OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder had the benefit in transition.
With lower than three minutes left within the recreation, the Thunder had a four-on-two quick break alternative when Tre Mann sprinted to the left wing and drained a pull-up three to broaden his crew’s result in 12 factors.
A bit over a minute later, Los Angeles Clippers’ head coach Ty Lue waved the white flag and subbed in his bench for the ultimate two minutes of the sport because the Thunder collected its second win towards them in three days with a 118-110 win on Thursday.
The Thunder improved its report to 2-3 – the identical as their opponents – after sweeping the Clippers in its mini-baseball series.
The younger backcourt of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Mann – each gamers acquired when the Thunder traded Paul George to the Clippers – led the best way as soon as again. Gilgeous-Alexander completed with 24 factors on 10-of-23 taking pictures, six assists and 5 rebounds. Mann completed with 14 factors on 5-of-12 taking pictures and went 4-of-7 from deep.
George, however, recorded a plus-minus of -25 in 31 minutes and completed with simply 10 factors on 4-of-12 taking pictures,
Here are 4 different takeaways from the Thunder’s 118-110 win:
1. Lugentz Dort bounces again with massive offensive outing
One of the most important storylines within the Thunder’s early season has been Dort’s offensive struggles.
The fourth-year guard entered Thursday taking pictures 13-of-51 (25.5 p.c) from the sphere in 4 video games this season. However, Dort practically matched his season whole in makes as he shot 9-of-15 from the sphere for a season-high 21 factors.
The recreation was big for Dort after his current robust taking pictures performances. But for the 23-year-old, that hasn’t been a priority.
“I feel like my confidence is always going to stay up,” stated Dort. “I’m gonna have some tough nights or whatever, but my confidence is always going to stay up.”
2. Aleksej Pokusevski flashes potential with environment friendly taking pictures
Whenever Aleksej Pokusevski touched the ball, it garnered a blended reception amongst followers at Paycom Center. The third-year participant has been recognized to generate a variety of outcomes, each good and unhealthy.
Against the Clippers, it was largely optimistic on offense as he completed with 15 factors on 6-of-11 taking pictures, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
After a stable preseason, Pokusevki struggled to begin his third season. Just like his teammate Dort, Pokusevski’s efficiency was a a lot wanted.
“I feel like Poku is getting better every single day,” stated Dort. “He always has his confidence. Being able to be at the right spot and doing so much on the court to help… Tonight he came out big and hit some big shots.”
3. No free throws, no downside for Thunder
The Thunder made some odd historical past on Thursday because it entered the fourth quarter with out a single free throw try — the primary time in franchise historical past.
Throughout the sport, Thunder gamers and Daigneault voiced their frustrations and it seemed just like the crew lastly bought the message within the fourth quarter because the Thunder shot 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. The Clippers completed with 13 of 18 from the road.
“The free throws were a killer,” stated Daigneault. “It was the fourth quarter before we shot free throws. That was crazy. I wasn’t particularly pleased with that… I just thought we played right through it tonight. It didn’t distract us.”
4. Gilgeous-Alexander struggles with foul hassle
Daigneault made the daring transfer of sitting Gilgeous-Alexander to begin the second half.
Not due to efficiency – he scored 9 factors within the first half – however due to foul hassle. He recorded 4 fouls within the first half.
Daigneault admitted that it’s uncommon to see gamers like Gilgeous-Alexander journey the bench to begin a half no matter foul hassle, however he credited the 24-year-old for his willingness to belief his teammates to maintain the sport shut with him off the ground.
“I think the reason a lot of people don’t do it is they’re afraid of how the person is going to respond,” stated Daigneault. “The thing about Shai is he’s got confidence in the team. Him moving out of double teams or him coming off of the bench in the second half is pretty special… It’s a testament to the trust that he has in the team and I thought the group that started the second half fed off that confidence because when you have somebody that’s moping around or protesting that sort of decision, that could bleed into the rest of the team, especially somebody that has the impact in our culture that he does. So that’s a huge credit to him.”
The Thunder outscored the Clippers 36-27 within the third quarter.
“The group did a great job at stepping up to the challenge,” stated Gilgeous-Alexander.
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