Tag: comeback win

Texas QB Sam Ehlinger interview with USA TODAY Sports

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger sat down with Mackenzie Salmon of USA TODAY Sports and tackled a variety of topics including COVID-19.

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Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger sat down for an interview with USA TODAY Sports’ host Mackenzie Salmon. They spoke about the mentality of the comeback win, expectations, COVID-19 and the tired question of is Texas back?

Sam’s mentality in the final minutes against Texas Tech

“My mentality was kind of like we have to believe,” Ehlinger continues “if we don’t then we really don’t have a chance at all. I was just trying to inflict confidence on my teammates. It was amazing that were actually able to come back”

Sam Ehlinger on COVID and what they have to do to ensure they can play football.

“Well everyone on the team is a student. There is a lot of stuff going on [here] on campus that students are participating in. So it is important for us to eliminate those activities in order for us to play the game that we love. So you have to make a sacrifice there to protect the team and protect yourself.”

When asked about contact with people outside of the team

“I think there are a few guys that have hybrid classes where a few of their classes are on campus. But for the most part a lot of the interaction with regular students and other people who aren’t part of the football team is very minimal.”

On team expectations

“I am really excited for the rest of the year and the development that we are capable of making. Obviously we started the year off 2-0, but the mistakes and area of improvement is so large. We have such a great opportunity to get better every single day.”

Is Texas back?

“That is up for interpretation from other people. We are just focused on ourselves”

OKC overcomes 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to top reeling Rockets

The Thunder trailed 87-71 after three quarters but used a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to two with just over four minutes to play.

Double-digit comebacks are becoming standard for the Oklahoma City Thunder as on Monday, OKC rallied from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to top the reeling Rockets, 112-107.

Houston’s largest lead came at 81-64 with 3:38 left in the third quarter.

But Oklahoma City outscored the Rockets 41-20 in the final frame, sparked by a 9-2 run that got them within nine points with 9 ½ minutes to play.

From there, the Thunder scored 13 straight points to cut the deficit to two at 100-98 with 4 ½ to go in regulation. OKC capped the game with a 6-0 that gave them a 108-105 lead with just over a minute left, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws to seal the victory.

Chris Paul led the Thunder with 28 points, 27 of which came in the first half.

Dennis Schroder picked up the slack in the second half, scoring 17 of his 23 in the final two quarters.

Both Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were also in double-digits, with 28 and 13, respectively.

Russell Westbrook scored a game-high 32 as part of a triple-double, adding 12 assists, and 11 rebounds. He now has a triple-double against all 30 teams in the league.

Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman pointed out that, according to the Thunder, Monday was just the third time in franchise history that OKC has overcome a 16-point plus fourth-quarter deficit.

The 17-points are Oklahoma City’s 4th biggest comeback this year.

Oklahoma City will stay on the road and will travel to Orlando to face the Magic on Wednesday.

Three takeaways from OKC’s 118-112 win over the Clippers

Oklahoma City overcame another double-digit deficit to win, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied his career-high, and OKC dominated in the paint.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are over .500 for the first time this season at 15-14, thanks to a 118-112 come-from-behind win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday evening inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

OKC has now won four in a row. Here are three takeaways:

Thunder prove they’re comfortable playing from behind

For the third time in seven days, Oklahoma City had to overcome a double-digit deficit to get the win.

Montrezl Harrell made a layup with 5:35 remaining in the second quarter to give the Clippers a 53-35 lead. But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder combined for the next 10 points to trim LA’s lead down to eight.

According to Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman, Sunday night’s victory was the Thunder’s fourth comeback from 15 points or more. That’s tied for the most in the NBA this year.

 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was spectacular

It’s almost fitting that on the night that Oklahoma City welcomed back Paul George, one of the players that the Thunder received in return for him would steal the show.

Gilgeous-Alexander tied the career-high that he set earlier in the week, scoring 32 points on 12-of-25 shooting from the floor. SGA was perfect from the free-throw line and rounded out his stat sheet with three rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

 

Battle in the paint belonged to OKC

 Oklahoma City outscored the Clippers 60-40 in the paint Sunday.

Two major factors contributed to that. First, Steven Adams had a terrific game for OKC, recording a double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Second, Terrance Ferguson showed why he’s in the starting lineup as a defensive stopper. Ferguson frustrated Paul George into just 6-of-17 shooting that included making just three shots from the field in the second, third, and fourth quarter combined.

The Thunder also outrebounded LAC, 49-42, allowing the Clippers just 10 offensive rebounds on the evening.

Three takeaways from OKC’s 126-122 comeback win over Grizzlies

Oklahoma City overcame a 24-point deficit to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 126-122 on Wednesday night.

