By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 and Chet Holmgren had 23 points and 15 rebounds to help the Oklahoma City Thunder clinch a playoff berth by beating the Boston Celtics, 118-112, on Wednesday night, March 12.
In a much-anticipated potential NBA Finals preview, the Western Conference-leading Thunder withstood a barrage of Boston 3-pointers — a franchise record 63 attempts in all — to sweep the defending NBA champions in the two-game season series and win for the 17th time in their last 18 games.
Jayson Tatum scored 33 for Boston, which had won five straight and 15 of its last 18 games. Al Horford added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Derrick White scored 22.
Oklahoma City scored the first nine points of the game and led by 12 midway through the third before Boston tied it 88-all on Tatum’s three-point play to end the quarter. It was 98-98 in the fourth before the Thunder ran off eight straight points to pull away.
After splitting a back-to-back against Denver, their closest competitor in the West, the Thunder controlled the game against the reigning champions and the likely No. 2 seed in the East.
If the teams do meet for the championship, expect reigning NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown to play better than his 5-for-15 shooting night, missing all five 3-point attempts and scoring 10 points to match a season low before he fouled out.
Meanwhile, Jalen Green had 29 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 111-104 victory over the Phoenix Suns in a game where Houston’s Steven Adams and Phoenix’s Mason Plumlee were ejected for fighting.
Alperen Sengun scored 20 points and Dillon Brooks added 19 to help the Rockets extend their winning streak to four.
Bradley Beal’s two free throws got the Suns within eight with about 9 1/2 minutes to go before Houston used a 9-2 run to make it 99-84 with about seven minutes remaining. Jock Landale opened the run with a 3-point play and Brooks capped it with a layup after a turnover by Devin Booker.
Adams and Plumlee were ejected before halftime after getting into a fight where Adams wrestled Plumlee to the court
Beal had 25 points and Booker and Kevin Durant added 19 each as the Suns lost for the third time in four games.
In Miami, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 30 points and Ivica Zubac added 26 points and 14 rebounds, helping the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Heat, 119-104.
James Harden had 24 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Clippers, who won for the fourth time in five games and pulled within 1 1/2 games of idle Golden State for the No. 6 — and last guaranteed — playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Tyler Herro scored 31 points and Andrew Wiggins added 22 for the Heat, who fell 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the race for the No. 7 spot and most advantageous play-in position in the Eastern Conference.
In Memphis, Luke Kennard scored 30 points and Ja Morant had 28, helping the Grizzlies top the Utah Jazz, 122-115.
Kennard went 7 for 9 from 3-point range, and Morant was 4 for 7 from deep. Desmond Bane added 17 points as Memphis posted its fourth straight win.
Utah lost its seventh consecutive game. Collin Sexton had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and John Collins also scored 22 points.
In San Antonio, De’Aaron Fox had 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and the Spurs snapped a three-game skid, beating the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks, 126-116.
Dallas (33-34) remained 10th in the Western Conference, holding the final spot for the play-in tournament by 2 1/2 games over Phoenix.
In Atlanta, Trae Young made all of his 21 free throws and scored 35 points to lead the Hawks to their fourth straight victory, 123-110, over the Charlotte Hornets.
Young became the sixth player in NBA history to make 21 or more free throws without a miss, and he also had 12 assists on a poor shooting night from the field. He was 7 of 20 and missed all five of his 3-point attempts.
