Oklahoma
Boston Celtics (26-9) at Oklahoma City Thunder (29-5) Game #36 1/5/25
In what very well may be a preview of this year’s NBA Finals, the Celtics take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 3rd game of a 4 game road trip. The Celtics opened the trip with wins over the Timberwolves and the Rockets. this is the first of 2 games between these two teams this season. They will meet for the 2nd and final time in Boston on March 12. They split the series 1-1 the last two seasons with each team winning on their home court. The Celtics are 79-66 overall all time against the Thunder and they are 39-38 in games played in Oklahoma City.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East, 4.5 games behind the first place Cleveland Cavaliers, who have win their last 8 games. The Celtics are now 2 ahead of the 3rd place Knicks, who won 9 straight before losing their last game to the Thunder. The Celtics are 12-3 on the road and they are 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are 4-2 against Western Conference opponents and have won their last 3 games.
The Thunder are in first place in the West. They are 6.5 games ahead of 2nd place Memphis and 7 ahead of 3rd place Houston. They are 9 games ahead of the 4th place Los Angeles Lakers. They are 15-2 at home and they are 10-0 in their last 10 games. They are 10-0 against Eastern Conference opponents and they currently have a 14 game win streak.
The Thunder made several key moves in the off season. The biggest move may have been signing Isaiah Hartenstein away from the NY Knicks. He has especially been important due to the absence of Chet Holmgren. They also traded Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso. They drafted Nikola Topic, who will miss the entire season with a torn ACL. They also drafted Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell, with an eye to the future. Finally, they signed undrafted Alex Ducas to a 2 way contract.
This is the third game of a 4 game Western road trip that started with back to back wins in Minnesota on Thursday and in Houston on Friday. After this game, they will finish the road trip in Denver on Tuesday. They will return home to face 2 more Western Conference teams, Sacramento and New Orleans. They then head to Toronto to face the Raptors again for the 3rd time. They will then host Orlando and Atlanta before their 2nd Western road trip of the month through Golden State, Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers and Dallas.
Kristaps Porzingis returned to the starting lineup in the Celtics’ last game against the Rockets after missing 4 straight games with a sprained ankle. He should be ready to play in this game as well. Al Horford sat out Friday’s game for rest but is expected to return for this game. Jalen Brown has missed the Celtics’ last two games with a shoulder strain and is questionable for this game. I’m using wishful thinking and including him in the starting lineup. If he can’t play once again, Sam Hauser should once again get the start in his place.
For the Thunder, Alex Caruso will miss his 7th game with a hip strain. Cason Wallace will likely continue to start in his place. Chet Holmgren is out with a right iliac hip fracture. I expect Isaiah Hartenstein will continue to start in his place. The Thunder’s 3 two way players are all also out with injuries. Alex Ducas (back), Adam Flagler (finger), and Ajay Mitchell (toe) are all out for this game. Rookie Nikola Topic is out for the season with an ACL tear.
Probable Celtics Starters
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics Reserves
Luke Kornet
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Jaylen Brown (shoulder) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Thunder Starters
PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SG: Cason Wallace
SF: Lugentz Dort
PF: Jalen Williams
C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Thunder Reserves
Branden Carlson
Ousmane Dieng
Isaiah Joe
Dillon Jones
Aaron Wiggins
Jaylin Williams
Kenrich Williams
2 Way Players
Alex Ducas
Adam Flagler
Ajay Mitchell
Injuries/Out
Alex Caruso (hip) out
Alex Ducas (back) out
Ajay Mitchell (toe) out
Chet Holmgren (hip) out
Adam Flagler (finger) out
Nikola Topic (ACL) out
Head Coach
Mark Daigneault
Key Matchups
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Jrue Holiday
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. He is shooting 52.5% from the field and 35.6% from beyond the arc. Gilgeous-Alexander is tied for the lead in the MVP race and is the key to the Thunder’s winning ways. In order to slow the Thunder, the Celtics must slow down SGA.
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Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
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Jalen Williams
Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images
Jayson Tatum vs Jalen Williams
Williams is averaging 20.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He is shooting 48.1% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc. Williams can score both inside and out and so the Celtics must stay with him on defense whether he is in the paint or on the perimeter. Jayson Tatum has been playing very well on this road trip and the Celtics need him to continue that trend on both ends of the court in this game.
Honorable Mention
Kristaps Porzingis vs Isaiah Hartenstein
Hartenstein is averaging 12.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. He is shooting 57.3% from the field and 0% from beyond the arc. He is a threat to score inside and is a very good rebounder and shot blocker. The Celtics need to keep him out of the paint and away from the rim.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always a key to winning. The Thunder average 115.4 points per game (10th) The Celtics average 119.4 points per game (4th). This is going to be a tough matchup for the Celtics as the Thunder are first in the league with a defensive rating of 102.9 while the Celtics are 6th with a defensive rating of 109.4. The Celtics need to tighten up their defense and make playing defense a priority especially against this Thunder team that plays lock down defense. The Celtics need to especially defend the paint since the Thunder are 10th in the league with 49.9 points in the paint per game.
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 18th with 43.6 rebounds per game while the Celtics are 8th with 45.0 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 23.4 points off turnovers per game. They are also 1st with 11.8 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 have not lost to an Eastern Conference team this season. They have also only lost 5 games. 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.
X-Factors
On the Road – The Celtics are playing in their 3rd straight road game. The Celtics have the advantage of having a mostly healthy roster but then, the Thunder have won 14 straight games in spite of missing some players. 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.
