Potential Thunder draft prospect Cody Williams contributes in Colorado’s win over Florida

Potential Thunder draft prospect Cody Williams contributes in Colorado’s win over Florida.

The Oklahoma City Thunder could have two 2024 first-round picks in the lottery range. They own the Houston Rockets’ top-four protected pick and the Utah Jazz’s top-10 protected pick. The former looks more likely to go to OKC than the latter.

As the NCAA Tournament progresses, the top prospects are in the spotlight as they draw national eyes for their postseason performances.

Considering the Thunder will likely have at least one lottery pick, plenty of possible additions via the draft give fans a chance to see how they match up in high-stress situations.

One possibility is Colorado forward Cody Williams, who helped them advance in their 102-100 win over Florida in the Round of 64 on Friday.

Williams had nine points on 2-of-3 shooting, three assists and two rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. He shot 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Colorado’s KJ Simpson knocked down a game-winning baseline jumper to give them the late two-point lead with two seconds to spare.

Williams has been highly touted as one of the best prospects in his class. The 6-foot-8 wing averaged 12.6 points on 57% shooting, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He’s projected as a complimentary scorer and playmaker with a nice feel around the basket. At 19 years old, he has plenty of room to grow at the next level.

The Thunder will likely need to trade up to pair Williams with his older brother Jalen Williams. He could provide OKC with another versatile wing, which is a hot commodity in the league.

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Jalen Williams explains why he brings energy and interacts with fans, crowd

Jalen Williams explains why he brings energy and interacts with fans, crowd.

As Cason Wallace collected a missed 3-pointer, Jalen Williams found a lane and sprinted toward the basket for the vicious one-hand slam that served as the dagger on Thursday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 126-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks resembled a playoff atmosphere. A national TV audience gained a glimpse at the homecourt advantage fans usually produce for OKC.

“Definitely felt like a playoff atmosphere, our crowd’s been really good this year,” Williams said. “That was dope. It was definitely a competitive game. You can kinda feel the tension these last 15, 16 games. I think everybody’s trying to settle into a spot, so a lot of these games are gonna feel like that.

“That’s always good to have these reps before getting into the playoffs and it definitely felt like one of the most competitive games of this year.”

In his return from a one-game absence, Williams scored 27 points and had three blocks. His impact was felt immediately; he was the Thunder’s second-best player in their impressive win.

As he has all season, Williams embraced the crowd’s excitement, cheering them on after massive plays. The second-chance basket was one of the more animated reactions from him. When asked about his energy, he said he tries to make every game a memorable experience for fans.

”We have really good fans here and I like being here,” Williams said. “It’s always fun to just be able to interact. Sam Presti made a good point to us just talking about how you don’t know what people are going through to be able to get to the games and stuff like that.

“I think anytime you can kinda engage with the fans during the game, I think it kinda leaves everybody with a cool impression of the game. You don’t know whose first game it is or what the circumstances might be for people coming here, so anytime I can interact with fans, I think it’s really fun.”

This is a thoughtful mindset for Williams, who continues to be the Thunder’s lead energy guy. As OKC continues to ascend, there will be plenty of chances for the 22-year-old to create more moments like his game-sealing jam against the Mavericks.

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Full injury report for Thursday’s Mavericks vs. Thunder matchup

Full injury report for Thursday’s Mavericks vs. Thunder matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder finish a four-game homestand when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday for a national television game. It’ll be the penultimate matchup between the two squads; each has one win in the season series.

The Thunder (45-20) welcome back Jalen Williams from a one-game absence due to an ankle sprain.

Ousmane Dieng (G League assignment), Keyontae Johnson (G League two-way), Olivier Sarr (G League two-way) and Adam Flagler (G League two-way) are out.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks (38-28) will be without Luka Doncic (hamstring soreness), who suffered the injury late in their win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

Brandon Williams (wrist sprain), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (G League assignment), Greg Brown III (G League two-way) and Alex Fudge (G League two-way) are also out.

In their last contest, the Thunder struggled to make up for Williams’ absence in their loss to the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers dictated the pace and scored 73 points inside of the paint against OKC.

Last time out, Dallas scored 146 points and blew out OKC with its new trade deadline acquisitions on Feb. 10.

Tip off from Oklahoma City is set for 9 p.m. CT.

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Full injury report for Tuesday’s Pacers vs. Thunder matchup

Full injury report for Tuesday’s Pacers vs. Thunder matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue a lengthy homestand when they welcome the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday. It’ll be the first of two matchups this season between the two squads.

It’ll be a contest of two of the three best offensive-rated teams in the league this season, so expect lots of points to be scored.

The Thunder (45-19) enter the contest with one major player on their injury report. After exiting OKC’s blowout win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Jalen Williams (ankle sprain) is questionable.

Ousmane Dieng (G League assignment), Keyontae Johnson (G League two-way), Olivier Sarr (G League two-way) and Adam Flagler (G League two-way) are all out.

