Everyone on the Celtics played pretty well, but the credit goes to the bench in this one. Marquis Daniels, Nate Robinson, and Semih Erden helped Boston out to a nine-point lead after the first possession of the second quarter, a working margin the starters were able to more or less maintain before staging a late second-quarter run put the halftime lead at 21.
That was crucial, because the Thunder made a big run in the latter stages of the third quarter, taking advantage of a Boston cold spell. They did it on the backs of their two studs, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who between the scored all 27 of OKC's points in the third period. James Harden broke that streak with a three-pointer to start the fourth, cutting the Boston advantage to six, but a couple of Glen Davis jumpers from the top of the key restored order, and the Celtics more or less cruised from there -- the Thunder never came within single digits again until their final possession of the game.
Simply put, Oklahoma City ran out of gas. In such a deep hole after the first half, Thunder coach Scott Brooks never had the opportunity to rest Durant and Westbrook, and they just wore down.
The Thunder are an interesting team. I didn't write a "The Next Lamb" about them, because I didn't know what to say, other than "They have Kevin Durant, everyone's favorite opposing player, and they have this guy, Russell Westbrook, who everyone compares to Rajon Rondo." They usually have Jeff Green, but he was out with an ankle injury. Without Green, Oklahoma City really is a two-horse outfit, and the Celtics do well against teams like that, particularly when a guy like Westbrook is more than happy to comply with Boston's invitation to shoot jumpers on every possession.
Indeed, this game went a lot like last year's date in Oklahoma City. In that one, Boston showed up at the tail end of a four-game road trip, after winning in San Antonio the night before. It seemed like a letdown game, but OKC came out a little flat and Boston jumped on them early, then put it away in the third.
I don't know what to make of the Thunder. Like a lot of people, I think I got a little carried away with their performance at the end of last season, and predicted them to finish second in the West. Durant's the best scorer in the game, and Westbrook's off to a great start (though he has a long way to go in terms of his decision-making). But beyond that, they have a bunch of guys with as-yet-unfulfilled potential. They're still a franchise that's in great shape, but it seems the talk of them as a contender is a bit premature.
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