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Boston Celtics (43-21) at Oklahoma City Thunder (51-15)
Thursday, March 12, 2026
9:30 PM ET
Game #66, Road Game #35
TV: Prime Video
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WWLS/WKY, Sirius XM
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The Celtics complete their 3 game road trip with a stop in Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder. The Celtics won the first game in Cleveland on Sunday and then lost to the Spurs on Tuesday night. The Thunder haven’t played since Monday. This is the first of 2 meetings between these 2 teams this season. They will meet for the final time in Boston on March 25. The Celtics are 47-59 against the Thunder overall all time and they are 22-30 in games played in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder won the Championship last season and in the off season, they did very little to change their team. They made no trades and brought in no new players. They lost Dillon Jones who went to the Wizards. They did re-sign Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams and Ajay Mitchell. At the trade deadline, They traded picks to Philadelphia for Jared McCain and they traded Ousmane Dieng to Charlotte for Mason Plumlee, who they waived.

The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 3.5 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 2 games ahead of 3rd place New York , 3.5 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 6.5 games ahead of 5th place Orlando and 6th place Miami and 7 games ahead of 7th place Toronto. The Celtics are 15-8 against Western Conference opponents. They are 22-12 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a loss in their last game. (The Knicks, Cavs, and Raptors are playing as I write this so that may change.)

The Thunder are 1st in the West, 2.5 games ahead of 2nd place San Antonio, 10 games ahead of 3rd place Houston, 10.5 games ahead of the 4th place Lakers and 5th place Minnesota, 11.5 games ahead of 6th place Denver and 12.5 games ahead of 7th place Phoenix. They are 15-6 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 27-6 at home and 9-1 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 5 games.

After this game at Oklahoma City the Celtics will head home where they will host Washington, Phoenix and Golden State. Next, it is one game at Memphis before a 3 game home stand against Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Atlanta. Then it’s back on the road for a 4 game trip through Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami and Milwaukee. They will then play two games at home against Toronto and Charlotte before one game on the road at New York. They will finish the season with 2 games at home against New Orleans and Orlando.

The Celtics may be shorthanded in this game with 4 players listed on the injury report at this time. The good news is that Payton Pritchard has been upgraded to available. Jayson Tatum is out for injury management after playing the last 3 games they may want to monitor his workload. Derrick White is listed as questionable due to a right knee contusion. Nikola Vucevic is out due to surgery on his injured finger. I have no idea who will start if both Tatum and White are out. I made a wild guess it will be Sheierman and Harper, Jr.

The Thunder may also be shorthanded for this game. Isaiah Hartenstein will miss a third straight game due to a bruised left calf. Jalen Williams is listed as out due to a strained right hamstring. Thomas Sorber is out for the season with a torn ACL. Brandon Carlson has been ruled out for a seventh straight game due to a back strain. Once again, I really don’t know who will start for the Thunder but took a guess at it.

Probable Starting Matchups
PG: Baylor Scheierman vs Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

SG: Ron Harper, Jr vs Cason Wallace

SF: Jaylen Brown vs Luguentz Dort

PF: Sam Hauser vs Jaylin Williams

C: Neemias Queta vs Chet Holmgren

Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Jordan Walsh

2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
John Tonje

Injuries/Out
Nikola Vucevic (finger) out
Payton Pritchard (neck) available
Jayson Tatum (injury management) out
Derrick White (knee) questionable

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Thunder Reserves
Branden Carlson
Alex Caruso
Isaiah Joe
Jared McCain
AJay Mitchell
Aaron Wiggins
Kenrich Williams

2 Way Players
Brooks Barnhizer
Branden Carlson
Payton Sandfort

Injuries/Out
Branden Carlson (back) out
Thomas Sorber (ACL) out
Nikola Topic (G-League) out
Jalen Williams (hamstring) out

Head Coach
Mark Daigneault

Key Matchups
Baylor Scheierman vs Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He is shooting 55.1% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc. Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning MVP and is one of the leaders to win it once again this season. He is the key to the Thunder’s winning ways. In order to slow the Thunder, the Celtics must slow down SGA. I’m just guessing that Scheierman will start at the point but White may play and it’s possible that Joe will go with someone else to start here.

