Oklahoma City – The Thunder came back home winners of 3 straight and looked to keep that going for 4 straight against the Kings.
In Thunder fashion they came out sluggish and didn’t really look like they wanted to play. Got off to a slow start but luckily their defense was decent so they didn’t get down early on. That didn’t last for too much longer.
They ended up getting down by 14 in the 2nd quarter and by 18 in the 3rd. However, just like we’ve seen plenty of times already this season, they came back.
This was probably the most exciting comeback so far though. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed a step back 3 to put the Thunder up and the Kings got the ball with 25 secs left in a tie game.
Insert Lu Dort.
With his mom here in OKC watching him play live for the 1st time as a pro, Dort guarded De’Aaron Fox on the Kings last possession and got the steal and the game winning layup to complete the comeback. Such a great win for the Thunder.
And I know Thunder fans are getting a little antsy that the Thunder have won 4 in a row and have 5 total wins so far. I know they’re getting a little worried that the tank is in jeopardy but let me tell you now, everything will be ok. They are only 11 games in right now so there is plenty of time for them to lose and be in prime position to get a great draft pick.
For now, enjoy the wins because they may not have many more. Here are the 3 things that went well for the Thunder tonight.
1) How Are They Say Poised??
Again and again I find myself asking this question. It’s the thing that impresses me the most about this squad. The Thunder are the youngest team in the league and they show the poise of a heavenly veteran squad. They continue to fight and during comebacks they limit their mistakes so they’re able to complete comebacks and win. This is the team’s 4th comeback win of 15 or more points already in this short season. For them to do that while being a young team is really impressive. And it’s not just about the comeback wins. When their offense isn’t there, their defense steps up and that does not happen with young teams. Usually when the offense isn’t there the defense gives up and they end up getting blown out. Even if they don’t win many games they are creating some great winning habits and culture.
2) Hard In The Paint
The Thunder are one of the smallest teams in the league so it’s no secret trying to figure out why they only average 44 points in the paint. Tonight though, they made it a point to get into the paint early and often and ended up scoring 56 points there and that number should be a lot higher because they missed so many bunnies. They just couldn’t buy a basket at the rim for some reason. That might be something they’re trying to put an emphasis on because their points in the paint has gone up each of the last 5 games. The more they have a paint presence the more things will open up for them.
3) Bench Mob
You could look at tonight’s box score and ask yourself “why in the world is the bench getting some credit for a victory when they only scored 37 points and got outscored by the Kings bench?” My answer would be, “that’s why you need to watch the game and not just the box score.” Yes, no one on the bench had a crazy game. I mean the highest scorer on the bench had 12 points and like the question said, they got outscored by the kings bench. However, when you watch the game, they completely changed it for the Thunder. Just made hustle play after hustle play. Whether it was Poku diving on the floor or getting a chase down block or Kenrich making a lot of hustle plays like he normally does. Let’s not forget about how Tre Mann settled things down and competed on both ends of the floor or Muscala coming in and hitting timely shots like he always does. The bench mob came in and did their job tonight and played like every possession was their last and it helped the Thunder get the win.
The Thunder were led by Lu Dort who had 22 points and 5 rebounds to go along with the game winning steal and layup. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled a little but still had 22 points while Darius Bazley had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Tre Mann led the way off the bench with 12 points while Kenrich Williams contributed 9 points and 5 rebounds. Jeremiah Robinson Earl dint shoot the ball well but was everyone on the floor and tied a Thunder rookie record with 14 rebounds.
The team looks to make it 5 in a row when they take on the Nets on Sunday at home.
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