Shai Gilgeous-Alexander insisted that the Oklahoma City Thunder were not satisfied with simply securing their playoff spot after their 118-112 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
Instead the Thunder, who are top of the West with a 54-12 record, are aiming to win the first NBA championship in their history and the win at the home of the defending champions, they hope, sends a clear message.
"It's huge," said Gilgeous-Alexander after putting up 34 points, five rebounds and seven assists in 39 minutes.
"Because [the Celtics have] done it, because they've done what we're trying to do, the games against them are always going to be heightened. They're always going to be a little bit more exciting. They, like I said, achieved what we are trying to accomplish, and there's no better test in the NBA.
"You play for late June, and the other team had won late June. So playing against them is always fun, always a really big challenge and something that we get to test ourselves against them. I guess we passed two tests so far."
Both teams had to do without big players at TD Gardens, with Jalen Williams and Alex Caruso both unavailable for the Thunder, while Kristaps Porzingis sat out for the Celtics, who were just 20-for-63 from 3-point range.
The 63 attempted 3-pointers from Boston tied the third-most in a game by any team in NBA history.
"I thought we got amazing looks," said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. "I mean, that's just the shell of their defense. They protect the paint first. They fight, they try to get out, their two-on-one reads were really good. So I thought we generated relatively great looks throughout most of the game."
But for the Thunder, the message from coach Mark Daigneault was simple.
"Our ability to just kind of stick with it and not overreact, not start to get jumpy... that's when you really get in trouble against them," Daigneault said.
"So I just thought our maturity, our discipline to the game plan through the ups and downs of a tough 48-minute game was a really positive thing for us tonight."