Sometimes, basketball provides a special feeling. Thursday night was a perfect example of that.
The Boston Celtics have been one of the best stories in the NBA this season, and Jayson Tatum is back. But he didn't play. Neither did Derrick White.
Meanwhile, the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led Oklahoma City Thunder have been rolling their way through the league all year. And that's with key players like Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein, both of whom were out on Thursday, missing significant time.
It was a true clash of contenders, and despite the injury absences, it delivered on the grandest of stages.
Gilgeous-Alexander's 10 first-quarter points got the Thunder off on the right foot, but Boston wasn't backing down. Jaylen Brown was the focal point of the Celtics' offense, but their role players were the stars.
Ron Harper Jr., fresh off a career-high 22 points against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, looked great. His defense, driving ability, and three-point shooting all lifted Boston up. Hugo Gonzalez's cutting did the same.
Even Baylor Scheierman and Jordan Walsh got in on the action. Scheierman put the ball on the floor and made plays happen for the Celtics when Oklahoma City's defensive pressure ramped up, and Walsh chipped in with a couple of triples in the second quarter.
But if the Celtics wanted a battle of role players, they got one.
Jaylin Williams, Aaron Wiggins, and Alex Caruso combined to score 15 points in the second quarter, propelling the Thunder forward after a solid Boston run.
Brown's offensive efficiency wasn't incredible in the first half, but Caruso was face-guarding him for most of the night. Oklahoma City's pressed Boston full-court whenever they got the chance, and Brown was at the center of that game plan. They tried to give him as little space as possible.
Luckily for Brown, Payton Pritchard was there to back him up.
After missing Tuesday's game, Pritchard returned to the lineup and dropped 10 points in the first half. He thrived in isolation, but his performance was highlighted by a halftime buzzer-beater over the outstretched arm of Cason Wallace. It sent Boston into the half with a 59-56 lead.
The third quarter was all Brown. Oklahoma City continued to send two at him whenever possible, but it didn't matter. He still found a way to dominate. Brown finished the third quarter with 14 points and three assists on 5-of-8 shooting.
Nobody outside of Brown (on either team) even managed to score five points. Still, the two sides drew the frame 24-24, giving Boston a three-point advantage heading into the fourth.
That said, Gilgeous-Alexander surpassed Wilt Chamberlain in this one. He notched his 127th straight game with at least 20 points, setting an NBA record.
When the fourth came around, it was all defense. Gonzalez was checking Gilgeous-Alexander. Caruso was an absolute menace, shutting down the Celtics' offense. Neither team could find a real rhythm.
And that energy carried itself throughout the fourth quarter. Back and forth and back and forth. Nobody could create any separation.
However, Gilgeous-Alexander had the game on strings.
He couldn't miss. Gonzalez did his best, but Gilgeous-Alexander is an MVP for a reason. Whether it was tough buckets or kick-outs to three-point shooters, he found a way to keep the Thunder's offense alive.
As the final two minutes came around, the Thunder wouldn't let Brown get in a rhythm. So, Pritchard stepped up.
He hit a huge isolation bucket over Gilgeous-Alexander. But the Thunder superstar responded with a big-time bucket of his own, which put Oklahoma City up by two with around a minute to play.
The back-and-forth game continued as Brown bowled his way through the Thunder's defense, drawing a foul on Lu Dort and sinking two free throws. Tie ball game with 50 seconds remaining.
And in the final 30 seconds of the game, it was Gilgeous-Alexander and Brown. Gilgeous-Alexander? Bucket. Brown? Bucket. Two MVP candidates made two tough shots.
Yet the Celtics' decision to put a score-first lineup in the game came back to bite them, as Chet Holmgren grabbed an offensive rebound and got himself to the free-throw line with 0.8 seconds left. He made them both, and Oklahoma City took a two-point lead.
Pritchard tried to nail a heave at the buzzer, but it came up short. As did the Celtics.
Gilgeous-Alexander put up 14 points in the fourth to Brown's 11, and the Thunder got the win.
Big winner: This was an elite defensive game from both sides, but the Celtics' offense rebounding kept them alive.
Everyone chipped in, but the role players led the charge. Gonzalez, Harper, Scheierman, and Walsh flew in for almost every offensive rebounding chance. And Luka Garza was right there with them.
Without Boston's extra efforts on the offensive glass, they wouldn't have even been in this one.
Ouch, tough one: Boston's fourth-quarter offense left something to be desired. And its decision to single-cover Gilgeous-Alexander down the stretch will undoubtedly be questioned.
As a team, the Celtics only made four field goals in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City's defense smothered them.
Gilgeous-Alexander alone made seven.
He's the MVP. He might just be the best player on the planet. But the Celtics needed to find some answers on both ends of the court. They just didn't.
The big picture: At this point in the season, the big picture is rounding into form: The Celtics are an elite basketball team.
It doesn't matter who's on the floor, who they're playing against, or who's on the injury report - they're going to give themselves a chance to win.
Thursday night was one of the best back-and-forth basketball games of the season. Both teams were missing players, and the Celtics, down Tatum and White, never backed down.
That's the big picture when it comes to this team.
