The NBA game on Wednesday night between two of the best teams wasn’t exactly a fair fight.

With the exception of Jaden Springer, the Celtics’ roster was totally healthy, whereas the Oklahoma City Thunder was missing both Jalen Williams, their second-best scorer, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a potential MVP. This was also the second night of a difficult back-to-back for OKC, who last night in Philadelphia lost to Joel Embiid and the 76ers in a thrilling comeback in the fourth quarter due to their shortage of players.

In this one, Kristaps Porzingis set to work immediately on, emphasizing Boston’s significant size edge over their opponents. Oklahoma City’s initial inability to attack the paint was evident due to this advantage, as most of their possessions ended in a turnover.

Although Jaylen Brown is usually Mr. First Quarter, Jayson Tatum came out swinging early and often, scoring a few easy baskets around the rim during the transition.

After Tatum went out, Boston’s second unit found it difficult to sustain the momentum it had gained. Oklahoma City had a brief lead thanks to a little Josh Giddey run and several Brown errors, but Boston’s best player came back into the game and promptly smacked a triple.

Payton Pritchard has been a very reliable player lately, and on Wednesday night, he maintained that form. The guard, who finished the first quarter with three assists and a basket, ignited a run that gave Boston a 30-23 lead.

Half of Boston’s first-quarter points came from Porzingis and Tatum, while Horford added six points off the bench to give his team an early advantage.

The Thunder’s inefficiency was particularly evident in the first 12 minutes, as they only made 36.4% of their shots and went 1–10 from beyond the arc.

The second quarter saw the Celtics defense overwhelm Oklahoma City, with two thefts and two blocks in the opening three minutes. Here, the size difference was evident once more as Boston’s length continuously interfered with the passing lanes.

Making an impact on both ends of the court, Porzingis first contributed to that defensive output before showcasing his strength with a putback dunk against Aaron Wiggins and Chet Holmgren.

Kristaps was only getting started, as he increased his point total to 17 at the half by making a number of difficult shots.

Boston led 61-47 at halftime, with defense and the two-point shooting difference continuing to be the story of the night. The Celtics made seven blocks and as many three-pointers as Oklahoma City, which only managed two long-range baskets on 15 attempts. The Cs’ ball movement was equally impressive, as they doubled OKC’s assists in just 24 minutes.

At the beginning of the second half, Giddey kept getting to his spots and was consistently successful when driving downward. Boston, on the other hand, was careless with the ball, frequently turning it over and giving the Thunder easy access to attack the rim. 

That 14-point lead had been reduced in half very quickly, causing Joe Mazzulla to have to call a timeout. Compared to his colleagues, Brown in particular was having greater difficulty and had committed four early turnovers.

After these problems, Mazzulla decided to rest Jaylen, giving Pritchard early third-quarter playing time. Horford and Tatum traded a pair of fast baskets to restore the offensive flow, but the Thunder hung around. That was mostly due to foul issues, as OKC had a huge free throw lead over the Cs and scored the bonus with more than five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

With 12 minutes remaining, Boston led 93-83 thanks to a 47-point effort by Tatum and Porzingis combined in the second half of the last quarter.

Jaylen began the fourth quarter with a powerful seven points, overcoming his earlier problems. After forcing a turnover and playing lockdown defense on Cason Wallace, the superstar put Jrue Holiday up for the open three. It was reassuring to see Brown close out the game well after a challenging first three quarters.

It turns out that the Celtics only needed Brown to wake up in order to stop the game. The rest of Boston’s core thoroughly outplayed the Thunder in minutes without Tatum, outscoring them 20-3 before Mark Daigneault gave in and requested another timeout. By then, the Celtics had established a commanding 28-point advantage, so the damage had already been done.

For the remainder of the game, Boston went into cruise mode and won 135–100. With 27 points, Porzingis took the lead, followed by Tatum with 24 and Brown with 23.

The Celtics clinched the NBA’s top seed with their 60th victory of the year, guaranteeing themselves home court advantage for the duration of the postseason.

Next up, Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET in TD Garden, Boston will host the Sacramento Kings.