It wasn’t too long ago that the conversation surrounding the Thunder was how they couldn’t close out close games.
But somewhere along the line, the narrative has shifted.
Oklahoma City is now one of the best in the league when it comes to tight games in the clutch. Sixteen of their 19 wins have been five-point games within the final five minutes. That’s by far the most in the NBA.
As of January 3, the Thunder are winners of four in a row and eight of their last nine. Of those eight, none have been by more than six points.
Sure, timely play and some luck has something to do with it. But it’s been a subtle mental shift in the way the team looks at defending in late-game situations that been the driving force behind the Thunder’s recent success.
Chris Paul, who himself has been incredibly clutch for OKC this season, told The Oklahoman that it’s something the team talks about.
“We talk about it as a team — really good teams in our league … the last 4 or 5 minutes really lock down, really tighten up,” Chris Paul said after the Thunder did it again Tuesday night in a 106-101 win against Dallas. “We’ve got to figure out how to put a whole game together, but I’m happy with what we’ve been doing.”
The Thunder did just that against San Antonio on Thursday. Down 14 in the first half, Oklahoma City held the Spurs to just 37% shooting in the third quarter, cutting the deficit down to just two.
In the fourth, OKC opened on an 18-9 run, pulling ahead for good on a bucket by Dennis Schroder with 8:19 left to play. The Spurs twice got within four in the closing minutes but timely shots by Paul and made free throws by Schroder allowed the Thunder to escape San Antonio with a win.
“You cannot expect the game to go the way you expect every time,” Danilo Gallinari told The Oklahoman after making a key defensive play against Luke Doncic in the final minute of Tuesday night’s win. “You can’t just be a spectator hoping that the game goes your way. You’ve got to go get it.”
Oklahoma City will look to “go get it” against the Cavaliers when they tip-off tonight in Cleveland. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.