Tag: Aaron Wiggins

Player grades: Thunder survive swings of runs in 118-110 win over Suns

Player grades for the Thunder’s 118-110 win over Suns.

Hitting a spin move on Grayson Allen, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was called for a costly offensive foul as Allen covered his face in pain. The call warranted a review to see if it fit the criteria of a flagrant.

The replays ruled it didn’t as Allen’s nose was hit with the back of Gilgeous-Alexander’s head as he spun around. After it stayed a common foul, OKC challenged the call and won. A pair of reviews turned an offensive foul into an extra possession.

Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a jumper after the lengthy process and extinguished any hopes of a comeback for the Phoenix Suns in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 118-110 win.

“We were able to get the start under control pretty quickly, obviously that was good,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “That was an avalanche in the third and fourth. They really got into a groove there…

“I thought we showed great resilience in the fourth to climb back into it when we went down after all that.”

The back-and-forth contest saw three lead changes and two ties in dramatic fashion. There were extreme swings catapulted by lengthy runs from both sides. During points in this game, the Thunder had a game-high 24-point lead and the Suns possessed a 13-point lead.

The first happened in the opening minutes. After trailing 17-4 following the first six minutes, the Thunder rattled off 10 consecutive points to get out of the early double-digit hole.

The Thunder — surprisingly enough — had a 28-24 lead after the first frame. The second quarter saw OKC carry over the momentum it built from the first period with a 38-point effort. After trailing by 13 points, the Thunder finished the first half on a 62-35 run to enter halftime with a 66-52 lead.

As the Thunder built a 24-point advantage, it felt like the Suns let go of the rope. The game was on its way to being meaningless for the remainder of the second half. Instead, Phoenix went on a 23-2 run to enter the fourth quarter with a manageable 89-85 deficit.

The Suns continued to stifle the Thunder and totaled a massive 39-8 second-half run to flip the score and command a six-point lead less than four minutes into the final frame.

Like the beginning of the game, the Thunder couldn’t buy a bucket for a massive stretch of the second half. After that though, OKC suddenly went on another massive run of its own to close out this road win with a 23-8 six-minute stretch.

It’s only fitting the final points scored were on Gilgeous-Alexander’s jumper following the overturned offensive foul. After that basket, OKC had a nine-point lead with less than three minutes left.

The Thunder shot 48% from the field and went 9-of-31 (29%) from 3. They had 16 steals and forced 22 turnovers, which led to 31 points — a massive advantage for OKC considering it outscored Phoenix by 22 points in that area.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with a near 35-point triple-double. Jalen Williams had 22 points and three steals. All five Thunder starters scored double-digit points.

Meanwhile, the Suns — who were without Devin Booker due to an ankle sprain — shot 44% from the field and went 14-of-39 (35.9%) from 3. They dished out 26 assists on 40 baskets and outrebounded OKC, 50-41.

Despite losing the rebounding battle, Daigneault said that’s a sacrifice they’re willing to make to play their brand of basketball. It’s worked considering the Thunder have been one of the best teams in the league despite being one of the worst rebounding squads.

“The trade-offs that we gain with the way we play, the lineups we play, generally have outweighed that,” Daigneault said. “… A lot of nights we lose the rebounding battle. As long as the benefit continues to outweigh the cost, we’re going to continue to accept the trade-offs. We’re not going to be a perfect team.”

Bradley Beal led the way for the Suns with 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting, six assists and seven turnovers. Kevin Durant tallied 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and a career-high 31 rebounds — which is also a Suns record.

Overall, it was a wild contest that saw the pendulum swing in extreme ways. Both teams went on several massive runs throughout the contest and the Thunder served the final one and survived for the impressive road win.

“We want to be a team that competes fully during those and then grows from them regardless of what side we’re on,” Daigneault said. “Our teams always had great resilience though. I have great respect for our guys as competitors.