Neemias Queta vs Chet Holmgren
Holmgren is averaging 17.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.9 blocks per game.  He is shooting 55.2% from the field and 35.6% from beyond the arc.   Holmgren is a threat to grab rebounds and block shots near the basket and the Celtics need to try to keep him out of the paint.  He can also hit threes and so the Celtics need to stay with him on the perimeter as well.

Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always the biggest key to winning.   This is going to be a tough matchup for the Celtics as the Thunder are first in the league with a defensive rating of 106.2 while the Celtics are 5th with a defensive rating of 111.8.   The Celtics need to tighten up their defense and make playing defense a priority especially against this Thunder team that plays lock down defense. It will be even harder for the Celtics on defense if both Derrick White and Jayson Tatum are out. 

Rebound – Rebounding  is also a key to winning.  The Celtics need to rebound on the defensive end to keep the Thunder from getting second chance points and they need to rebound on the offensive end to give themselves extra possessions.  The Thunder are 15th with 43.8 rebounds per game while the Celtics are 5th with 46.3 rebounds per game.  Much of rebounding is desire and effort and the Celtics as a team have to put in the extra effort to grab rebounds.

Take Care of the Ball – The Celtics need to keep their focus and not turn the ball over.  The Thunder are 1st in the league with 22.1 points off turnovers per game. They are also 4th with 9.7 steals per game.  The Celtics have to move the ball because they are a much better team when they move the ball and don’t over dribble.   But they must focus and make careful passes and not get sloppy.  They also have to be aware when dribbling the ball so as not to allow the Thunder to get steals.  The Thunder will make them pay if they get sloppy and turn the ball over.

Be Focused and Ready for a Tough Game –  The Thunder are a very good team and they play exceptional defense.  The Celtics have to be ready to go to the basket if they struggle from three.  They also have to be ready to shoot from midrange if both the paint and the perimeter are defended tightly.  The Celtics must stay focused on playing hard for 48 minutes and on playing tough defense and on playing the right way.  They can’t afford to let the Thunder play harder than them. 

X-Factors
On the Road –  The Celtics are playing in their 3rd straight road game.  The Thunder have the advantage of being at home in front of their fans and they have great fans.  The Celtics need to overcome the distractions of travel and playing on the road in front of hostile fans.  This is also the final game of a road trip and those are among the toughest games to win as the team is road weary and sometimes focus isn’t where it should be because of it. 

Officiating –  Officiating is always an x-factor. How the refs call the game has a big influence on how the teams play. Will they let them play or call every little bit of contact? Will they call it evenly or will they favor one team or the other. It all effects the outcome of the game and the Celtics need to play the right way and not allow the officiating to take them out of their game.  They can’t let bad calls and no calls take away their focus.   

The Washington Wizards play the Orlando Magic at 7 p.m. ET. Watch on Monumental Sports Network. Chat on this posts as we root for Washington to victory! Yes, I wrote that with a straight face!

(Hopefully, no one drops 83+ points on the Wizards this time.)

The Cleveland Cavaliers were the ones who lost Wednesday’s game against the Orlando Magic, not the officiating crew. It was the Cavs’ defense that didn’t put up enough resistance and allowed 128 points to a bottom-third offense.

They were also on the wrong end of a few calls that helped determine the game.

First, Keon Ellis was called for a shooting foul that he didn’t commit. When he tried to tell the bench to review the play, he was called for a technical. The foul was overturned on review, but the technical wasn’t.

Needing to use the review there cost them in the final 20 seconds of a two-point game. The ball appeared to have gone out of bounds off an Orlando player. The Cavs couldn’t challenge because they won their two challenges earlier in the game and aren’t allowed a third. Then, Desmond Bane hit a game-sealing three after the inbound to secure the victory.

If the call had gone the other way, the Cavs would’ve had a chance to tie or win the game on their final possession. It’s also worth pointing out that the league’s Last Two Minute report said that the call on the floor was correct.

Not being able to review the call in the moment is something that Donovan Mitchell took issue with.

“I’m having a hard time with the rule of once you’ve had two challenges you can’t get any more, especially when you win both,” Mitchell said in a cleveland.com article by Chris Fedor. “I don’t know what the rule should be. If you’re winning challenges, especially on calls that are very obvious, I think it’s something that should be talked about.”