Meanwhile, the Pacers (36-29) will be without a couple of role players. Bennedict Mathurin (shoulder labral tear) and Doug McDermott (calf strain) are both out.

Oscar Tshiebwe (G League two-way), Isaiah Wong (G League two-way) and Quenton Jackson (G League two-way) are all questionable.

The Thunder have won three in a row. They hold a small lead for first place in the Western Conference standings. Meanwhile, the Pacers picked up a crucial win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.

Tip off from Oklahoma City is set for 7 p.m. CT.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander addresses comparisons to former Thunder trio

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander addresses comparisons to former Thunder trio.

Slowly building one of the association’s best cores over the last few years, the Oklahoma City Thunder have burst onto the scene as a title contender despite their young roster this season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has turned into an MVP candidate while Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren round out one of the best trios in the league.

The numbers the Thunder have put up — top five in net rating, offensive rating and defensive rating — have been mostly unprecedented due to their youth and inexperience.

Barring the unforeseen, this is likely the beginning of a lengthy competitive window for the Thunder as they return to contention following a short stay in a rebuild.

Ironically enough, the only real comparison with similar circumstances involved the first iteration of the Thunder. A youthful trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden led OKC to an NBA Finals appearance in 2012. All three were 23 years old and younger.

Following that, the Thunder were title contenders for several years and reached four Western Conference finals in six years.

When asked about the comparison between the two trios, Gilgeous-Alexander said their version is trying to achieve similar success the first iteration had in their time with the Thunder.

“There’s three of them and there’s three of us that are obviously a talented group of guys. But I don’t really think our game compares to theirs,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Those guys are obviously three amazing basketball players and have done amazing things with this game and have changed the game forever.”

While it’s unlikely Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Williams each win an MVP in their careers, there’s a real possibility they enjoy collective success in OKC as Durant, Westbrook and Harden did.

“Me, Chet and Dub are three kids just trying to get better. Trying to chase some of the things that they achieved and try to ultimately win an NBA championship,” Gilgeous-Alexander continued. “There’s three guys that are the head of the snake just like how it was before.”

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Player grades: Thunder struggle against Lakers again in 116-104 loss

Player grades for the Thunder’s 116-104 loss to the Lakers.

Pulling up from deep, D’Angelo Russell swished a 3-pointer to give host Los Angeles an insurmountable 24-point lead with nine minutes left on Monday night. It was the third straight 3-pointer for Russell in one minute.

The outside shot invoked a loud celebration by the crowd as OKC was forced to call a timeout. It also served as the dagger in a tough road loss for the Thunder.

With the 116-104 loss to the Lakers, OKC lost the last three contests in the teams’ four-game season series.

“The start was good offensively but our overall sharpness just was there, even during that stretch,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the loss. “I thought we tried to drum that up a couple of different times but weren’t obviously able to do it offensively. … Certainly not our fastball tonight.”

With a hot start, the Thunder built a 12-point lead over the Lakers. After that stretch though, they never looked comfortable the rest of the way.

The Lakers scored 11 straight points and exited the first quarter tied at 25. The Thunder couldn’t recover. OKC was outscored, 27-18, by Los Angeles in the second quarter and entered halftime trailing 52-43.

The halftime break didn’t help. The Thunder were outscored, 37-29, by the Lakers the third quarter. This included a 23-8 run by Los Angeles that pushed its lead to double-digit points.

The Lakers entered the fourth quarter with an 89-72 lead. Any hopes of an OKC comeback were quickly dashed when Los Angeles went on an 11-2 run in the opening three minutes to push its lead to a game-high 25 points.

“They caught some confidence and caught a rhythm in the second half and we had a hard time turning them off,” Daigneault said. “Some of those shots were really, really tough but there were some controllable stuff prior to that I wish we took care of.”

Playing on the second night of a road back-to-back, the Thunder looked exhausted and signs of fatigue grew as the game unraveled. Overall, they shot an ugly 39% from the field and went 15-of-39 (38.5%) from 3.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had one of his worst games of the season with 20 points on 13 shots. Jalen Williams was limited to seven points. Chet Holmgren had 15 points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, the inconsistent Lakers look their best each time they match up against OKC. That was the case again in their final matchup of the regular season. They shot 51% from the field and went 16-of-34 (47.1%) from 3.

The Lakers also had distinct advantages with 48 points inside the paint and a 18-of-25 night from the free-throw line. For comparison, the Thunder had 36 points in the paint and just 16 free-throw attempts.

Anthony Davis dominated with 24 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. LeBron James recovered from a slow start and tallied 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

“He’s a load, he’s obviously a very good player,” Daigneault said on Davis. “For us to neutralize him or do a good job on him, we got to have high, high energy and intensity and I didn’t think we had that tonight.”