“I thought our resilience was on display tonight. I thought our poise was on display in the fourth, they did a great job.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: Thunder complete 23-point comeback in 135-127 2OT win over Raptors

Player grades for the Thunder’s 135-127 2OT win over the Raptors.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Catching the ball, Aaron Wiggins drained in a corner 3-pointer to give OKC a seven-point lead with less than two minutes left. The 3-point shot served as the dagger after 58 minutes of intense basketball.

The Oklahoma City Thunder completed the 23-point comeback in their 135-127 double-overtime win over the Toronto Raptors. The Thunder have now won three in a row.

“That was a great game for us,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “Credit them, their game plan, they made us uncomfortable in the first half. You never know how a team’s going to play you, so it took us obviously a little bit to calibrate that.

It looked ugly early on for the Thunder. After the first quarter, OKC trailed Toronto, 33-23. A 30-point second frame made the issue worse as the Raptors entered halftime with a 63-47 lead.

“The way they started the game, I thought they were just on the gas,” Daigneault said. “They played with way more force than we did on both ends of the floor and had us on our heels for much of the first half.”

The beginning of the second half was much of the same issues for the Thunder as the Raptors quickly built a 23-point lead. It didn’t take until around halfway through the third frame before OKC began its climb back up.

A 34-point third quarter saw the Thunder enter the final frame shaving their deficit to 87-81. OKC eventually erased its deficit less than four minutes into the quarter and tied it up at 91 apiece.

From that point on in the final frame, neither team led by more than three points. Trailing by two with 27 seconds left, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed his patent mid-range jumper but the ball ricocheted near the sidelines, where a diving RJ Barrett landed on the ball out of bounds.

This gave the Thunder another golden chance to tie it in the final seconds and Josh Giddey found a cutting Aaron Wiggins for the game-tying layup on the inbound pass with four seconds left.

In the first overtime, Gilgeous-Alexander redeemed himself with a game-tying stepback 3-pointer to tie it up at 118 apiece. He blocked Gary Trent Jr.’s attempt at a game-winner and forced a rare second overtime.

In the second OT, the 3-pointers started falling for OKC. It hit three 3-pointers to start the second five-minute period capped off by Wiggins’ aforementioned 3-pointer.

Giddey completed an impressive and-one and Gilgeous-Alexander soared for the dunk to hit the exclamation marks of the Thunder’s comeback win.

It was a historic offensive outing for the Thunder. They shot 47% from the field and went 23-of-63 (36.5%) from 3 — the 23 made outside shots tied a franchise record. OKC needed the hot night from 3 as it only went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.

The Thunder had five players score 20-plus points. This was only the third time in franchise history they’ve reached this mark.

Gilgeous-Alexander had a near triple-double of 23 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds. Chet Holmgren contributed with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists.

After a rough start, a pair of Thunder starters played key roles in OKC’s second-half comeback — Giddey had one of his best outings yet with 24 points, six assists and six rebounds. Lu Dort had 22 points and seven rebounds.

Off the bench, Aaron Wiggins saw his role increase as the game progressed and totaled 20 points. His contributions were more valuable once OKC lost starter Cason Wallace to a shoulder injury in the second half.

“It was a gutsy win for sure,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “What we brought in the second half was needed.”

Meanwhile, the Raptors shot 48% from the field and went 14-of-35 (40%) from 3. They went 17-of-21 from the free-throw line. Six players scored double-digit points.

Barrett — who was questionable with knee swelling — led Toronto with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting and seven rebounds. Scottie Barnes totaled 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Jakob Poeltl had a 19-point and 12-rebound double-double.

Immanuel Quickley had 17 points and 11 assists while Dennis Schroder had 19 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Raptors.

The Thunder survived their lengthiest game of the season with a thrilling win against the struggling Raptors. Overcoming a 23-point deficit is nothing to sneeze at and OKC’s resilience to come out of halftime and have a strong finish is one of the major qualities why they’re off to their best start following 50 games in nearly a decade.

