Lu Dort had one of his best games as a pro on Friday, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder on both ends of the court in a 127-125 comeback victory over the Chicago Bulls in overtime.
Dort finished with 21 points, the fourth-most he has had in an NBA game, regular season or playoffs. He made four 3s, something he had only done four times entering the night, and had eight rebounds, a number he had matched thrice.
Most impressive was his career-high six steals.
I mean, look at him coming out of nowhere for this. How did Dort react quicker than Zach LaVine, the person who lost the ball in the first place?
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For guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this performance wasn’t a surprise.
“That’s what I expect, and I think I can speak for the rest of the guys, that’s what we all expect from Lu every night. He brings it every night.” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
“It makes him the player who he is. So it doesn’t come as no surprise to me or any of us. He does and makes winning plays all the time.”
It wasn’t just on defense. At one point in the third quarter, Dort scored 10 Thunder points in a row.
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“Lu was outstanding. He made huge plays defensively down the stretch – he took the charge on LaVine, and then he had the loose ball, which was a huge play also,” Daigneault said.
It was those types of plays from Dort and Kenrich Williams that put Oklahoma City back in the contest.
“We gave ourselves a chance. There’s no guarantee you’re going to win when you continue to compete, but if you continue to compete, you give yourself a chance,” Daigneault said.
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