Apr 27, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Luguentz Dort (5) and forward Darius Bazley (7) defend against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) in the fourth quarter at TD Garden. David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Luguentz Dort scored 24 points, Darius Bazley had 21 with 10 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder avoided a franchise-record 15-game losing streak with a 119-115 victory over the host Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
Ty Jerome and Isaiah Roby supplied 15 points apiece for the Thunder, who won for the first time since March 31 despite 27 turnovers. Oklahoma City (21-41) played the tail end of a back-to-back.
Jaylen Brown had 39 points and 11 rebounds and Payton Pritchard added a career-high 28 points for the Celtics, who lost their third straight. Boston (32-30) played without Jayson Tatum (ankle), Kemba Walker (oblique) and Robert Williams III (knee).
"Trying to go out there every night and improve as a team. Everybody contributed to this win today."
🎤 @roby_isaiah pic.twitter.com/EIKHWfnnZA
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 28, 2021
The Thunder led by two with five minutes remaining before ripping off a 9-0 run for a 106-95 advantage. A Jerome layup gave Oklahoma City a 110-100 lead with 1:08 to go.
Pritchard hit a 3-pointer to kick off a 7-0 Boston stretch in less than 15 seconds. A Bazley dunk ended the run, and the Thunder led 112-109 with 30.8 ticks left.
After the teams traded free throws, Roby’s dunk with 16.8 seconds remaining upped Oklahoma City’s lead to five. Boston had a chance down 117-115 with 3.2 seconds left after Evan Fournier hit the first of two free throws, but Roby gained possession on the intentional miss to seal the result.
Svi Mykhailiuk, Jerome and Bazley each hit 3-pointers during a 9-2 stretch to give the Thunder a 90-85 lead with 8:21 remaining in the fourth.
Down six to begin the third quarter, the Celtics’ deficit grew to 64-53 after Dort and Aleksej Pokusevski nailed back-to-back 3-pointers. A Romeo Langford three-point play with 3:48 left gave the Celtics their first lead, 74-71, since 8:36 of the first.
The teams entered the fourth tied at 78.
The Thunder grabbed the game’s first double-digit lead, 20-10, midway through the first. The Celtics got back within two before Roby beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer for a 29-24 Oklahoma City lead.
The Thunder entered the break up 55-49.