Jaylen Brown clears key rung in climb to MVP in statement win over Thunder

The Celtics secured a big win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Wednesday's meeting of the last two NBA Champions. The matchup delivered on the pregame hype, with Jaylen Brown leading the way for the Cs with 31 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.

Jayson Tatum pitched in 19 points of his own to go along with 12 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.

Here's what stood out:

We got our MVP duel

One of the most prominent storylines heading into Boston’s clash with OKC was the Jaylen Brown vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander matchup. Both men have put together incredible seasons and are amongst those who are considered candidates for the MVP award.

The matchup delivered.

Brown and Gilgeous-Alexander combined for 64 points, exchanging individual haymakers throughout the 48-minute bout.

SGA hardly missed. He knocked down 10 of his 12 attempts from the field, consistently getting to his spots throughout the evening. He got going in the third quarter, specifically, where he poured in 14 points on 4-5 from the floor.

Brown brought the heat in his own right after halftime, nearly keeping pace with the reigning MVP with 13 of his own in the third.

JB did a tremendous job of working his way to the free-throw line, too. He racked up 14 attempts from the charity stripe, giving the Thunder a taste of their foul-drawing ways.

Brown stayed hot with 11 points in the fourth to get the Cs across the finish line.

Hugo Gonzalez leads the league in bench energy

Late in the third quarter of Wednesday’s showdown, Brown threw down a monster poster dunk over Thunder center Jaylin Williams.

The slam brought fans at TD Garden to their feet, as well as Celtics rookie Hugo Gonzalez, who continues to be a must watch part of any Cs highlight. Take a look at the young Spaniard in the corner of the clip.

I mean, he literally looks like a five year old. Hugo knows no other way to express his excitement besides jumping up and down and it rules.

We got another dose of Hugo Hype with about eight minutes remaining in regulation when Baylor Scheierman threw down a putback jam to give Boston an eight-point lead. Once OKC called timeout, Gonzalez sprinted to halfcourt to give Scheierman a proper chest bump.

Awesome showing from Baylor Scheierman

Speaking of Scheierman, he gave Boston great minutes off the bench. He tallied 11 points, five rebounds, and an assist in 19 minutes.

Not to mention he did as solid of a job as possible at making Gilgeous-Alexander uncomfortable out there.

It was the quintessential bench performance. Great energy,  good production, strong impact on the game.