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Mitchell is right to feel this way, and he did clarify that it wasn’t the reason they lost. It’s deflating to feel like the outcome of a game is affected by something neither team can control.

At the same time, missed calls happen to every team in every game in every sport. And it will keep happening as long as sports are played. It’s just as much part of the game as missed shots, turnovers, or the basketball itself.

There’s the thought that if there were more replay reviews, we’d somehow make things more fair. And while the increased use of replay does help get more calls correct, sports will never be completely fair. The more you try to make it that way, the more you end up highlighting that it isn’t, and never will be.

There’s also the fact that there’s no amount of replays that would make things better. If you’re allowed two challenges, you’ll always think you should be allowed three. And so on.

Additionally, there are calls that can’t easily be reviewed. For example, the missed goaltending call in the Cavs game against the Oklahoma City Thunder proved to be monumental. Instead of two points for the Cavs, OKC ended up with a transition three.

How are you supposed to stop that from happening? Should they halt play any time there’s a close call? That isn’t exciting. Do you give the team that was goaltended against two points? That would help, but it’s still unfair that OKC got a three in transition? Do you rewind the game to the time and score when the goaltend happen? That would be pretty anticlimactic. Not every problem has a clean solution, so you will never completely fix everything.

Adding more replays hasn’t made the product better in any sport; it just leaves you more unsatisfied while also derailing any momentum the game had. You will never create a system where every judgment call is right. And you know what, it’s okay to accept that’s just part of the game.

Sports and life in general are unfair. There’s a certain amount of luck involved in winning, which includes the officiating. That wasn’t on the Cavs’ side on Wednesday, and they weren’t good enough to overcome it. We’ll all be happier if we just accept that this is just part of the sport.

Let’s just move on.

Just a week ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves seemed to be heading in the exact right direction. They defeated the Toronto Raptors in one of their most complete performances of the season, securing their fifth straight victory and moving the Wolves into third place in the Western Conference for the first time since they were 1-0. The vibes were high.

Over the past three games, everything has completely flipped for the Wolves. They’ve decisively lost their last three games, all by double-digits or more. All areas of the game have fallen apart at one point or another during this stretch for the Timberwolves, which has made it impossible to focus on just one aspect.

It started Saturday afternoon at Target Center when the Timberwolves lost 119-92 to the Orlando Magic. The Wolves’ offense fell apart down the stretch of the first half as the Wolves went nearly five full minutes without a single point, allowing the Magic to go on a 16-0 run. After the game, Edwards either wasn’t sure or wasn’t willing to share what went wrong offensively.

The terrible offense continued into the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday when the Wolves scored just 45 points on 18-45 shooting from the field and 4-22 from beyond the arc. Minnesota’s first-half defense kept them in the game, but eventually, the pairing of Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves broke through, combining for 62 points in the 14-point win over the Wolves.

Edwards had an especially poor game, going 2-15 from the field, including 1-10 from deep. Ant did get to the line ten times to boost his scoring total a bit, but with the Lakers’ defense playing heavy in the gaps to take away driving lanes and passing angles, Edwards was unable to generate consistent offense, over-relying on his step-back 3-pointer while over-dribbling the ball instead of making quick decisions with the ball.

The following night, the Timberwolves finally got their offense back on track when they didn’t turn the ball over as they scored 128 points and made nearly 60 percent of their shots. Their issues violently shifted to the other side of the court, though, as the Wolves gave up 153 points, which tied the Clippers’ franchise record for points in regulation.

It was an extraordinarily ugly performance across the roster for the Wolves. Kawhi Leonard scored 45 points on 15-20 shooting, including six 3-pointers, and nine free throws to go along with five assists. The Clippers as a team shot 63.4 percent from the floor and 51.4 percent from beyond the arc while scoring 35 or more points in each quarter.

The poor defense of both Edwards and Julius Randle stood out most. The two leaders of the team were missing rotations, often forgot to box out, were ball-watching on many possessions, and overall provided little resistance to the LA offense.

“I just gotta be better,” Edwards stated after the game, taking accountability for his performance. “Whoever I’m guarding. Trying to set the tone to start the game, I gotta be better. It’s just me, everything is about me.” Ant later said, “I gotta find a way to get us out of it, it’s all my fault.”

