The Boston Celtics sent a message to the rest of the NBA on Wednesday night, ending the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 12-game winning streak with a commanding 119-109 victory at TD Garden. The win has reignited the debate about whether Boston is a genuine championship threat. NBA analyst Chris Broussard believes the matchups tell a compelling story.
Chris Broussard Believes the Celtics Can Go Toe-to-Toe with the Thunder
Broussard made his case by drilling into the individual matchups between the two teams, arguing that Boston has the personnel to compete with Oklahoma City at every critical position. His assessment was direct.
“Jaylen is great, but he’s not as good as SGA, but he can come close to matching his production and he’s a two-way player like SGA. Jayson Tatum, even in this diminished form, is better than Jalen Williams,” Broussard said on “First Things First”.
The Celtics’ win on Wednesday gave weight to that argument. Jaylen Brown finished with 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, going toe-to-toe with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and even beating him at his own game.
Brown baited a foul on Gilgeous-Alexander using the reigning MVP’s signature upfake move late in the fourth quarter, finishing with 14 free-throw attempts to SGA’s 12. Gilgeous-Alexander still scored 33 points on 10-of-12 shooting with 8 assists. It felt like the Celtics were willing to live with that, bottling up his supporting cast and holding Thunder shooters to just 12-of-37 from 3.
Even Brian Windhorst appeared on “First Take” on Thursday to echo a similar sentiment about Brown’s performance.
“Jaylen Brown played this game to use Shai’s game against Shai. He attacked him,” Windhorst said. “Probably, Shai is going to win that MVP award. But Jaylen wanted to let it be known that he could meet him where he lives and do it just as well or better than him.”
Boston also controlled the game in the areas that define championship-level teams. The Celtics outrebounded Oklahoma City 43-35, outshot them from 3 at 43.9% to 32.4%, and dished 25 assists to OKC’s 17. And this was all without Nikola Vučević, sidelined since March 6 with a finger fracture.
Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t shy away from acknowledging the test.
“They bring it every night, no matter who’s out there. They have a culture… they check all of the boxes. It’s a game that you see where you really are, and they test you. We got a test tonight; we didn’t pass it,” he said.
The Celtics Prove Their Playoff Credentials As Jayson Tatum Finds His Footing
What makes Broussard’s case particularly interesting is his framing around Tatum, who missed the first 62 games of the season with a torn Achilles. Even in what Broussard describes as “diminished form,” he still rates Tatum above Jalen Williams.
If there’s any accuracy to it, it gives Boston a meaningful edge in one of the key positional battles of any potential Finals matchup.
Tatum himself finished with 19 points on Wednesday, combining with Brown for 50 points between them. Having spent the better part of the season watching Brown carry the franchise, Tatum has been candid about what his teammate has shown in his absence.
“He’s been able to take more ownership. Obviously, we all know he could do it. It was just when guys get more of an opportunity, they get to show it,” Tatum said.
The Celtics now sit at 48-24, holding firm among the East’s elite despite losing Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porziņģis, and Al Horford in the offseason. Wednesday’s result split the season series with Oklahoma City and delivered the program’s most significant win of the year.
Whether it translates into a postseason run deep enough to challenge the defending champions remains to be seen. But Broussard’s matchup breakdown suggests Boston has more than enough to make that conversation worth having.
