Jaylen Brown salutes OKC after the Thunder beat the Celtics in Boston
A fight between two elite NBA teams ended Wednesday night with the Boston Celtics losing 118-112 at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum's fight was thrilling offensively. However, the Thunder prevailed in the trenches. From the start, they were stronger.
They controlled the painted area and shot a season-high 35 free throws. OKC's aggressiveness hurt Celtics standout Jaylen Brown.
Brown fouled out in the fourth quarter, ending his unusually bad night. Brown thanked the Thunder for utilizing their tenacity to win.
"They had good physicality tonight," Brown said of the Thunder. I can be more physical. Body may be used more."
Brown said, "I settled in some spots." "I wasn't physically fit. Strangely, I didn't try free throws."
Brown scored 10 points on 5-for-15 shooting in 38 minutes of service. He helped Boston with 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block and strong defense. Overall, the Georgia native struggled.
Outside of Jayson Tatum's 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, the Celtics were outplayed. Boston settled for a franchise-record 63 3-pointers and 43.6% field goal shooting.
Conversely, the Thunder were poised yet gritty. Their 35 free throw attempts were a season-high and showed their tenacity. OKC had superior glass and +12 paint points.
Brown was among the first to praise the Thunder for their aggressiveness Wednesday night.
"Give credit to OKC, they've been playing good basketball," he remarked. They became physical tonight. They've been physical all season and outplayed us tonight."
Boston finished a seven-game homestand 5-2 with the defeat. Brown and the Celtics will play 8 of their next 9 games away from TD Garden.