The Boston Celtics lost 118-112 to the Oklahoma City Thunder last night, and many pointed to the huge free throw discrepancy between the two teams as a key factor in the result.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, playing without Jalen Williams, finished 25-for-35 at the charity stripe, while the Boston Celtics went 10-for-12. However, Jayson Tatum doesn’t believe that’s the main reason his team lost the marquee matchup.
“You’re not gonna keep them off the line. They’re very intentional about that. We’re not gonna be the first team where they shoot five free throws or something crazy like that, but there’s a balance between that and 35 free throws. Granted, some of them were fouls, some of them we’ve gotta be better at,” Tatum said via ClutchPoints’ Daniel Donabedian.
“I’m not saying that’s why we lost or it’s the refs’ fault or anything like that. That’s what you want, you want a physical game. That’s how it’s gonna be in the playoffs. You just want it to be the same on both sides, but that’s not why we lost at all,” he added.
Jayson Tatum came to play for the Boston Celtics
Jayson Tatum put up a strong performance against the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, notching 33 points (team-high), eight rebounds, eight assists, and four three-pointers on 12-for-23 shooting from the field.
However, the same can’t be said for co-star Jaylen Brown, who only had 10 points and five rebounds on 5-for-15 shooting from the field.
The game was tight until the Oklahoma City Thunder scored eight unanswered points in the final period to pull away from the Boston Celtics.