“The chemistry of the team is real,” Daigneault said. “As the game gets harder, they tend to connect more and problem-solve together and I thought tonight was a great example of that.

“The game was not going our way on either end. Easy to pack it in, point fingers, try to do it ourselves. We did quite the opposite coming out of halftime.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: Short-handed Thunder survive Jokic-less Nuggets, 105-100

Player grades for the Thunder’s 105-100 win over the Nuggets.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Grabbing his miss, Josh Giddey quickly recalibrated amid chaos and dished it out to Chet Holmgren for the left-wing 3-pointer. As the ball swished through the basket, the crowd celebrated the dagger with 22 seconds left.

The short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder clinched a critical season series with a 105-100 win over the Denver Nuggets — who were without their MVP candidate Nikola Jokic.

“That was a gutsy win,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “Really, really impressed. The end of the month, as we’ve talked about before, that month was a slog. This was our sixth game in nine days. When you really step back and think about that, that’s like a very difficult schedule.”

In the first quarter, OKC looked lethargic as it trailed 28-19 following the frame. The offense looked smoother in the second quarter with a 28-point frame.

By halftime, the Thunder had a 51-47 deficit. A 26-point third frame by OKC saw it enter the fourth quarter with a slight 73-72 lead. A massive 20-2 run by the Thunder helped create an 11-point advantage less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.

Trailing by 10 points with a little over three minutes left, Denver rattled off seven consecutive points to suddenly turn it into a three-point contest with two minutes left.

A pair of free throws by Jamal Murray made it a one-point lead for OKC with less than a minute left. On the next possession, the Thunder collected a pair of misses to wrap up three consecutive looks with the Holmgren 3-pointer.

A rare five-second violation on a failed inbound pass by the Nuggets in the ensuing possession guaranteed the crucial win for OKC. Playing the 17th game in 31 days, the depleted Thunder labored through the massive victory running on fumes.

Entering the contest, OKC was without Jalen Williams (ankle sprain) and Isaiah Joe (sternum contusion). Both are part of the Thunder’s best seven players.

Despite that, the Thunder shot 43% from the field and went 11-of-26 (42.3%) from 3. They tallied 24 assists on 37 baskets. OKC totaled four double-digit scorers.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 34 points and had a busy night at the free-throw line. Holmgren contributed with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Off the bench, Aaron Wiggins and Vasilije Micic stepped up in the absences of Williams and Joe. Both bench players scored 12 points apiece.

“We didn’t start the game the way we wanted to,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think we all could feel how slow we were on both ends of the floor. They shot it well to start the game as well. We dug deep, we got stops when we needed them and we came out with a (win) because of it.”

Meanwhile, the Nuggets shot 40% from the field and went 15-of-37 (40.5%) from 3. Denver relied on its hot outside shooting to compensate for Jokic’s absence. Six players scored double-digit points for the Nuggets.

Aaron Gordon totaled 16 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks. Murray had 16 points and four assists. Michael Porter Jr. scored 15 points and went 3-of-9 from 3.

Off the bench, Reggie Jackson scored 16 points and Christian Braun scored 10 points.

With the low-scoring win, OKC ends its season series against Denver winning three of four matchups. This means the Thunder own a potential tiebreaker, which could prove vital considering how close they are in the standings.

Both teams entered the contest with notable absences, but the Thunder did just enough on both ends to come out victorious and snap a two-game losing skid.

“It was a great team win,” Daigneault said. “We got contributions from everybody in a game that was obviously a grind. I was really, really impressed with the energy we were able to tap into tonight.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: Thunder demolish Spurs in 140-114 win

Player grades for the Thunder’s 140-114 win over the Spurs.

Muscling his way through Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama jammed it in and felt himself afterward with a staredown. On the ensuing possession, Holmgren was called for a foul after shoving Wembanyama to set a screen.

