The Oklahoma City Thunder could be anticipated to be demoralized following 4 straight losses, however that is hardly the case heading into the group’s house recreation towards the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
The league’s youngest group remained optimistic even after Wednesday’s 136-132 double-overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a season-high 39 factors to lead the Thunder, who rallied from a 12-point deficit with just below 5 minutes remaining to power time beyond regulation.
“It just shows the toughness of everybody on the staff,” Oklahoma City guard Tre Mann stated. “It shows how bad everybody wants to compete and win.”
Mann scored 21 factors off the bench within the loss whereas guard Josh Giddey had 18. Forward Aleksej Pokusevski additionally continued to impress with 17 factors and 10 rebounds.
After opening the season with three straight losses, Oklahoma City received 4 straight earlier than dropping 4 in a row. Despite falling brief in Wednesday’s marathon loss, the Thunder proved their mettle towards the group with the league’s greatest report in Milwaukee (10-1).
“It’s hard to complain with the effort,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault stated. “Obviously we didn’t win the game, but the effort was there.”
The Thunder have one other powerful matchup towards Toronto, which improved to 7-5 with a 116-109 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Fred VanVleet scored a season-high 32 factors and added 4 steals within the victory, whereas OG Anunoby added 27 factors, 10 rebounds and three steals.
Anunoby has emerged as one of many league’s prime defensive gamers with three or extra steals in a career-high six consecutive video games.
“He’s finally taking it personally, and if he ever gets any meaner, he’s going to be really scary,” VanVleet stated. “He’s such a nice guy. If he ever just turns into a bad guy it would be scary out there. To see him take it personal on defense, he could probably steal the ball whenever he feels like it, but he’s making the right reads on rotations, he’s making plays on lobs and blocked shots. It just looks great.”
Anunoby is assuming a higher function instead of Pascal Siakam, who’s out with a strained proper adductor muscle and anticipated to miss not less than two weeks.
Toronto additionally might be with out Precious Achiuwa indefinitely. The third-year ahead exited Wednesday’s recreation within the fourth quarter due to a proper ankle damage, and on Thursday the group introduced he suffered partially torn ligaments within the ankle.
The Raptors obtained a spark on Wednesday from veteran ahead Otto Porter Jr., who missed the group’s first seven video games due to a hamstring damage and private causes.
Playing in simply his fifth recreation, Porter had 14 factors in a season-high 23 minutes off the bench towards Houston.
“I was gassed — I really was,” Porter stated. “But it’s a process trying to get my legs and my rhythm back.”
Toronto’s offense continues to run via VanVleet, who made a season-high seven 3-pointers towards the Rockets.
VanVleet is averaging 29.7 factors over his previous three video games whereas taking pictures 46.3 % from the sphere and 46.2 % from past the arc.
Friday’s matchup options two of the league’s hottest shooters in VanVleet and Gilgeous-Alexander, who has scored 30-plus factors in seven of his first 10 video games.
–Field Level Media
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