4th Quarter Collapse Silences Thunder

By Randy Renner

There were several times Sunday night when it looked like the Thunder were right on the verge of putting the Boston Celtics away and then came the fourth quarter.

The Thunder couldn’t do anything right in the final 12 minutes. Couldn’t get a stop, couldn’t get a basket, couldn’t get a break.

And by the time the final buzzer sounded the Thunder had lost 100-85 and let another game in which they’d led by double digits get away.

Just how bad was the fourth quarter? Really about as bad as any quarter the Thunder have ever played.

They scored 11 points on a microscopic 11.8 percent shooting (2-for-17). They missed all five of their 3-pointers. Meanwhile the Celtics were scoring 28 points on 50 percent shooting overall (9-for-18) and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-7).  It would have been even worse had Oklahoma City not gone to the line 10 times and hit seven.

Serge Ibaka was the only Thunder player who had a good night. He finished with 16 points on 8-for-16 shooting while pulling down 10 rebounds and blocking three shots.

No one else in sunset orange uniforms had a particularly good night. The team shot just 36.4 percent overall and 24 percent from deep (6-for-25). Russell Westbrook, coming off two straight triple-doubles, led the Thunder with 27 points 15 of them coming at the free throw line. Westbrook was only 5-for-20 from the field and 2-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Dion Waiters was just 3-for-11, scoring seven points. Anthony Morrow, who got his second straight start, did not have his shot working. He didn’t score, missing all four of his shots, three of them from beyond the arc.

Celtics guard Marcus Smart, the former OSU All-American, had another career night at The Peake. Last season Smart had a career high 25 points against the Thunder in OKC and Sunday night he broke that record with 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.

It was a disappointing night at home for a team that had won three in a row and seemed to be getting its act together.

Now they must go on the road to Memphis to face the Grizzlies in the Grindhouse after going through their own grinder of a game at home.

Be sure to check out our postgame video, with comments from Billy Donovan, Enes Kanter, Dion Waiters and Russell Westbrook from the Thunder lockerroom by clicking the video tab here on the website.