There were moments of excitement between the two seven-foot rookies that seldom showed in their last matchup. But in terms of the actual score, it was fitting the drama between the two only surfaced in garbage time.

The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the lowly San Antonio Spurs in a 140-114 win. The outcome of this one was never really in question. It capped off a sweep of a home-and-road back-to-back for OKC.

“I thought it was a really good offensive night for us,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “We obviously shot the ball very well from three, which always makes it look a little better but the attacks were pretty sound… Found the best shot on a lot of possessions. I just thought we stayed in a very team rhythm tonight, which is great.”

The Thunder built a 35-28 lead following the first quarter. OKC added to its lead in the second frame and entered halftime with a 63-52 advantage.

A 37-point third quarter put this game to bed as the Thunder entered the final frame with a 100-76 lead. With the game essentially decided, Wembanyama and Holmgren exchanged jabs at each other before they were eventually pulled out of the lopsided contest.

“All credit to Vic,” Holmgren said. “Obviously, a great player, very, very talented — even at an early stage in his career. But I can’t let that matchup take away from what the job was tonight and that was trying to win a basketball game. Thunder vs. Spurs.”

The Thunder had arguably their best offensive outing yet. OKC scored a season-high 140 points, shot 56% from the field and 18-of-40 (45%) from 3. OKC dished out 36 assists on 54 baskets.

It was a productive night for OKC’s trio — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 32 points and 10 assists in three quarters. Jalen Williams had 13 points and seven assists. Holmgren had 17 points and three blocks.

Off the bench, Aaron Wiggins scored 22 points and Cason Wallace totaled 13 points. The Thunder had an eye-popping 64 points from the bench.

“I really liked how much we trusted each other,” Holmgren said. “That ball was really moving around — especially out there in that second unit… Trusted the offense and we did a great job at that all 48 minutes. Whoever was out there on the floor, all five guys trusted each other.”

Meanwhile, the Spurs shot 50% from the field and went 9-of-32 (28.1%) from 3. San Antonio dished out 30 assists on 43 baskets. A pair of 20-point scorers led the Spurs.

Wembanyama totaled 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting, 12 rebounds, four blocks and four assists. Devin Vessell had 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

“Just like any other talented player, they’re gonna get their stuff into the game,” Daigneault said on Wembanyama. “I thought we did a good job of being physical with him. We put him in a crowd. We turned him over a couple of times.

“I thought we made the game difficult. He never really operated in free space a ton and that was the key because they were really trying to pump the ball to him and play through him.”

Beyond the Chet vs. Wemby main event, the Thunder did an excellent job of overwhelming the Spurs. The talent difference between both squads was evident as the game progressed.

It was a nice, easy win for the Thunder that provided some sparks between the two Rookie of the Year favorites. After struggling with the Portland Trail Blazers, this was a nice return to form for OKC on how it usually handles the basement dwellers of the league.

“Great job answering the bell tonight by the team,” Daigneault said. “Just great mental toughness. Great discipline. Great togetherness. We’re able to sustain that. I thought we had great endurance tonight.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: Jalen Williams’ game-winner lifts Thunder past Trail Blazers, 111-109

Player grades for the Thunder’s 111-109 win over the Trail Blazers.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Dribbling to the left elbow, Jalen Williams hopped for a fadeaway jumper that swished in. The second-year forward celebrated the eventual game-winner to give OKC a two-point lead with two seconds left.

Needing a miracle, Malcolm Brogdon instead turned it over on the final possession as he tried to throw a sidelines lob to Deandre Ayton. The Oklahoma City Thunder avoided the upset in their 111-109 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

“I didn’t think we had (effort and energy) in the first half for whatever reason, but the guys did a good job at trying to work ourselves into the game and we found that in the second half and got tough,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win.

After the first quarter, it looked like this third matchup between both teams would play out the same way the first two did — with a Thunder blowout win. OKC built a 38-28 lead and led by as many as 13 points in the first frame.

