Page 14 - AHATA

A16 SPORTS
Friday 14 March 2025

The Thunder swept Boston in the season series.

Their next meeting would be in the NBA Finals

By JIMMY GOLEN injury. the NBA Finals. plish, and there’s no better “Playing against them is
AP Sports Writer If they meet again this sea- “They’ve achieved what test than that in the NBA,” always fun, it’s always a re-
BOSTON (AP) — The Oklaho- son, it would have to be in we’re trying to accom- Gilgeous-Alexander said. ally good challenge, and
ma City Thunder clinched something that we could
a spot in the playoffs, and test ourselves against. I
they did it against the team guess we passed the test so
they could face when the far.”
NBA postseason reaches its The Thunder were the sec-
peak. ond NBA team to clinch a
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander playoff berth this season;
scored 34 and Chet Hol- Cleveland, which is one
mgren added 23 points win better, earned its spot
and 15 rebounds to lead on Friday. Last year, the
the Thunder to a 118-112 Thunder clinched a spot in
victory over Boston on the postseason on March
Wednesday night in a 31.
much-anticipated poten- “It means we got better
tial NBA Finals matchup. than we were last year. Ul-
“We’re in March, not timately, that’s all you can
June,” Thunder coach ask for,” Gilgeous-Alexan-
Mark Daigneault said after der said.
the Thunder swept the two- “You put the work in, put
game season series against the time in ... we took steps
the defending champi- in the right direction. We
ons. “So we’re focused on got better and we, I guess
March.” checked a goal off the list
The Thunder also beat the Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drive to the basket against Boston a little bit earlier than last
Celtics in Oklahoma City Celtics center Luke Kornet, rear right, and forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the first half of an NBA year, and we have a lot
on Jan. 5 in a game that basketball game, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Boston. more to do.”q
Holmgren missed with an Associated Press