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Boston Celtics vs. Thunder preview (Game 67 of 82)

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  • Boston Celtics (43-22, 2nd in the East) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (51-15, 1st in the West)
  • When: Thursday, 12 March 2026 at 8:30pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: Prime Video / FDSN-OK
  • Offensive Rating: BOS: 119.8 (2nd) / OKC: 117.0 (7th)
  • Defensive Rating: BOS: 111.8 (5th) / OKC: 106.2 (1st)
  • Net Rating: BOS: 7.9 (2nd) / OKC: 10.8 (1st)
  • Current Streaks: BOS: Lost their last game, 9-3 in their last 12 / OKC: Winners of 6 in a row, 9-1 in their last 10

The Tip-Off

There was a point around early February, where the Thunder were struggling with injuries and struggling with winning consistently. Many basketball prognosticators pointed to this particular point in the season when the Thunder would start to lose their grip on their #1 status in both the conference and the league. San Antonio and Detroit both nipping at their tail and a murderer’s row of opponents (New York (in NYC), Denver,Β  Boston, and Minnesota) lied ahead. The post All-Star break schedule was the one that was going to break the Thunder. What has happened since the All-Star break? A 9-1 record with the only loss being to the Detroit Pistons on a night where the Thunder were missing their top 6 players (SGA, Chet, Dub, Hartenstein, Ajay, and Caruso). This team is getting healthier and gaining some momentum at the right time in the season.

This is the first of two meetings this season between these two conference powerhouses. OKC swept the season series last season. These two teams were the favorites to meet in the Finals last season, but the injury to Jayson Tatum was too much for Boston as they lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs to the New York Knicks.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -6.5
  • O/U: 215.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Branden Carlson – OUT (back)
  • Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf contusion)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)

BOS

  • Payton Pritchard – Probable (neck spasms)
  • Jayson Tatum – Questionable (Achilles recovery management)
  • Nikola Vucevic – OUT (finger)
  • Derrick White – Questionable (knee contusion)

Three Big Things

  1. Pace – Boston is the “slowest” team in the league, ranking dead last in Pace and Fast Break Points per game. But, with that, comes the ability to protect the ball, which they do to the utmost, ranking first in turnovers, committing just 12.1 turnovers per game. This will be where OKC has to win the game. Forcing turnovers and getting out in transition would get Boston out of their element and turn the game in OKC’s favor.
  2. Perimeter Defense – Boston is the most “jump-shootiest” of jump-shooting teams there is in the league. They rank 1st in 3-point attempts per game, last in free-throw attempts per game (usually an indicator of a jump-shooting team), and 28th in Points in the Paint per game. They rank 6th in percentage of points from the mid-range and 3rd in percentage of points from the 3-point line. This may change a bit with the return of Jayson Tatum, but even with Tatum in the lineup, the Celtics were normally known as a team at the top or near the top of 3-point attempts. To a team like OKC, which likes to play it’s defense inside-out, if Boston is hitting their shots consistently, it could make for a long night.
  3. 127 – Anytime you tie a record set by Wilt Chamberlain, you’re in rarefied air. Anytime you have the chance to break a record set by Chamberlain, you’re on a whole ‘nother level. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finds himself on the precipice of breaking the consecutive “20-points scored” games record. It’ll be interesting to see how Boston handles this. Are they going to throw the kitchen sink at SGA in order to try and avoid this milestone happening on their watch. Or will Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla just stick to his normal game plan and let the chips fall as they may.

Denver Nuggets vs. Thunder preview (Game 66 of 82)

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  • Denver Nuggets (39-25, 6th in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (50-15, 1st in the West)
  • When: Monday, 09 March 2026 at 6:30pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: Peacock/NBCSN/FDSN-OK
  • Offensive Rating: DEN: 120.0 (1st) / OKC: 116.8 (8th)
  • Defensive Rating: DEN: 116.3 (22nd) / OKC: 105.9 (1st)
  • Net Rating: DEN: 3.8 (9th) / OKC: 10.9 (1st)
  • Current Streaks: DEN: Inconsistent at best; 6-9 in their last 15 / OKC: Winners of 5 straight, 8-1 in their last 9

The Tip-Off

This is the third of four meetings this season between these Northwest Division rivals. After a grueling 7-game series in the second round of last season’s playoffs, these two teams haven’t let off the gas when they meet each other. OKC dominated the first game, winning by 10 points in Denver. The second game was a lot more competitive, with Denver controlling most of the game, but OKC continuously keeping it close until they were able to make it a back and forth affair late in the game and winning in overtime. That game featured some physicality, a Lu Dort flagrant 2, and a kerfuffle that saw Nikola Jokic and Jaylin Williams do the tango at halfcourt.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -6.5
  • O/U: 232.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Branden Carlson – OUT (back)
  • Alex Caruso – OUT (hip)
  • Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf)
  • Chet Holmgren – Questionable (illness)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)

DEN

  • Jamal Murray – Questionable (ankle)
  • Peyton Watson – OUT (hamstring)

Three Big Things

  1. Playoff Atmosphere – This is the NBA’s only current rivalry that has recent playoff history behind it. The Pacers and Knicks had some sauce behind it after last season, but with the Pacers’ “waiting in the wings” season this year, it hasn’t had the same carry-over effect. And Thunder vs. Spurs has been a thing this year, but we’ll need at least one playoff series before crowning it a true, budding rivalry. But you can see with every game these two teams have played this season, the carry-over effect has been evident and that is a great thing.
  2. Spillage From Last Game – There was a national discourse over a certain play in the last Denver game that seemed to last about a week after the game was actually played. Yes, the Dort hip check/trip on Jokic was dirty. Have dirty plays like that happened in the NBA before? Yes. Were there national discussions over it days after it happened? Usually not. It was a play that went a little over the line. Dort even admitted it himself. But in a annals of dirty plays, it wouldn’t even rate in the top-100. It was much ado about nothing.
  3. History – They say great scorers can jump out of bed and drop 20 like it’s nothing. But apparently, it’s very difficult to do it consistently, game after game. There’s the possibility of injury, where regardless of when the player gets knocked out of a game, if they played and didn’t score 20 or more the streak is over. Then there’s the consistency component. Do anything 125 times straight, and there will be a time or two where you don’t have it that day. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is staring down the barrel of a record that hasn’t been talked about too much in the history of the NBA, but also, hasn’t been talked about a lot because no player has gotten this close to the record. If SGA scores 20 or more tonight, he’ll tie a record that has stood for 63 years. If SGA scores 20 or more tonight, he’ll tie a Wilt Chamberlain record. Wilt Chamberlain, the man who owns nearly every scoring record in the game. Here’s to seeing history tonight.