But a 38-point second quarter by Portland flipped the score as it entered halftime with a 66-58 advantage. Suddenly, the Thunder were in a dog fight.

Coming out of halftime, the Thunder utilized a 30-point third quarter to enter the final frame with an 88-86 lead. Both teams continued to exchange points from that point forward in the final 12 minutes.

With 30 seconds left, Anfernee Simons hit a highly difficult 3-pointer to give the Trail Blazers a three-point lead. OKC quickly responded as Williams pulled it within one point on the next possession before pandemonium unfolded.

After Brogdon was called for a double dribble with 15 seconds left, Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups lost his cool and charged after the officials for the critical call, earning himself two technicals and an automatic ejection.

After the game, head official Bill Kennedy explained Billups received two technicals because of physical contact with a referee and his reaction to the first technical. Billups said he was upset because he tried to call a timeout when Brogdon was trapped before his turnover.

It was reported by ESPN that the Trail Blazers will protest the result due to Billups’ ejection resulting in two free throws and possession for the Thunder.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander split the technical free throws, which meant both teams had 109 apiece with 15 seconds left. OKC had possession and Williams hit the aforementioned self-created jumper.

“We have a group of guys that work super hard and it makes it easy to trust them,” Gilgeous-Alexander on his teammates scoring clutch buckets. “They’re guys that work hard and at the end of the day, win and be the best version of themselves.”

What did Daigneault see on the game-winning basket by Williams? Utilizing Gilgeous-Alexander’s gravity to see up their second-best scorer.

“Just a last-shot situation,” Daigneault said on Williams’ game-winner. “Knew that Shai would draw a lot of attention on kinda a false action there. He had just made one before that and decided to go to him… I thought he was really engaged in the game, so that’s why I went to him.”

A failed lob attempt ended the contest and the final buzzer sounded. It was a  successful avoidance of a bad loss to the Trail Blazers thanks to a chaotic final few possessions.

The Thunder shot 48% from the field and went 7-of-23 (30.4%) from 3. OKC also shot an uncharacteristically 18-fo-28 from the free-throw line that highlighted the off night it endured.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 33 points and 10 assists. Williams scored 19 points. Chet Holmgren had eight points and six blocks.

Meanwhile, this was the best outing yet for the Trail Blazers against OKC. Portland shot 43% from the field and went 18-of-39 (46.2%) from 3. Six players scored double-digit points for the Trail Blazers.

Jerami Grant had 18 points and five rebounds. Brogdon collected 18 points and seven assists. Simons scored 17 points and had five assists. Jabari Walker collected a 14-point and 13-rebound double-double.

Off the bench, Scoot Henderson had his best outing against OKC yet. The 2023 No. 3 pick totaled 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting, seven assists and four rebounds.

This was an important win for the Thunder. If OKC is going to keep pace for the top seed, then it needs to collect wins over the worst teams in the league. It took more work than most anticipated, but it avoided a large upset.

“They have respect for those players, they know who those players are,” Daigneault said. “We knew we were gonna have a tough opponent tonight. We didn’t come in expecting an easy game and it wasn’t.”

The Thunder will now look to sweep this home-and-road back-to-back against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. It’ll be another similar test where OKC enters as heavy favorites.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: Thunder’s late comeback falls short in 141-138 loss to Hawks

Player grades for the Thunder’s 141-138 loss to the Hawks.

Trailing the entire game, Isaiah Joe had a chance to complete a 21-point comeback with a corner 3 at the end of regulation. Alas, the sharpshooter’s attempt fell short as the final buzzer sounded.

Playing on the second night of a home-and-road back-to-back, the Oklahoma City Thunder fought admirably after looking sluggish for most of the contest in their 141-138 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

“We didn’t have our best tonight obviously but I thought we stuck together and stayed in it,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the loss. “I thought as the game wore on, we got more and more energy and more and more engaged after obviously a sluggish start.”

