Fight spills into Overtime.
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1st Overtime118-116 KG hits a Turnaround J to start OT
118-118 Durant freethrows
118-121 Lamb 3
118-123 Lamb dunk
120-123 Green Mid J
120-126 Durant 3. #TakingOver
122-126 KG J
122-128 Westbrook layup.
124-128 Rondo Mid J
124-130 Westbrook Dunk
126-130 Pierce long 2
129-130 Pierce makes a 3 to bring us Within 1

131-130 Rondo dishes off to a Rolling KG to give us the lead.
131-132 Ibaka layup.
131-134 Lamb Dunks on the break to pull the lead to 3
134-134 Pierce Hits a Leaning 3 To Send it to a Second Overtime.#CrazyClutch.
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End Of 1st OTA second overtime is required to settle this fued. It's raining Clutch shots.
K.Garnett -- 31pts/7reb/1ast/1stl/2blk
P.Pierce --- 27pts/4reb/3ast/2stl/2blk
R.Rondo ---- 8pts/3reb/16ast/5stl
K.Durant ----- 43pts/12reb/1ast/1stl
J.Lamb ------- 35pts/4reb/4ast
R.Westbrook -- 32pts/8reb/14ast/3stl
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2nd Overtime136-134 Sullinger throws Durant to get Green open for Mid J.


136-136 Westbrook Posterizes Sullinger

138-136 Green off the Roll
138-138 Ibaka Dunk
138-140 Durant Dunk on the break
138-142 Ibaka freethrows
140-142 Pierce Mid J
142-142 Pierce Freethrows
142-144 Ibaka putback with one possession to go.
Anybody smell a third overtime.144-144 KG Dunks the ball inside with 6.3 to go.(Sorry for bad screenshot. Instant replay has stopped working.)

144-144 Westbrook misses a potential Game Winner and we are going to another Overtime.
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End Of 2nd OTI Know this game was going to be close but this is Crazy.
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3rd Overtime144-146 Williams Freethrows
146-146 Sullinger Putback in traffic.

146-148 Durant mid J
146-150 Ibaka Putback
148-150 KG Dunk
148-152 Ibaka putback
150-152 KG Dunks off Rondo Feed


152-152 Pierce finds a wide open Green for a Mid J
152-154 Durant Dunk

154-154 Rondo to Green Ally-Oop

154-156 Durant Mid J
156-156 Pierce J from just below 3.
156-158 Durant J from just below 3.
159-158 Pierce 3. Whatever You Can Do, I Can Do Better.159-160 Westbrook freethrows
161-160 Pierce steps back on Lamb and J.
#IceCold161-163 Durant 3.
#LiquidNitrogenCold161-163 Pierce misses a J and Ibaka is fouled with 5.9 sec to go. Misses both freethrows.
#WeCatchABreak164-163 Pierce with a Three Right Between the Eyes. Patent Step-Back J with 0.4 seconds to go.
164-163 Thunder cant get a shot off. Game Over.
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Final Thoughts
Player Of the Game : P.Pierce -- 41pts/6reb/6ast/2stl/3blk and a Wide Array Clutch Shots and Plays.
THE BEST GAME OF THE SEASON HANDS DOWN.
The Game had multiple Headlining Storylines.
The Game Went 3 Overtimes.
The Game Featured an Insane amount of Clutch Shots.
The Game Had 5 Players topping 30 points, 2 Players topping 40 points and 1 with 56 Points.
A Total of 119 Rebounds were collected and 192 points scored in the paint combined.The Thunder Shot 51/35/81% and frankly this game was so long and even that no pros or cons stand out except rebounding (66-53)
K.Durant(56pts/15reb/1ast/1stl) Played a Great Game scoring the ball and Hitting the boards. He also went Toe-to-Toe with the most clutch player of the last Decade and came up just a point short. The Future is Extremly Bright.
R.Westbrook(36pts/8reb/18ast/3stl) Also had a monster Game Scoring, Rebounding and Spreading the ball around. He out-played Rondo and was a big part of the game going 3OTs
J.Lamb(35pts/4reb/4ast) was a revelation scorer filling in for K.Martin scoring against the slower Pierce.
S.Ibaka(22pts/20reb/1ast/2blk) was a force to be reckoned with in the paint creating havox and recording his first 20-20 Game.
K.Perkins(2pts/11reb/1ast/2stl) couldent contain KG but hit the boards hard and came up with 2 steals.
Celtics Shot 54/42/85% from the field and Got a big contribution from their bench with 39 points.
P.Pierce(41pts/6reb/6ast/2stl/3blk) had one of his throwback performances while carrying the team throught 4th quarter and all the OTs and trying to keep up with a quicker player on defense (not that he did a good job but atleast he tried). It dosen't get any Truer than that.
K.Garnett(37pts/7reb/1ast/1stl/2blk) started hot in the first, Faded down the strech and Got hot again towards the end, constantly altering shots at the rim and even defending Durant for some streches.
R.Rondo(8pts/3reb/21ast/5stl) played decent during 4 Quarters and got out of Pierce's way in OTs (Smart thing to do) playing the passing lanes and Ripping balls off people.
J.Green(27pts/7reb/2blk) tried his best to contain Durant but failed respectfully. he also provided the scoring threat to take some pressure off Pierce and KG's Backs, cutting to the basket and finishing the Oop in a split second.
J.Sullinger(12pts/14reb/1stl/1blk) played decent and acted as the decoy for KG to operate in the post.
B.Bass(16pts/4reb in 11 Min) played great in limited time and is really campaigning for an increased role with the team.
L.Barbosa(9pts/4reb/5ast/1blk) & T.McGrady(5pts/3reb/3ast/1stl) are officially the backup team for Rondo. They played decent scoring and assisting. Just about what we expect from them.
F.Melo(6pts/4reb/1blk) showed he may be ready for an increased role.
Everybody else had a forgettable (yet an Unforgettable) Game.
The
Celtics come up with a Huge Triple Over-Time Victory at home and can get some rest with four days and one game against Magic.
Next they Travel to Orlando to take on the
Magic. KG and Pierce are most probably getting the game Off.
Look forward to the next game.