Tight defensive effort sees Thunder storm past Celtics

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder clamped down defensively in the second half to beat the NBA champion Boston Celtics 105-92 on Sunday, posting a franchise record 15th straight win.

For the fourth straight game, the Western Conference-leading Thunder won after trailing by at least a dozen points.

Thunder forward Luguentz Dort scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, drilling back-to-back three-pointers to put Oklahoma City up 100-88 with 1:59 remaining.

Dort drained another from beyond the arc to cap the scoring in the final minute.

In a game tipped as a potential NBA Finals preview, the Thunder held the Celtics to just 27 points in the second half, snapping Boston's winning streak at three games.

"We're out there having fun," Dort said. "Anytime somebody does something well, we're always out there cheering for them. We've been building this chemistry for years, and we're clicking right now."

The game was the second of three straight against the Eastern Conference's top three teams for the Thunder.

On Friday, they rallied to end the third-placed New York Knicks' nine-game winning streak.

With the second-placed Celtics taken care of, the 30-5 Thunder will look forward to taking on the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers in Cleveland on Wednesday.

The Cavaliers notched their 10th straight win, pushing their league-best record to 31-4 with a 115-105 victory over the reeling Charlotte Hornets.

Darius Garland scored 25 points, Jarrett Allen added 19 points and 11 rebounds and Donovan Mitchell shook off a slow start to finish with 19 points, as Cleveland improved to 18-1 at home.

In Oklahoma City, Jayson Tatum scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 19, but Boston connected on just 9-of-46 three-point attempts and, like a string of teams before them, crumbled in the face of Oklahoma City's suffocating second-half defense.

Brown, back after missing two games with a shoulder injury, piled up 10 points in the first period to help the Celtics emerge from a tight first quarter with a three-point lead.

Boston pushed the advantage to as many as 13, before hitting halftime with a 10-point edge.

Oklahoma City whittled that to four going into the final quarter, and regained the lead for the first time since the first quarter when Jalen Williams drilled a pair of free-throws minutes into the fourth.

The Thunder wouldn't trail again. Although the Celtics twice pulled level, they had no real answer.

Tatum's nine points were the only points by a Celtics starter in the final frame, and Brown was held scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in the second half.

"The first half was ours," Porzingis said. "The second half was theirs by a wide margin."

Rockets edge Lakers

In Houston, Jalen Green scored 33 points and Amen Thompson added 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets, which held off LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 119-115.

Fred VanVleet scored 15 points and stole the Lakers' inbounds pass intended for James with 5.7 seconds remaining, and the Rockets were up by three.

Fouled on the play, VanVleet made one of two free throws and the Rockets closed it out.

Anthony Davis scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half and grabbed 13 rebounds. James scored 21 points with 13 rebounds and nine assists, but after falling behind by as many as 22 in the first half, the Lakers couldn't get over the hump.

Trailing 67-49 at halftime, the Lakers stepped up their intensity in the third quarter and cut the deficit to two going into the fourth.

AFP