Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander honest admission on beating the champion Celtics

01/06/2025 10:21 AM

All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Boston Celtics 105-92. Their defense dominated in the second half, where the champions were reduced to scoring 27 points in the second half. While head coach Mark Daigneault downplayed the significance of the Thunder's win, Gilgeous-Alexander shared a similar sentiment.

However, Gilgeous-Alexander went further, stating that the Thunder improved as a team after their 13-point win against the Celtics.

"It's not that significant in the grand scheme of things. It's one game," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Now, we got better tonight. And that's what we're after every day. So, it's significant in that way. But it doesn't hold any weight. Game's over. We'll learn our lessons. But we did good tonight."

Thunder forward Jalen Williams says measuring themselves against the defending champions is relevant for a team that is continuing to improve.

"It's good to go against teams like that," Williams said. "Obviously, given that they just won. But at the same time, it's a game in January. We're just trying to get better. It is good to play teams like that. [Then], we play Cleveland where we can kind of test where we need to be at."

Asked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Jalen Williams about the significance of the #Thunder erasing a double-digit deficit to beat the champion #Celtics 105-92:

SGA: "We got better tonight. That's what we're after every day"

JDUB: "We're just trying to get better" pic.twitter.com/KAOMtkSVju

— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) January 6, 2025

Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned in yet another dominating performance, finishing with 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocks. Scoring 33 points in both of the Thunder's last two wins, it's his fifth 33+ point performance in his previous seven outings. The Thunder extended their franchise-record winning streak to 15.

Mark Daigneault downplays Thunder's win vs Celtics

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault viewed beating the Celtics as another win to add to the standings. For Daigneault, Sunday's victory was one of 82 regular-season games despite the Thunder's impressive second half. They overcame a 13-point deficit while holding Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown scoreless after a 21-point first half.

Still, Daigneault focuses on taking things one game at a time without thinking one win outweighs the others.

"It's one of 82, like I told you before the game. Every game's a different challenge. We're all running our own race. We happen to be bumping against them," Daignealut said. "We'll go our separate ways. So will they… the reason we're in the position we are right now is because we've improved, and we've had our heads down and been very present in competition, and if we want to continue to improve, that's what we have to continue to do."

The Thunder, the Western Conference's top team, will face the Eastern Conference's leading Cavs on Wednesday.

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