Not scoring their first points until nearly four minutes into the contest, it was evident fairly early the Thunder entered Atlanta battling fatigue. A flight delay the previous night only guaranteed OKC tipped off with a scheduling disadvantage.

To the Hawks’ credit, they took advantage of this and got off to a 39-25 lead following the first quarter. The Thunder’s offense started to pick up in the second quarter with 34 points, but Atlanta’s 37-point second frame saw OKC enter halftime trailing 76-59.

The third quarter saw both teams turn it up a notch with their scoring — the Thunder scored 44 points and the Hawks scored 40 points. Entering the final frame, OKC trailed 116-103.

From that point on, the Thunder and Hawks continued to exchange buckets. With less than three minutes left, it looked like OKC’s hopes of a comeback finally vanished as Atlanta led by 15 points.

Instead, what proceeded was a 14-2 run by the Thunder in the final 2:20 of the contest to work their way back for the aforementioned chance of potentially tying it up.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander single-handedly almost mounted a comeback as he scored the final nine points of the contest. Overall, he led OKC with 33 points and 13 rebounds.

Jalen Williams was OKC’s other big scorer with 21 points. The Thunder enjoyed a productive night from their bench with 49 points.

After a slow start, the Thunder turned into a scoring machine for the final three frames. Overall, OKC shot 55% from the field and went 18-of-36 (50%) from 3. It shot 20-of-26 from the free-throw line and collected 30 assists on 50 buckets.

The problem for the Thunder was on the other side — the Hawks scored with ease as they had 37-plus points in the first three quarters. Atlanta shot 51% from the field and went 14-of-39 (35.9%) from 3. It went 31-of-33 from the free-throw line and had 30 assists on 48 buckets.

The monster scoring night from the Hawks was headlined by four 20-point scorers. Atlanta’s backcourt led the way as Trae Young had 24 points and 11 assists while Dejounte Murray had 22 points, six assists and six rebounds.

Jalen Johnson scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting and Bogdan Bogdanovic totaled 23 points and shot 5-of-11 from 3 off the bench.

“The energy that we needed to have wasn’t there for much of the night on the defensive end,” Daigneault said. “… We just didn’t play well enough to win.”

Considering the circumstances, this one felt like it was safe to pencil in as a scheduled loss for the Thunder. After picking up a massive win over the Boston Celtics, it only makes sense OKC struggles on the second night of a home-and-road back-to-back.

It felt that way for most of the game. But even though the Hawks led wire-to-wire, OKC’s late flurry to turn it into a three-point deficit makes this loss easier to stomach.

“It’s not always going to be perfect (but) I’ll always ride with these guys any night,” Daigneault said. “It wasn’t our fastball tonight… To continue to fight the way we did was impressive.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: Thunder look lackadaisical in 110-101 loss to Rockets

Player grades for the Thunder’s 110-101 loss to the Rockets.

Hitting on a corner 3-pointer, Aaron Holiday put the final nail in the coffin for OKC’s comeback hopes, extending Houston’s lead to a game-high 17 points with a little under eight minutes left.

The Oklahoma City Thunder played catch-up for most of the night and fell to the Houston Rockets, 110-101.

“Credit them, they outplayed us on both ends of the floor,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the loss. “I just thought we were a step slow on offense with our attacks. Had a hard time generating rhythm tonight on that end of the floor.”

The first quarter previewed the off night: The Thunder trailed the Rockets, 32-22, after 12 minutes. A late second-quarter run helped cut the deficit to five points entering halftime.

Though they entered the fourth quarter trailing by six, the Thunder’s chances of a comeback evaporated with the Rockets’ 17-6 run, fueled by five 3-pointers, to start the final frame.

The Thunder lost this game from outside. They shot an ugly 8-of-29 (27.6%) from 3. Meanwhile, the Rockets were a sizzling 15-of-33 (45.5%) from deep. Just that area of the game produced a 21-point difference.

