The final Oklahoma City Thunder sequence in regulation against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday impressed head coach Mark Daigneault and center Al Horford.
To set the scene: The Thunder trailed 110-107. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just been blocked at the rim by Dennis Schroder. This play was initially called a foul, but the Lakers successfully challenged it and play was put at center court for a jump ball after no team had gathered possession before the whistle.
Darius Bazley stepped up to take on LeBron James. Bazley won the jump ball and hit it backward to Gilgeous-Alexander.
“That was great. Baze making a winning play,” Horford said.
Gilgeous-Alexander had about six seconds to get the ball upcourt, find his spot and shoot.
“I told those guys if we won the tip to just go. I told them if you could get one quick to get it, cause we still have the timeout,” Daigneault said. “But obviously the jump ball took him in the backcourt and he only had about five seconds when he gathered it.”
The guard pump-faked Kentavious Caldwell-Pope into a foul and got to the line with 1.3 seconds to play, where he attempted three free throws.
“With the time running out, we weren’t going to really have time to get a quick one and foul. I needed to go for 3,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I had made a couple late in that fourth, so I figured that they’d bite on my pump fake.”
To rewind: Gilgeous-Alexander had hit two 3-pointers over the final four minutes, both of which were ridiculous shots. One was a step-back and the other was a catch-and-shoot out of an inbounds pass from the corner.
𝑪𝑳𝑼𝑻𝑪𝑯@shaiglalex | #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/U1t4CRDr4R
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 9, 2021
No words..@shaiglalex | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/aerWunVA0D
— Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) February 9, 2021
Caldwell-Pope must have had those on his mind, because he bit on the pump fake. Gilgeous-Alexander made all three free throws.
“Just the awareness to get up to the line and to shot fake in that situation, it was a really mature play,” Daigneault said. “So I was as impressed with his ability to get to the line in that situation as I was with him stepping up and making three shots.”
That put Gilgeous-Alexander up to 29 points on the night.
“Shai being very poised and understanding … it just shows his growth and his confidence,” Horford said.
The Thunder could only muster two points in overtime and lost 119-112, but the game as a whole was a positive performance from Oklahoma City.
Taking the reigning champions to overtime is no easy feat.
This post originally appeared on OKCThunderWire. Follow us on Facebook!
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