Celtics-Thunder recap: OKC edges out Boston in potential Finals preview

Celtics big man Al Horford spoke after Wednesday's loss about the Thunder's physicality giving the C's "good experience":

Eddie House and our Celtics Postgame Live crew react to Boston falling to Oklahoma City at TD Garden:

Score: 108-102 Thunder, 3:12 left in fourth quarter

Celtics star Jaylen Brown fouled out with 3:36 left in the game. He finishes with 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting.

Derrick White will look to keep from joining Brown as he has five fouls on the night.

Score: 95-95, 8:50 left in fourth quarter

Derrick White drilled his sixth 3-pointer of the night to tie the game back up and prompt a Thunder timeout. The C's guard has 19 points.

Just before his big shot, the All-Defensive selection blocked OKC big man Chet Holmgren on the other end.

Score: 88-88

Buckle up, folks. We're in for an entertaining fourth quarter between these NBA powerhouses at TD Garden.

The Celtics erased a double-digit deficit to tie it up heading into the final frame. Sam Hauser drilled a 3-pointer with a minute left in the third to cut the Thunder lead down to one. Tatum's and-1 tied it up with 16 seconds remaining.

Tatum leads all scorers with 29 points. OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has 26.

Score: 82-75 Thunder, 5:26 left in third quarter

The Celtics briefly trailed by double digits before Jayson Tatum and Al Horford came through with clutch shots to trim the Thunder lead back to seven before the timeout. Tatum is up to a game-high 26 points while Horford has 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.

Score: 77-68 Thunder, 7:54 left in third quarter

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren have been a problem for Boston all night. Both Thunder stars have 21 points on a combined 15-of-27 from the floor. They've helped OKC jump out to a nine-point lead early in the second half.

Jayson Tatum (8-12 FG) leads all scorers with 22 points.

The Celtics' 36 3-point attempts in the first half were the most in a half in NBA history, per MassLive's Brian Robb.

Score: 63-60 Thunder

Tonight's battle between the reigning NBA champions and the No. 1 team in the West has lived up to the hype thus far.

Boston trails at the half, but Jayson Tatum found his groove in the second quarter to keep it close. The Celtics superstar tallied 12 of his game-high 18 points in the frame and is shooting 7-of-10 from the floor (4-7 3-PT). He scored 12 of Boston's last 15 points in the half.

Derrick White is also off to a hot start for the C's. He has 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range and has added a pair of blocks.

Celtics big man Al Horford became the third player in the NBA this season to have at least nine points, three rebounds, three 3-pointers, two assists, one steal and one block. The others: Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Suggs (via Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe).

Score: 48-45 Thunder, 5:22 left in second quarter

Derrick White has been on a tear from beyond the arc over his last few games, and the trend has continued tonight. The Celtics guard has a game-high 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from deep. He tallied his fifth 3 just before the Thunder timeout.

Threes have kept the Celtics in this game. Twelve of their 15 makes have come from deep.

In the first quarter, the Celtics became the third team in NBA history to have at least 30 points in a quarter without making a 2-pointer. Minnesota (2018) and Lakers (2015) were the others, according to Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe.

Score: 43-37 Thunder, 9:02 left in second quarter

Thunder stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11 points) and Chet Holmgren (10 points) are a combined 9-for-12 from the floor. The C's will need to find a way to slow them down while shooting more efficiently (38.7 percent FG) to avoid being swept this season by the top team in the West.

Score: 33-30 Thunder

We've got a fun one at TD Garden between two of the NBA's top teams.

The C's shook off a slow start to keep it close with the Thunder heading into the second quarter. All nine of the Celtics' buckets (9-24 FG) came from 3-point range (9-22 3-PT) in the first.

Derrick White led Boston with 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. Al Horford (9 points) added three 3s, Jayson Tatum (6 points) chipped in with two, and Payton Pritchard notched one off the bench.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 11 points in the opening frame. Lu Dort added eight with a pair of 3s.

Score: 22-22, 3:51 left in first quarter

Al Horford and Derrick White both have made three 3-pointers to wake up the Celtics offense. The rest of the team is 1-for-10 from the floor.

Horford has looked spry on both ends of the floor. The veteran big man already has three rebounds (two offensive), two assists, a steal, and a block to go with his nine points.

White (10 points) has two blocks of his own. Jayson Tatum added a 3 for his first points of the night just before the Thunder timeout.

Score: 9-0 Thunder, 9:33 left in first quarter

The Celtics are still waiting to see one go through the net as they've missed their first five attempts.

They've also struggled to get stops. The Thunder are 4-of-6 from the floor with Lu Dort (5 points), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2 points) and Cason Wallace (2 points) notching their first nine points.

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck appeared on "Celtics Pregame Live" and heaped praise on Jayson Tatum for his recent performance:

Celtics: Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford.

Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren.

Alex Caruso is officially out for the Thunder due to an illness.

Kristaps Porzingis remains out for Boston due to an illness. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are available.

Jayson Tatum (right knee tendinopathy) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) are listed as questionable for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement) is probable.

Jalen Williams (hip) is out for the Thunder. Alex Caruso (illness) is questionable.