OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder can’t seem to escape the black hole of injuries this season. Even on nights when they find ways to pull out wins, they get sucked into having to deal with another injury to a key player.
Led by guard Russell Westbrook’s 36 points, the Thunder defeated the Boston Celtics 122-118 on Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. But in the process, they watched center Enes Kanter leave the game early with a left ankle injury.
One day earlier,Thunder forward Serge Ibaka underwent knee surgery that will keep him off the court for four to six weeks.
Kanter had X-rays on his ankle and wrist after the game. He said they were both negative. But he had to be helped around in the locker room, making sure to not put weight on the ankle.
“I don’t know what it is,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “I just know it’s an ankle.”
The Thunder (38-30) moved a half-game ahead of the idle New Orleans Pelicans for eighth place in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City also extended its streak of scoring at least 100 points to 21 games.
The Celtics (30-37) are tied for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with the Indiana Pacers. Both teams are one game behind the seventh-place Miami Heat and a half-game ahead of the Charlotte Hornets.
“We competed,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “I thought we were fighting physically. We were playing hard. We didn’t balance poise and assertiveness well at the level you need to in this building in a game where they played really well.”
After trailing by 16 points in the fourth quarter, Boston stormed back. With 3:02 left in the game, the Celtics knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Thunder’s lead to 108-102.
Oklahoma City then turned the ball over and Boston center Kelly Olnynk drained a 3-pointer to slice the lead to five.
Center Steven Adams hit two free throws to push Oklahoma City’s advantage back to seven. Olynyk then was called for traveling, giving the ball back to the Thunder. However, Adams was fouled and missed both attempts from the line with 1:47 left.
Boston guard Marcus Smart attempted a 3-pointer but threw up an air ball. Westbrook made him pay with a long jumper to push Oklahoma City’s advantage to nine points.
Despite a late flurry of 3-pointers from Boston, Westbrook closed out the game at the free throw line. He finished 19 of 22 at the foul line and 8 of 26 from the field.
“There’s no really stopping him, the way he changes pace,” Smart said of Westbrook. “He throws his body around and kind of forces you to foul him. That’s what you’re supposed to do and it makes him very difficult to guard.”
Smart paced the Celtics with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor. Forward Brandon Bass and Olynyk each added 20 points.
“It felt good to be back here in familiar territory,” Smart said. “It’s just one of those nights. My teammates did a good job of finding me in the right positions to score the ball.”
Kanter scored 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field to go with 10 rebounds before leaving late in the fourth quarter. Guard Anthony Morrow came off the bench to score 20 points and made 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
“It was a good win,” Brooks said. “I thought we did a great job in the second half. Take away the last 45 seconds. I think they scored 100 points in the last 45 seconds. But I think we did a lot of good things.”
NOTES: Boston rookie G Marcus Smart said he visited his former Oklahoma State teammates in Stillwater on Tuesday and asked them to get revenge on Oregon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Ducks beat knocked the Cowboys out of the tournament when Smart was a freshman in 2013. “We owe them one,” Smart said. … Of the 30 players on the Oklahoma City and Boston rosters, 15 are alums of teams playing in the NCAA Tournament. Texas has the most with Thunder F Kevin Durant and G D.J. Augustin and Celtics G Avery Bradley.