Defense wins championships -- we all know that. During the opening quarter of last night's first-ever meeting between the Celtics and Thunder, the NBA Champions seemed to have forgotten that timeless creed.To be frank, the youngsters from Oklahoma City ran all over the court, putting up a gaudy 29 points in the first frame. The Thunder could do no wrong -- passes were crisp, all five men sprinted the floor, and shots seems inevitably true. For the young franchise, this was their "Game Seven of the NBA Finals." For the Celtics, this may become an all-too-familiar trend. Every single team in the league will be gunning for them, trying to make their mark against the bearers of the crown. That is the difficulty of trying to defend a championship.
But as true champions, the Celtics battled back. They dominated the young Thunder in the second quarter behind a suffocating defensive stand. The champs outscored the home team 30-15 in that frame and would never relinquish the lead. This was, at least in part, due to the Thunder's carelessness with the basketball. They seemed to turn it over on every other possession, allowing the C's to carefully and steadily build upon their lead. Over the second and third frames, the Thunder were held to only 26 points, as Boston finished their three-game road trip with two wins.
Up next, the Celtics finally return home to face Richard Jefferson and the new-look Milwaukee Bucks (3-2). As a side note, the C's exercised their fourth-year option on point guard Rajon Rondo, keeping him in town, which came as a surprise to absolutely no one.
Final Score: Boston Celtics 96, Oklahoma City Thunder 83
Player of the Game: Paul Pierce, BOS (20 Pts, 5 Ast, 9 Reb)
- Dan Zappulla, Waiting for the Weekend.
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