For the second consecutive game, the Oklahoma City Thunder has come back from more than a 20-point deficit to pull out a win.

On Wednesday night, OKC was down 89-65 in the third quarter before coming away with a 126-122 win.

Here are three takeaways:

 

Oklahoma City made history

With their 24-point comeback coming just two days after the Thunder tied the team record for largest comeback (down 26 to the Bulls on Monday), Oklahoma City is the first team in the last 20 years to overcome a 24-point deficit in back-to-back, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

They’re also just the second team in the last 20 seasons to overcome a 20-point deficit in back-to-back games, joining the Pacers who accomplished it on January 11 and January 13, 2010.

 

Third-quarter continues to be an issue for OKC

In all honesty, as amazing as another 20-plus point comeback is, the Thunder would’ve never found themselves in that situation if they didn’t struggle once again coming out of the halftime.

Oklahoma City trailed 68-59 at the break and didn’t score for three solid minutes, allowing the Grizzlies to open on a 12-0 run.

As noted by Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman, OKC is the worst third-quarter team in the league, and are being outscored by their opponents by an averaged of 3.7 points in the quarter.

 

Schroder shines as sixth-man

There was a lot of speculation about how Billy Donovan’s extremely guard-heavy lineup with work this season. And clearly, it works best with Dennis Schroder coming off the bench.

Schroder scored a game-high 31 against Memphis, hitting on 10-of-19 from the field and dishing out seven assists. He played 32 minutes, that’s more than anyone in the starting five with the exception of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who logged 39.

Schroder is good enough to start in the NBA. He’s good enough to start in Oklahoma City. But the lift he provides off the bench in undeniable and it’s clear he’s comfortable in his role providing a much-needed spark off the bench.

OKC overcomes 24-point deficit behind Schroder’s 31, defeat Grizzlies 126-122

Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the Thunder are the first team in the last 20 seasons to overcome a 24-point deficit in back-to-back games.

For a three-minute stretch at the beginning of the third quarter, it looked like Oklahoma City’s fate against the Grizzlies was already decided.

Down 89-65 with 7:10 left in the frame, the Thunder caught fire, closing out the quarter by outscoring Memphis 28-11 to cut the deficit to 100-93 heading into the fourth.

Like they did Monday against the Bulls, the Thunder took back the lead in the final frame, a Dennis Schroder jumper with just over eight minutes to play.

Chris Paul put OKC out in front 122-120 with a minute left to play and it was Schroder on Wednesday night that iced the win, making all four of his free-throw attempts down the stretch.

Per Elias Sports Bureau, the Thunder are the first team in the last 20 seasons to overcome a 24-point deficit in back-to-back games. They are the second team in the last 20 seasons to overcome a 20-point deficit in back-to-back games, joining the Pacers on Jan. 11 and Jan. 13, 2010.

After the game, Billy Donovan gave his team credit for grinding it out despite a tough first half.

“We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys. Certainly, the bench was a major factor in us being able to put ourselves in a position to get back in the game. I thought we closed the game well. I thought we got good shots and did some good things down the stretch.”

Oklahoma City’s bench outscored the Grizzlies’ 52-49, with 31 of those bench points for OKC coming from Schroder.

Five other players for the Thunder were in double-digits, Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander both had 20, Chris Paul scored 18, and Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel added 13 and 10 respectively.

With the win, Oklahoma City improves to 13-14 on the year and 9-5 at home.

The Thunder are back in action on Friday when they host the Phoenix Suns.

Steven Adams on game-winning free-throw: ‘I absolutely (expletive) my pants’

Steven Adams banked in a free-throw with 4.3 seconds left to give the Thunder the lead in their 109-106 win over Chicago on Monday night.

If there’s one thing that Oklahoma City fans can count on, it’s Steven Adams being his most authentic self.

And once again, that was on display during his post-game interview with reporter Nick Gallo following the Thunder’s 109-106 come from behind win over Chicago.

With 4.3 seconds left on the clock and the game tied at 106, Adams banked in the first of two free-throws. Although he missed the second, he grabbed the offensive rebound, ensuring that Oklahoma City would escape with a victory.

Adams has struggled over the course of his career from the charity stripe but has hit several big free throws down the stretch for Thunder this year.

Gallo asked Adams what he was feeling in the moment making the free throw and then making the big play. And Adams, as is typical of his interviews, did not disappoint.

“I absolutely (expletive) my pants. It’s pretty tough. I didn’t realize how much pressure it is. But I made it mate, can be happy with it.”

The interview definitely made better by Dennis Schroder making fun of Adams for needing to use the backboard.

Regardless of how it happened, Adams’ shot went in and Oklahoma City capped up their largest comeback win at home, overcoming a 26-point deficit to beat the Bulls.