It’s a good sign that Edwards is recognizing that the problem and the potential solution both reside with him as the best player. The likelihood is that the Edwards and Timberwolves will turn it around because that has been their pattern for at least four seasons now. Every time their season feels on the brink of collapse, the Wolves have made fans, and those who cover them feel stupid for ever doubting them.

The issue is that the Wolves can’t just rely on what they’ve done in the past; they need to be better. Much better. While the last two seasons have undoubtedly been successful, as the Wolves made it to back-to-back Western Conference Finals, they also did not come close to winning either series, losing both series in five games.

Now 66 games into the season, the Wolves have shown little reason why they are a legitimate threat to win the championship. On the season, they are 11th in Offensive Rating, 12th in Defensive Rating, and 11th in Net Rating according to NBA.com. They are on pace for fewer than 50 wins and currently have a 5-9 record against the teams currently seeded one through six in the Western Conference.

Most notably, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who eliminated the Timberwolves in the West Finals a season ago, appear to be further ahead of the Wolves than at any time before. Despite being one of the most injured teams in the NBA, OKC leads Minnesota by 11 games in the standings. The Thunder seem primed to defend their title no matter who they face, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on track to win his second consecutive MVP award.

To a certain extent, it’s fair to believe the Wolves can “flip the switch” and perform at a higher level than they have in the regular season. Edwards specifically has shown the ability to turn up his level of play and intensity in the playoffs with his ability to wipe away any of the warts that had shown up throughout the year.

At a certain point, though, the numbers and level of performance in the regular season start to become damning. At no point during this regular season have the Wolves put together a weeks-long stretch indicative of a team that can win three or four straight rounds in the playoffs.

Edwards and the Wolves have just not played with the level of consistency indicative of a championship-caliber team. Maybe Oklahoma City is an unfair bar, given SGA is set to break Wilt Chamberlain’s record for consecutive 20-point games, but the Wolves’ play can’t vary so much that one night they score only 92 points and two games later they are giving up 153.

The Wolves’ season is still far from over. They currently sit just a half-game back of the three seed in the Western Conference, and everything is still left in front of them in terms of meeting preseason expectations. With just 16 games left on Minnesota’s schedule, though, this week’s stretch of awful basketball likely has to become a turning point that gets looked back on as when things began to change.

It has to be rock bottom. If it’s not, the roster and possibly beyond will look a whole lot different come next season.

The NCAA Tournament bubble got a major shake up on Thursday, March 12.

Miami (Ohio) suffered its first loss of the season against Massachusetts in the MAC tournament quarterfinals, not only ending its quest for perfection, but putting the RedHawks in danger of missing the big dance. Despite the outstanding 31-1 record, they don't have any quality wins and the resume is among the worst in the sport.

There wouldn't have been much changes if Miami (Ohio) had won the MAC automatic bid, but now without it, how much has the March Madness picture been altered? Here is how the USA TODAY Sports Bracketology bubble looks after Miami (Ohio) lost.

March Madness automatic bids: Who is in NCAA Tournament bracket?

Will Miami Ohio make tournament?

As of the afternoon of Thursday, March 12, Miami (Ohio) is projected to make the NCAA Tournament. The RedHawks are slated as a No. 11 seed as the last four in.

March Madness last four in

• Santa Clara
• Virginia Commonwealth
• SMU
• Miami (Ohio)

March Madness first four out

• Auburn
• New Mexico
• Indiana
• Oklahoma

Who faces most March Madness pressure? These teams feeling the heat

It's awesome, baby! Dick Vitale, before calling March Madness game, says return 'a miracle'

March Madness next four out

• San Diego State
• West Virginia
• Virginia Tech
• Cincinnati

Think you can beat our expert? Join USA TODAY’s Bracket Challenge today!

Ready to win March Madness? Join USA TODAY’s Survivor Pool today!

How did Miami Ohio loss alter bracket?

With the loss, Miami (Ohio) joins the bubble picture and essentially pushes teams down the bracket. The MAC champion becomes a bid stealer since it would be a two-bid league instead of one, and teams could see their fate altered because of it.

An example is Auburn going down to the first four out after it was slated in the field, and San Diego State going from first four out to next four out.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness bubble picture after Miami Ohio loss shakes up bracket