Overall, OKC looked sluggish against one of the best defensive teams in the league. It shot 43% from the field.

“We were just a little stagnant,” Aaron Wiggins said on the offense. “Both with the ball at times and individually being in our spots. We got to be able to willing to move to create opportunities for other off-ball.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder with 33 points on 18 shots. The other four Thunder starters combined for 29 points on 10-of-38 shooting.

Meanwhile, the Rockets had a well-balanced scoring attack. Five players scored in double digits. Houston dished 28 assists on 40 buckets. Houston also dominated the boards, 53-30. Jabari Smith Jr. led the way with a career-high 18 rebounds to go along with his six points.

Alperen Sengun had 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Dillon Brooks scored 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Holiday scored a season-high 22 points and went 6-of-7 from 3 off the bench.

Though it was a nine-point loss, the Thunder never seemed in a groove against the Rockets. OKC managed to cut it to one point in the third quarter, but Houston always answered with runs to keep a healthy distance on the scoreboard.

“We had them in striking distance. It never quite felt like we had control of the game,” Daigneault said. “They were outplaying us and it felt like that … They did a good job at holding us off.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: Thunder concludes in-season tournament with 106-103 loss to Timberwolves

Player grades for the Thunder’s 106-103 loss to the Timberwolves in their final in-season tournament game.

Trailing by 3 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s deep 3-point attempt clunked off the backboard as the final buzzer sounded.

The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t create any late-game magic in their 106-103 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The loss drops OKC’s final record of in-season tournament group play to 1-3.

“We could’ve attacked it a little bit better,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on Minnesota’s zone defense. “We also missed some shots during that stretch. And a combination of those two things made it hard on us… The second-half offense really hurt us tonight.”

After leading 61-53 in the first half, the Thunder’s offense sunk as the Timberwolves limited them to 42 points on 31% shooting the rest of the way.

The second half saw OKC struggle to generate quality looks as the Timberwolves suffocated each drive to the basket. Minnesota chipped away at OKC’s lead and entered the final frame trailing by just two points.

Troy Brown Jr. — who closed this game out in place of Anthony Edwards, who missed most of the second half after a hard landing on his hip — scored five quick points to give Minnesota a five-point lead with 31 seconds left.

A Chet Holmgren 3-pointer helped give OKC some slight hope as it cut its deficit to two points with 27 seconds left. After trying to force a turnover, the Thunder finally decided to foul Karl-Anthony Towns, who swished in both free throws to regain a four-point lead.

A Gilgeous-Alexander dunk cut it to two points once again with five seconds left. Brown Jr. split a pair of free throws and gave OKC a shot to tie it trailing by three points with four seconds left. The final possession resulted in the aforementioned Gilgeous-Alexander 3-point attempt that didn’t go in.

“Trying to get the ball to Shai in some space,” Daigneault said on the final play. “Gobert on the ball I thought was a little disruptive to the entry pass and pushed us a little further out than we would’ve liked to be.

“But at the end of the day, we had a really good player with the ball, down three, and that’s what you can ask for.”

Overall, the Thunder shot 41% from the field. This included an 11-of-30 (36.7%) from 3. Rebounding continues to be an issue for OKC as it was outrebounded, 51-36.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves also struggled on offense as they shot 42% from the field. The difference for them was from outside as a 14-of-33 (42.4%) night from 3 helped keep them in it.

“I thought they were uncomfortable with the way we were guarding them,” Daigneault said on the defense. “I thought there was a little slippage in the third (quarter). After we built a little bit of a lead, we let Edwards get a little loose there.”

Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC in its three-point loss. The 25-year-old scored a game-high 32 points. In his first game at Minnesota, Holmgren had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves survived the absence of Edwards, who scored 21 points and had five rebounds before he exited the game with a hip injury in the third quarter. Brown Jr. stepped up and scored 17 points.

The frontcourt duo of Towns and Rudy Gobert led Minnesota to the win. Towns had 13 points and 10 rebounds while Gobert had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks.

