Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault broke away from his usual rotation of sitting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the first six minutes of the period.
Considering the Portland Trail Blazers started the quarter on a quick 7-0 run to extend their lead to 112-103, who could blame Daigneault? Especially with how awesome Gilgeous-Alexander was in the first three quarters.
Deviating from his usual rotation paid off big time.
The decision ultimately won the game for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they went on a 35-14 run in Gilgeous-Alexander’s nine fourth-quarter minutes.
The Thunder pulled away with a 138-129 win against the Trail Blazers for their seventh consecutive win against them.
“Defensively, I thought we weren’t where we needed to be a lot of the game. You can correct it the next day in film or you can correct it in practice but it’s best when you can correct it in the game and I thought that’s what we did tonight,” Thunder head coach Daigneault said. “… That’s what I was most impressed with tonight was just our ability to course-correct in real time.”
Gilgeous-Alexander dissected the Trail Blazers’ non-existent defense as he scored 42 points on a ridiculous 13-of-16 shooting. In the fourth quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander torched the Trail Blazers with 10 points and out-dueled fellow All-Star guard Damian Lillard — who finished with 38 points.
Points were a surplus in this entertaining back-and-fourth, high-scoring contest. Both teams reached the century mark by the end of the third quarter as the Trail Blazers led 105-103. The lead changed hands nine times with nine ties also occurring in this high-octane scoring affair.
The Thunder shot 47-of-83 (56.6%) from the field and went 12-of-24 (50%) from 3 on 29 team assists. The Thunder also enjoyed a frequent night at the free-throw stripe as they went 32-of-35 (91.4%).
The Thunder dominated inside the paint, outscoring the Trail Blazers 70-42.
The Thunder had six players score at least 10 points in this win with Gilgeous-Alexander’s superb-efficient 44 points leading the way.
The Trail Blazers shot 42-of-76 (55.3%) from the field and went 16-of-40 (40%) from 3 on 29 team assists. Like the Thunder, the Trail Blazers also had a favorable whistle as they went 29-of-31 (93.5%) from the free-throw line.
Lillard finished with 38 points on 10-of-18 shooting, 6-of-13 three-point shooting and went 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. Jerami Grant also contributed with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Shaedon Sharpe had 13 points off the bench and Cam Reddish finished with 11 points in his Trail Blazers debut.
The Thunder are now 3-0 against the Trail Blazers this season and have just outscored them by 14 total points in those three victories, which means that the young squad is learning how to close out wins.
“Portland was a desperate team tonight. We’re in very similar positions, so this was a big win for us,” Josh Giddey said.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A+
Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
How was this guy not named an All-Star starter again?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was ridiculous against the Trail Blazers as he finished with 44 points on a ludicrous 13-of-16 shooting which included going 18-of-19 shooting from the free-throw line and seven assists.
This is the first performance in franchise history where somebody on the Thunder scored at least 40 points on at least 80% shooting.
Not Kevin Durant. Not Russell Westbrook. Not Paul George. But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
What a crazy stat.
Having the shot diet of a rolling big man who gets most of their shots on assisted dunks or second-chance points, Gilgeous-Alexander did all of his damage inside of the paint off of drives to the basket.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 13-of-14 (!) inside the paint and took just two shots outside of the paint, including just one three-point attempt.
With the Thunder bleeding points to start the fourth quarter and the game being in jeopardy, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault pulled out his SGA card earlier than usual and Gilgeous-Alexander rewarded the decision with 10 points on 2-of-3 (!!) shooting.
Just an unbelievable night from a guy who’s made efficient 30-point performances boring.
Lu Dort: A+
Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
This was quite the first game back for Lu Dort.
After missing the previous six games due to a hamstring strain, Dort made his return and came off the bench for the first time since his rookie season.
Dort’s first game back couldn’t have been scripted any better as he immediately went to work on defending Damian Lillard.
I don’t think it’s a huge coincidence Lillard was held to just 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting after a hot 20-point first quarter. It matches with Dort’s playing time, who didn’t check into the game until the second quarter.
Daignreault revealed Dort was on a minutes restriction of around 20 minutes, which explains why he didn’t play in the first quarter.
Per tradition, Dort completely shut off Lillard in the fourth quarter when matched up against him, as he had just seven points on 2-of-5 shooting with three turnovers in the period.
“He was in a good rhythm offensively and the work he did on Lillard was incredible,” Daigneault said. “… For him to come in and do the job he did on him after the guy already got a rhythm and already got some confidence going is pretty incredible.”
Dort was also perfect on offense, as he scored 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting that included going 3-of-3 from 3. In 20 minutes, Dort was also a game-high +30.
Jalen Williams: B
Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Jalen Williams continues to be an explosive Swiss Army knife as he finished with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting, six assists, four rebounds and three steals.
One of Williams’ four made shots included one of his more impressive dunks of the season that saw him finish through contact and added to his perfect 5-of-5 night from the free-throw line.
Momentum was officially on OKC’s side following this massive jam.
Josh Giddey: B+
Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
One of the several highlights from this game featured Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey feeding each other high-efficient shots in the first half.
The chemistry between Giddey and Gilgeous-Alexander continues to grow and it feels like not only are they co-existing with each other, but are thriving.
Giddey finished with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, seven assists and six rebounds.
One of those made shots included a funky sidestep mini-euro in the fourth quarter that banked in. It’s certainly a unique shot but it also goes to show Giddey can get creative with his finishes like he does with his passes.
Isaiah Joe: B
Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
At this point, Isaiah Joe has accustomed fans to expect at least a couple of made 3s when he plays.
That was the case once again on Friday.
In 23 minutes off the bench, Joe finished with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting that featured him going a perfect 4-of-4 from 3. The Thunder outscored the Trail Blazers by 18 points when he was on the floor.
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Story originally appeared on Thunder Wire
