Tag: 2023-24 preseason

PHOTOS: Best images from Thunder’s 118-116 preseason loss to Pistons

Here are the best photos from the Thunder’s 118-116 preseason loss to the Pistons.

The Oklahoma City Thunder finished their preseason schedule with a 118-116 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday at Tulsa’s BOK Center.

The Thunder, who were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (knee contusion),  were led by Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.

In 14 first-half minutes, Holmgren was excellent for OKC. He recorded 10 points, four rebounds and three blocks before sitting the second half. Williams scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting.

With preseason over, the Thunder now prepare for their regular-season opener against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 25.

Let’s look at some of the best photos from the Thunder’s two-point preseason loss to the Pistons.

Pistons vs. Thunder preseason: Lineups, injury reports and broadcast info for Thursday

Pistons vs. Thunder preseason: Lineups, injury reports and broadcast info for Thursday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder play the Detroit Pistons in their preseason finale on Thursday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The Thunder (2-2) wrap up their preseason campaign in a rematch against the Pistons (1-1), who defeated them in their Montreal meetup last week. Surprisingly, this was the last time the Pistons played a preseason game. They scheduled only three this year.

Meanwhile, the Thunder’s starters dominated the Milwaukee Bucks, who played Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, in their preseason game on Tuesday.

The Thunder will play this game at Tulsa’s BOK Center. It is an annual tradition for the franchise to visit the second-largest city of the state.

PHOTOS: Best images from Thunder’s 124-101 preseason win over Bucks

The best photos from the Thunder’s 124-101 preseason win over the Bucks:

The Oklahoma City Thunder played their starters deep into the third quarter in their 124-101 preseason win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

Facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Thunder utilized their penultimate preseason game as a chance to play their starting lineup for 20-plus minutes.

The Thunder responded by blowing out a title contender with their two best players suited up for the game. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey each scored 18-plus points.

Antetokounmpo was limited to 18 points and 10 rebounds while Lillard had five points and four assists.

Let’s look at some of the best photos from the Thunder’s 23-point preseason win over the Bucks.

Bucks vs. Thunder preseason: Lineups, injury reports and broadcast info for Tuesday

Bucks vs. Thunder preseason: Lineups, injury reports and broadcast info for Tuesday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder play the Milwaukee Bucks in preseason action on Tuesday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The Thunder (1-2) play their penultimate preseason contest when they welcome the Bucks (2-1).

During Monday’s practice, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault raised the possibility they’ll use one of their final two preseason contests to give their starters extensive minutes.

In their last preseason game, the Thunder elected to rest their entire starting lineup in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Bucks debuted Damian Lillard, who they recently acquired in a blockbuster trade, in their last preseason outing against the Los Angeles Lakers.

PHOTOS: Best images from Thunder’s 117-115 preseason loss to Hornets

Here are the best photos from the Thunder’s 117-115 preseason loss to the Hornets on Sunday:

The Oklahoma City Thunder elected to use their 117-115 preseason loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday to let their depth play heavy minutes.

Before the game, the Thunder ruled out their entire starting lineup for rest. This allowed several bench players to play significant minutes against the Hornets, who played a more traditional regular-season lineup.

Jaylin Williams led the way for the Thunder in their close loss. In his first preseason start, he had 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Aaron Wiggins also had 16 points.

Let’s look at some of the best photos from the Thunder’s two-point preseason loss to the Hornets.

Player grades: Comeback attempt falls short in Thunder’s 117-115 preseason loss to Hornets

Player grades for the Thunder’s 117-115 preseason loss to the Hornets on Sunday:

Trailing in transition, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl caught the ball from Aaron Wiggins and had a chance to hit a layup to send Sunday’s preseason game into overtime.

Instead, the ball failed to go through the hoop and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s comeback attempt fell short in their 117-115 preseason loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

“Obviously we came up a little short, but I thought we came with it tonight,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault on their effort.

Preparing to play on a sleepy Sunday afternoon, the shorthanded Thunder used their third preseason matchup to rest their starters and several key players.

Prior to the game, the Thunder elected to rest Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort and Isaiah Joe. Kenrich Williams (back spasms) and Aleksej Pokusevski (ankle sprain) were also ruled out.

The long list of injuries grew during the game as the Thunder ruled Cason Wallace — who started and had five points in eight minutes — out with a toe sprain in the second quarter.

With arguably their top-nine players out for most of the night, the Thunder used their loss to the Hornets as a chance to allow their depth players to play a heavy dosage of minutes.

Even without their starters, the Thunder offense didn’t miss a beat, scoring 115 points on 42-of-91 (46.2%) shooting. The ball movement was crisp as active off-ball movement and cuts helped OKC generate 30 assists on its 42 field goals.

“Offense was really good,” Daigneault said. “I thought we generated great rhythm. Worked together. Got our cutting in. Moved the ball side to side.”

For a third consecutive preseason game though, the defense continued to show leakages.

The Hornets scored 117 points on 46-of-88 (52.3%) shooting in their two-point win. Charlotte utilized 69-point middle quarters to help it enter the final frame with an 11-point lead. Without Holmgren, the Hornets scored 62 points inside of the paint.

The Thunder made it interesting in the fourth quarter, cutting the Hornets’ lead to as little as one point against Charlotte’s reserves. OKC had a pair of layup attempts in the final seven seconds that missed, which would’ve either given it a one-point lead or tied it and forced OT.