“We have to get better as a team and practice and the film room and continue to get better,” Holmgren said on the loss. “We can’t just brush it off because then we can’t learn lessons from it.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: Thunder avoid trap game with 134-91 blowout win over Trail Blazers

Player grades for the Thunder’s 134-91 win over the Trail Blazers:

Playing on the second night of a road back-to-back, the Oklahoma City Thunder avoided falling for a textbook trap game in their 134-91 blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

After picking up a season-defining win against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, the Thunder avoided any potential hangover by taking care of business against a short-handed Trail Blazers.

“I just thought we played to our identity regardless of the circumstance and regardless of who was on the floor,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “Which is a testament to the guys and then also the guys who’ve kept themselves sharp that haven’t gotten as many minutes.”

The Thunder had a hot start as they led, 33-21, after one quarter. That lead ballooned to 76-43 thanks to a 43-point second quarter. OKC’s scoring efficiency in the first half reached historic levels. Its 88.5 true-shooting percentage marked the best shooting first half in the league since 2020.

“It felt good,” Lu Dort said on the first half. “It’s just the trust that we have in this team and how we moving the ball and we’re so comfortable playing together.”

Any faint hopes of a miraculous comeback by Portland were quickly squashed by OKC with a 25-point third quarter that actually extended its lead to 35 points entering the final frame.

“I thought we showed great maturity, great discipline to the zero-to-zero mindset,” Daigneault said on OKC’s fast start. “I thought our execution to the game plan early really set the tone to the game.”

Overall, the Thunder shot 61% from the field. OKC also had a season-high 22-of-36 (61.1%) night from 3. It also went 14-of-14 from the free-throw line.

The historic offense production marked the first time a team finished with a 60-60-100 shooting night for a game in the last 25 years.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an easy 28 points on 13 shots. Chet Holmgren continues to build on his best game yet with 16 points and six rebounds.

Considering this was the third road game in four nights, OKC elected to lengthen its usual rotation by playing all 15 available players. This included 11 players in the first quarter.

The Trail Blazers being one of the worst teams in the league increased OKC’s margin of error and allowed Daigneault to experiment a bit and play the end-of-bench guys early minutes.

Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers are playing for lottery balls. Portland’s lengthy injury report confirmed that as No. 3 picked rookie Scoot Henderson headlined the abnormal number of absences.

Portland shot 40% from the field and went 9-of-34 (26.5%) from 3. It also committed 17 turnovers that resulted in 29 points for the Thunder.

The Trail Blazers were led by Jerami Grant, who finished with 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Deandre Ayton had 11 points and five rebounds. Shaedon Sharpe was held to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting

Outside of enjoying the obvious blowout win, OKC not sleeping on the Trail Blazers afforded it the luxury to rest their starters for 1.5 quarters in the second half. That was a huge gift considering this was the third road game in four nights.

“We just got to keep it rolling,” Dort said on OKC’s 10-4 start. “It’s a long season. We have a lot of games left. We can’t get comfortable. We got to get more.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Recap: OKC Thunder’s Thursday practice (Nov. 2)

Here’s what Mark Daigneault and Aaron Wiggins had to say following Thursday’s practice.

The Oklahoma City Thunder practiced the day after their 110-106 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. After leading by 22 points, the Thunder suffered an ugly loss to the Pelicans, who were without Brandon Ingram.

The loss dropped OKC’s record to 3-2. It continues the six-game homestand when it welcomes the Golden State Warriors on Friday for the first in-season tournament game.

Following practice, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and Aaron Wiggins spoke with the media.

During the session, Daigneault announced Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss Friday’s game with a left knee sprain he suffered against the Pelicans. He also said Jaylin Williams (hamstring strain) and Kenrich Williams (back spasms) continue to progress, and the former is closer to returning than the latter.

Let’s recap what Daigneault and Wiggins had to say along with other practice notes.