Coaching – Joe Mazzulla led the Celtics to a championship in just his second season but Mazzulla didn’t win the Coach of the Year last season. It was Thunder coach, Mark Daigneault that won the Coach of the Year honor. He is also the Coach of the Month for December this season. Both rosters are deep and talented and so coaching may be a factor in this game.
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. The Celtics should never be caught complaining to the refs while the other team goes in for a score.
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TULSA, OKLA (KTUL) — A new program in Oklahoma is giving adults another way to finish high school by allowing them to use past credits and test scores to earn a diploma, an option officials say could help thousands of people and strengthen the state’s workforce.
For years, adults in Oklahoma who did not finish high school largely had one main option: earning a GED. Now, Oklahoma CareerTech is rolling out the Career Readiness Diploma, a pathway designed to build on what students have already completed rather than requiring them to start over.
“So in Oklahoma right now, if you look at the demographics, we have about 279,000 people in our state without a high school diploma. So it’s almost 10% of our population doesn’t have a high school diploma,” said Lance Allee, an adult education and family literacy specialist with Oklahoma CareerTech.
Allee said the program allows adults to apply previously earned high school credit and combine different assessment scores into a single record to qualify for a diploma.
“It allows the student to use previously earned high school credit. So, it’s kind of like a portfolio where you can take multiple assessment scores and put them into one portfolio to get your high school diploma,” Allee said.
The program is open to adults 21 and older. In some cases, officials said, participants can finish in just weeks, depending on how many credits they already have.
CareerTech officials say the program is also aimed at improving job prospects for individuals while helping Oklahoma remain competitive when attracting employers.
“When you’re a company and you’re looking at moving into Oklahoma, you look at the demographics and say, is there a workforce there that we can employ? And you say, well, about 10% of the population doesn’t have a diploma, they may start looking at states that surround us. So, we definitely want to get as many diplomas out there as we can,” Allee said.
The program started issuing diplomas in recent weeks, and officials said dozens more people are already in the process. For more information or to sign up click here.
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NORMAN — Cord Rager’s return comes at a pivotal time for Skip Johnson’s Oklahoma Sooners. Not only do they get their day three starter back in time for big road matchups against Auburn and Arkansas on the horizon, but the Sooners pitching strength, their rotational depth, is primed and ready for the test.
The freshman lefty finished with eight strikeouts and only gave up one hit in only 65 pitches before his day ended in the sixth.
No. 14 Oklahoma earn its first conference sweep of the season, defeating Missouri 8-4. It was OU’s fourth conference series win.
Oklahoma (27-12, 10-8) put their best foot forward as they turn the page to the meat of their schedule where they will do battle against No. 13, No. 20 and No. 16 over the next three weeks — two of those series’ on the road.
Four runs in five hits in the second got things rolling for the Sooners.
Camden Johnson continued his brilliant play of late with a triple in the second. This came after a Brenden Brock solo home run to put OU up 1-0. Deiten LaChance grounded out to short but scored Johnson. Dasan Harris and and Nolan Stevens each found home before the inning ended.
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OU found fortune from the plate again in the fourth. Four runs off of four hits highlighted by a three-run home run by Johnson put Oklahoma up 8-0. It was Johnson’s seventh home run of the season, second on the team behind Brock’s nine.
Trent Collier got the nod in the sixth to relieve Rager.
In the seventh, Missouri finally got on the board for the first time since the ninth inning of Friday night’s Sooner victory. Cam Durnin hit a solo shot — his fourht of the season — to make the score 8-1 in favor of the home team.
The Tigers got their third hit of the game shortly after. From there, Collier’s short day was done. Gavyn Jones came on to relieve
LaChance missed a home run by inches when Tiger center fielder Kaden Peer made a leaping catch, jumping into the fence.
In the eighth, the Tigers continued to chip away. With bases loaded, Blaze Ward hit a basehit to score two Missouri base runners. OU led 8-3 heading into the final inning.
Harris led the Sooners with three hits. His day was accented by an RBI, stolen base and a run.
Oklahoma will travel to Auburn to take on the No. 13 Tigers for a three game series starting on Friday. Before that, they will host Oral Roberts for a midweek game at Kimrey Family Stadium in Norman. The Sooners won 4-0 against ORU earlier this season.
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New Iowa State wrestling coach Brent Metcalf outlines vision for team
New Iowa State wrestling coach Brent Metcalf outlines vision for team
Iowa State wrestling’s first commitment of the Brent Metcalf era will be a transfer portal addition.
The Cyclones added Oklahoma State transfer Brayden Thompson, who announced his commitment on April 18 via Instagram. Thompson is a one-time NCAA qualifier at the 2024 NCAA Championships, doing so as a true freshman. He redshirted in 2024-25, but competed in open tournaments at 184 pounds and was 9-0. He did not wrestle a match in 2025-26 and will have at least two years of eligibility remaining.
Out of high school, Thompson was ranked the No. 3 pound-for-pound wrestler and No. 1 at 182 pounds in the 2023 recruiting class by Flowrestling. He also won Powerade and Ironman titles, two of the more prestigious high school tournaments in the nation. Assuming Thompson returns to 184 pounds where he last wrestled, he should fill in nicely as a potential replacement for Isaac Dean after his graduation.
Thompson is Iowa State’s first transfer portal addition after several departures, including Anthony Echemendia and Christian Castillo, who also entered the portal.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
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