The Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder were trading blows throughout the first half. Boston made their runs and kept things close despite the Thunder finding consistent ways to get their shots off and create high-quality looks. However, it was the third quarter where things took a turn, and the Celtics lost ground, which ended up being the major turning point in the game.
The Celtics lost the third quarter by 15 points, with no one in the rotation cracking double-digit scoring. The Thunder, however, dropped 40 points in 12 minutes, with both Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finding a rhythm on the offensive end.