The Hornets were led by P.J. Washington, who’s grown a reputation for turning into Steph Curry when facing OKC. During an essential must-win game for the Thunder late last March in the midst of their Play-In push, he scored 43 points and played spoiler in the upset.

In a much less pressure-filled environment tonight, Washington had 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting and 5-of-8 shooting from 3 in 24 minutes. The Hornets elected to treat this game as a regular-season matchup with their starters playing 20-plus minutes.

LaMelo Ball had 16 points, six assists and six rebounds in 24 minutes. Terry Rozier finished with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and six assists in 26 minutes. 2023 No. 3 pick rookie Brandon Miller had eight points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Thunder were led by Jaylin Williams and Aaron Wiggins in this exhibition. Williams received his first start of preseason and played the point center role. Wiggins — who is from North Carolina — had several fancy finishes around the rim for 16 points.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Thunder vs. Hornets preseason: Lineups, injury reports and broadcast info for Sunday

Thunder vs. Hornets preseason: Lineups, injury reports and broadcast info for Sunday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder play the Charlotte Hornets in a preseason game on Sunday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The Thunder (1-1) continue their preseason slate when they travel on the road to face the Hornets (0-2) for an early afternoon contest.

In their last preseason outing, the Thunder lost to the Detroit Pistons despite a 21-point lead. The story of the game though centered around Lu Dort’s homecoming at Montreal.

Playing his first organized game at home since high school, Dort finished with a game-high 24 points.

Meanwhile, the Hornets lost to the Washington Wizards on the road in their most recent preseason game this past Thursday.

PHOTOS: Best images from Thunder’s 128-125 preseason loss to Pistons

Here are the best photos from the Thunder’s 128-125 preseason loss to the Pistons on Thursday:

The Oklahoma City Thunder traveled to Montreal to play their second preseason game, a 128-125 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

In his homecoming, Lu Dort showed out for his family and friends. He finished with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting and went 5-of-9 from 3.

Chet Holmgren was also impressive in his second preseason outing. He finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes. After sitting out the last game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made his preseason debut with a mundane 12 points, three assists and three steals in 22 minutes.

Let’s look at the best photos from the Thunder’s one-point preseason loss to the Pistons.

Player grades: Lu Dort shines at Montreal in 128-125 preseason loss to Pistons

Player grades for the Thunder’s 128-125 preseason loss to the Pistons.

During Thursday’s shootaround, Lu Dort was surrounded by a sea of reporters popping off questions. The Montreal native was the star of the day as he prepared to play his first professional game in his hometown.

It only made sense Dort was fed the first shot of the night for the Oklahoma City Thunder in their 128-125 preseason loss to the Detroit Pistons.

The Thunder realized how special a night this was for Dort and wanted to commemorate their defensive leader by making him the focal point of OKC’s offense.

“I (knew) I was going to come out here and try to put on a little show and hopefully play good in front of my people,” Dort said. “I felt like I did. I was really happy for the Thunder and the NBA to make that possible.”

With the return of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder had their first chance to see what their preferred starting lineup could look like. One preseason game in and the starters looked fantastic. All five finished with a positive plus-minus and four were at least plus-10.

“This is the first year in a little bit that we’ve had the majority of the group the next season,” Gilgeous-Alexander said about the roster continuity. “So that kinda propels us, like you said, into the next season.”

The Thunder offense continued to score with ease in their second preseason contest. After scoring 122 points in regulation against the San Antonio Spurs, the Thunder had 125 points tonight.

The 3-point ball was hitting for OKC; it shot 17-of-43 (39.5%) from outside. Free throws were also frequent for the Thunder as they went 32-of-39 (82.1%) from the charity stripe.

Alas, defense continues to be an issue in the preseason slate. After leading by as many as 21 points, the Pistons mounted a comeback against OKC with a 38-point fourth quarter.

The Pistons, who will play the Thunder in their preseason finale at Tulsa on Oct. 19, had six players score in double figures.

James Wiseman had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Jaden Ivey had 13 points on 6-of-17 shooting and five turnovers. Killion Hayes scored 16 points and had four assists. Rookie Ausar Thompson had eight points on 2-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds and two blocks. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren were ruled out for the game.

While it’s disappointing to see the Thunder lose control of a game they dominated for 75% of it, it’s important to add the caveat the fourth-quarter collapse occurred with the reserves of both teams.

Plus it’s preseason, so it’s hard to get too worked up over the final result of this game. Nonetheless, blowing a double-digit lead shouldn’t take away from the positive signs that were shown by the Thunder starters when they were on the court.

All in all, this was a successful first trip to Montreal. Dort had his moment in the spotlight and the Thunder’s starting lineup looked like it could be a lethal scoring machine.

“Big thank you to the city of Montreal and the basketball community here,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “Historic venue that we’re humbled to be playing in and in the game environment tonight, the crowd environment tonight was awesome.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Pistons vs. Thunder preseason: Lineups, injury reports and broadcast info for Thursday

Pistons vs. Thunder preseason: Lineups, injury reports and broadcast info for Thursday:

The Oklahoma City Thunder play the Detroit Pistons in preseason on Thursday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The Thunder (1-0) will host the Pistons (0-1) for each of their second preseason game in Montreal, Québec, Canada. This game marks the first time that Lu Dort will play an organized basketball game in his hometown since high school.

In their last game, the Thunder were the center of the NBA universe when their close win against the San Antonio Spurs in their preseason opener featured the debuts of Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama.

Meanwhile, the Pistons opened their preseason slate with a high-scoring loss to the Phoenix Suns.