[jwplayer 0cU2AiPh]
Just 23 seconds into the fourth quarter in Game 4 on Monday, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Luguentz Dort picked up his fifth personal foul. Consider what was at stake, Chris Paul told the rookie that he couldn’t pick up his sixth foul if the Thunder wanted to have a chance of winning.
And Dort did just that.
The rookie has been tasked with guarding James Harden throughout the series and has often locked up him. In fact, entering the contest, Dort held Harden to just 18 points on 3-of-21 shooting from the field while the rest of his teammates allowed Harden to score 78 points on 26-of-44 shooting in the three previous games of the series.
Put simply: The Thunder needed Dort to play big minutes down the stretch.
Dort logged 10 minutes in the fourth quarter, while maintaining his defensive assignment on Harden, and helped the Thunder to a 117-114 win to even the series at two games apiece. Harden finished with 32 points and 15 assists but scored just seven in the final period, shooting 3-of-7 from the field with Dort on him.
Harden has established himself as perhaps the best player in isolation and can get his defenders into foul trouble quickly. Even with five fouls, Dort continued to stay aggressive on Harden and managed to avoid fouling out. The defense Dort played on Harden with five fouls earned high praise from Paul afterward.
In the last game, Lu was special. Lu is unbelievable on how he accepts the challenge. He has to listen to me yelling at him all game about what to do here and what to do there. When he had five fouls, I just kept telling him, ‘You can’t get a sixth! It’s not that you shouldn’t get one, you can’t get a sixth.’ A lot of times when guys get five fouls, they play tentative and they start pulling their hands back and he just, I don’t know, he’s just one of those guys that deserves to be here and I’m glad to see him having success.
The Thunder held the Rockets scoreless for a large stretch in the fourth quarter, which allowed them to complete the win after trailing by as many as 15 points in the game. Dort only scored nine points but it was his defense and ability to stay in the game that helped the Thunder in a big way.
Dort has proven to be a strong defender this season and has often openly accepted the challenge of defending the top players in the league. The way he has guarded Harden shouldn’t go overlooked and it is likely even more impressive considering he is in just his first season in the NBA.
Game 5 between the Thunder and Rockets is set for Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
[lawrence-related id=21841,21828,10450]
[vertical-gallery id=14282]