Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left) hoists up a shot over Celtics guard Jaylen Brown on Thursday night.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left) hoists up a shot over Celtics guard Jaylen Brown on Thursday night.Nate Billings/Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — At the Celtics’ shootaround Thursday morning ahead of their game against the Thunder, guard Payton Pritchard was asked about what the Celtics might do to stop Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s pursuit of a milestone.
Gilgeous-Alexander was attempting to reach the 20-point mark for the 127th consecutive game, which would break Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA record.
Pritchard shrugged and said the Celtics were not concerned about that. If the Celtics got a win, Gilgeous-Alexander could have whatever record he wanted.
Hours later, Pritchard had a chance to have the final say, but his potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer was short, and the Thunder escaped with a 104-102 win behind another dominant performance by Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Thunder star broke Chamberlain’s record with a third-quarter basket and finished with 35 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds, helping Oklahoma City overcome 11 for 44 3-point shooting.
SGA HAS PASSED WILT FOR THE LONGEST 20+ POINT STREAK IN NBA HISTORY 🚨
Shai: 127
Wilt: 126 pic.twitter.com/Fftlo3ISrY
— NBA (@NBA) March 13, 2026
One game after being ejected in the first half of Boston’s loss at the Spurs for his aggression toward referees, Jaylen Brown returned and had 34 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. Boston had a 23-13 edge in second-chance points.
The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum (rest) and Derrick White (knee). Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Isaiah Hartenstein (calf) were missing from the Thunder.
Neither team led by more than 3 points over the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander ended that when he hit a 17-footer that gave his team a 98-94 lead with 3:21 left.
The Celtics quickly answered with four straight points, including a Pritchard basket that followed yet another offensive rebound.
With the score tied at 100 with 36.9 seconds left, the Thunder called timeout to set up a two-for-one chance. Gilgeous-Alexander calmly pulled up and hit a foul-line jumper with 29.6 seconds to play.
Brown answered with a contested, high-arcing 19-footer to tie the score.
Thunder guard Alex Caruso air-balled a baseline jumper, but Chet Holmgren gobbled up the offensive rebound — an area Boston had dominated all night — and was fouled by Sam Hauser with 0.8 seconds left. The Thunder big man hit both free throws.
The Celtics called timeout, and Baylor Scheierman found Pritchard, whose 32-foot 3-pointer was on line but was an airball.
Pritchard, who returned after missing Tuesday’s game because of neck spasms, had extra ball-handling responsibilities with White out and commanded Boston’s offense in the first half. He started the game by hitting a pair of jumpers and then dished the ball to a streaking Brown for a big dunk.
The Thunder answered with consecutive 3-point play opportunities against Neemias Queta, sending Boston’s starting center to the bench for about 12 minutes.
But the Celtics continued to battle in the paint without Queta: 7 of their first 17 points came on second chances, most often after wings crashed the paint from the perimeter. Boston registered 14 second-chance points in the opening half.
Gilgeous-Alexander was scoreless for nearly six minutes at the start, but it is almost impossible to keep him that quiet. He gained a rhythm by drawing shooting fouls on three consecutive possessions, helping the Thunder open a 24-17 lead, their largest.
But Brown answered by scoring the first six points of the Celtics’ 9-0 run, and Ron Harper Jr. stole the ball from Gilgeous-Alexander — the reigning MVP’s third turnover of the quarter — and found Hugo González for a layup that sent Boston to the second quarter with a 28-27 lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Brown both sat to start the second, and Boston had an edge in star reinforcements. Jordan Walsh came off the bench and hit a pair of 3-pointers and converted a putback. A Pritchard 3-pointer from the top of the key with 7:31 left capped the 26-7 burst that built a 43-31 lead, the Celtics’ largest.
The Thunder sliced that deficit to 7 before Brown and Gilgeous-Alexander returned, and continued that 16-3 run with both stars on the court.
But the Celtics closed the half with a long-range barrage, hitting four 3-pointers in a row over the final two minutes, including a signature buzzer-beater by Pritchard that gave them a 59-56 halftime lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 17 points at the start of the third quarter, leaving him 3 short of the 20-point mark and the NBA record. Whenever he touched the ball, fans stood and began filming with their cellphones.
But Gilgeous-Alexander remained patient, willingly passing out of double teams rather than pursuing the inevitable. He landed on 19 points with a pair of free throws and, with 7:02 left, he gave Scheierman a few jab steps before rolling in a 21-footer that gave him 21 points and tied the score at 69.
Gilgeous-Alexander went to the bench soon after, and the Celtics turned a 2-point deficit into a 4-point lead before he returned.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.