Why Alex Caruso was key to Celtics' huge win vs. Thunder

BOSTON — It doesn't matter what age you are; nobody likes doing homework. However, the Boston Celtics do it (perhaps giving their "Celtics University" nickname a more literal meaning) and are committed to their studies, and that was on full display during their 119-109 win over the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. It doesn't take too much digging to see that Thunder defensive guru Alex Caruso is shooting under 30% from 3-point land this season and was off the mark on 21 of his last 24 attempts prior to Wednesday.

The Celtics remembered him missing 7 of his 8 shots from beyond the arc in their first meeting with the Thunder, who prevailed 104-102, because they largely orchestrated it. Although Oklahoma City isn't very close to Las Vegas, the C's did some gambling then, letting Caruso launch freely from deep with little resistance in order to mind other defensive gaps. Although that didn't result in a win on March 12, it was crucial on Marchh 25 at TD Garden, as the Celtics once again allowed Caruso to make it rain — this time even more egregiously.

For most of the game, nobody would step foot near him if he was on the perimeter which, in turn, helped the Celtics focus on more pressing threats. Similar to the Other Themes Celtics Basically Doubled the Ball with the Nail Defender Forcing Shai to Give Up the Ball pic. twitter.

com/SVEUrINUG7 — Thibaut Tagnon (@TagnonThibaut) March 26, 2026 And what bigger offensive threat than MVP hopeful Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? The Thunder superstar is hard for any team to stop and the Celtics didn't forget what happened when they largely showed him single covering during their first matchup this season. During Wednesday's pregame press conference, Mazzulla even mentioned SGA's final shot of that loss from two weeks ago, when the Celtics didn't fully commit to doubling him and the reigning NBA Finals MVP burned them with a clutch jumper to go up 102-100 with 30 seconds remaining.