OKLAHOMA CITY — Sneaking his way underneath the basket, Jalen Williams leaped for the offensive rebound following Josh Giddey’s miss and laid in the game-winning bucket.
The team and fans went wild as they knew they escaped another demoralizing loss.
The SGA-less Oklahoma City Thunder avoided two consecutive upset losses by defeating the Detroit Pistons, 107-106. With the last-second win, the Thunder owns sole possession of the 10th seed due to the Dallas Mavericks’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I thought the response of our players coming off of a disappointing performance last night was right where it needed to be,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “This team’s made a habit of that all year. We’re not perfect but these guys do a great job at refocusing and getting the car back on the road and I thought they did that tonight.”
Without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who missed his second consecutive game with an ankle sprain, Williams made up for his absence with 27 efficient points.
“I think his improvement has been a combination of him learning and the game slowing down for him,” Daigneault said about Williams.
Playing against a Pistons team missing several key players, it was a back-and-forth matchup between both squads in a game that saw 11 lead changes and 11 ties. Neither team led by more than eight points.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Thunder held a four-point lead over the Pistons. The Thunder grew that to a 97-90 lead with 6:03 left.
It felt like OKC finally made the run to close out the much-needed win, but the Pistons immediately went on a 10-3 run to tie the game at 100 apiece with 3:37 left.
The Pistons eventually retook the lead off of a Cory Joseph 3 late in the game with 14.1 seconds left. This set the scene for Williams’ eventual game-winner as the Thunder trailed by one point.
The Thunder finished the game with five double-digit scorers, as it was an evenly-distributed offensive performance with Gilgeous-Alexander out.
Playing a much better brand of defense, the Thunder forced the Pistons to turn the ball over 18 times, which lead to a 30-10 scoring advantage on points off of turnovers.
The depleted Pistons — who were 1-17 in their previous 18 games — were led by lottery rookie Jaden Ivey, who finished with 24 points on 8-of-18 shooting, six rebounds and five assists. He fouled out late in the fourth quarter after Jaylin Williams absorbed his third drawn charge of the night.
It was a massive moment as the Pistons were without their best available player for the final two minutes.
“I was just playing, that’s something I do,” Williams said on his drawn charge. “The opportunity was there. I just took a charge and it worked out.”
James Wiseman also collected a 14-point and 11-rebound double-double. Former Thunder friend Eugene Omoruyi had 14 points and five rebounds. The Pistons’ bench outscored the Thunder’s, 49-23.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.