With the final 21 seconds winding down, Kawhi Leonard had a chance to hit the game-winning basket. Trailing by one point, Leonard took the ball and let the fate of the game be decided by his hands.
Instead, what transpired was a 21-second defensive masterclass by Lu Dort, who shut down the opposition’s best player and forced a bad miss that wouldn’t have counted even if it had gone in. Leonard couldn’t shake Dort on the final possession of the game despite several screen attempts.
Dort was locked into his matchup with Leonard and was going to fight over every screen the Clippers set. He wanted the game to come down to his defense.
The tireless stop forced Leonard to throw up a heave milliseconds after the final buzzer sounded. For 21.2 seconds, Dort mirrored every Leonard move.
In a critical game with massive playoff ramifications, the Oklahoma City Thunder won the first of two consecutive games against the LA Clippers, 101-100. The win also helped the Thunder reach .500 for the first time this season since starting 4-4.
“That’s why we love him,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on Dort’s stop. “He’s some player and some competitor and he rises in those types of situations.”
What was going through Dort’s mind in those final 21 seconds that must’ve felt like an eternity?
“Just get a stop,” Dort said following the win. “Kawhi had a good game. He had it going. I knew the ball was going to be in his hand at the end of the game so I just had to get a stop.”
A slow start saw the Thunder trail the Clippers 18-4, but after that opening punch, it was a more competitive, back-and-forth matchup the rest of the way. The Thunder responded with a 19-4 run of their own to conclude the wild first quarter with a 23-22 lead.
After falling behind, 18-4, the Thunder outscored the Clippers, 52-33, the rest of the way in the first half. At halftime, the Thunder held a five-point lead.
The Clippers made it interesting in the second half; they outscored the Thunder, 49-45, but the Thunder held on for the road victory.
If you prefer high-scoring affairs, this game wasn’t for you. The Thunder shot 39-of-93 (41.9%) from the field and 10-of-37 (27%) from 3. The Clippers shot better overall, 41-of-86 (47.7%), but were equally ugly from 3 at 6-of-31 (19.4%) shooting.
The Thunder were led by the duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, who combined to score 51 points on 20-of-40 shooting from the field.
Meanwhile, the Clippers were led by their star duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Leonard finished with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting, six rebounds and five assists. George had 18 points on 9-of-17 shooting before leaving in the fourth quarter due to a leg injury.
Former Thunder guard Russell Westbrook also contributed for the Clippers as he finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Westbrook also played admirable defense against Gilgeous-Alexander during stretches of the game.
Following George’s injury, the Thunder went on a 6-2 run to grab a 97-93 lead with under three minutes to go.
This was a massive, massive win for the Thunder to kick off this season-defining four-game road trip. With the win, the Thunder are now just half a game back from the sixth seed — which means there’s a very real possibility OKC skips the Play-In tournament entirely.
The Thunder will only have a short period of time to celebrate their third consecutive win against the Clippers as they play them once again on Thursday.
It will be the final game of the four-game season series between the teams. George’s availability for the game is unknown; he needed help to exit the court.
Obviously, if George misses a significant amount of time, it could cause a huge ripple effect for both this season and beyond depending on the severity of the injury.
“Sending the whole team and organization thoughts to Paul George,” Daigneault said. “He was here. Great person. We hope he’s OK.”
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.