The Lakers’ role players also enjoyed hot nights. Austin Reaves had 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Russell scored 26 points and shot 5-of-11 from 3. Taurean Prince totaled 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3 off the bench.

It seems the Lakers have the Thunder’s number — at least in the regular season. They never looked comfortable throughout most of the night. OKC has looked uncharacteristically lethargic in three of its four matchups with them this season.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

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: Wemby takes over in Thunder’s 132-118 loss to Spurs

Player grades for the Thunder’s 132-118 loss to the Spurs.

As the shot clock expired, Tre Jones let off a last-second 3-pointer that swished in with the buzzer sounding off. The next possession saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s layup attempt rim out. Victor Wembanyama then jogged back and drilled a deep 3-pointer.

The three-play sequence late in the fourth quarter encapsulated the type of night both teams endured.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s six-game winning streak was snapped in their 132-118 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, who snapped their five-game losing streak.

“I thought they were the aggressor in the game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the loss. “I thought they did a really good job from the jump of dictating the pace and physicality. Got themselves into a rhythm that was hard to turn off on the defensive end of the floor.”

Both teams started on fire, being tied at 37 points apiece following the first quarter. The Spurs added to their high-point total with a 32-point second frame. OKC entered halftime with a 69-64 deficit.

The Thunder only ate three points off the halftime deficit after a 32-point third quarter. Defense continued to be a problem for both squads as the Spurs entered the final frame with a 98-96 advantage.

To open the fourth quarter, Jalen Williams rattled off the first four points on a pair of baskets to give OKC its first lead since the first quarter. Following that, both teams exchanged punches in the back-and-forth affair.

The Thunder eventually carved out small three-point leads, but the Spurs kept answering on the other end. A 16-5 run — sparked by three 3-pointers — in the final four minutes helped San Antonio run away on the scoreboard for the double-digit result.

The Thunder shot 49% from the field but went an icy 9-of-31 (29%) from 3. A 21-of-22 night from free throws helped make up for that shortcoming. They dished out 20 assists on 40 baskets. OKC had four double-digit scorers.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 31 points on 22 shots. Chet Holmgren had 23 points and seven rebounds. Williams scored 26 points on 18 shots.

Outside of those three though, the rest of the Thunder struggled. Isaiah Joe had 15 points and the rest of the team combined for 23 points among the nine other players who played.

Despite the off night from 3, what cost the Thunder this game was on the other end. The Spurs — who have the fourth-worst offensive rating and worst 3-point percentage — had one of their best offensive outings of the season.

The Spurs shot 53% from the field and went a sizzling 19-of-39 (48.7%) from 3. They dished out a season-high 39 assists on 48 baskets. Six Spurs players scored double-digit points.

Wembanyama — the probable Rookie of the Year winner — finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks. He shot 5-of-7 from 3.

He is the first player in league history with 10 rebounds, five assists, five blocks, and five 3-pointers in a game. The rookie phenom single-handily closed out the Spurs’ 12th win with a pair of deep 3-pointers and blocking Holmgren’s jumper.

Devin Vassell equaled Wembanyama with 28 points and nine assists. Jeremy Sochan scored an unorthodox 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Jones had 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Overall, it was a tough loss for OKC — especially considering how tight the top-four standings are in the Western Conference. The upset stings even more considering how heavily favored the Thunder were.

The Thunder never looked sharp on defense and the Spurs failed to cool off from outside. OKC will have a couple of days off to marinate this loss before continuing its stretch run of the season.

“Credit them, I thought we tried to turn it on defensively but they were really, really sharp tonight,” Daigneault said. “They were the better team.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: Thunder complete 16-point comeback in 123-110 win over Rockets

Player grades for the Thunder’s 123-110 win over the Rockets.

Stationed in the left corner spot, Chet Holmgren drilled a 3-pointer off a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pass. The bucket capped off a monster second half for OKC. It’s only fitting the seven-foot rookie hit the dagger after a nuclear fourth quarter.

The Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a 16-point deficit to come away with a 123-110 win over the Houston Rockets. This was their league-leading 16th double-digit comeback of the season.

“We cut into (the deficit) and were able to get it to a safe spot at halftime,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “And then the guys did a great job at coming out of the half, showed great persistence — obviously, Houston shot it well early. But we got really on track physically and I was impressed with the way we did that.”

The early returns of this contest looked eerily similar to the Thunder’s previous visit to Houston this season. It looked like OKC would lay another egg at the Rockets with a poor showing.

The Rockets had a 34-31 advantage following the first quarter. By halftime, Houston’s lead grew to 62-57 which included owning a lead as high as 16 points in the opening two quarters.

The second half featured the Thunder finally exorcising their Houston demons with a dominant defensive performance that slowly chipped away at the scoreboard. A massive fourth-quarter run decisively turned this game in their favor.

The Thunder outscored the Rockets, 30-21, in the third quarter to enter the final frame with an 87-83 lead. OKC went on a commanding 20-7 run in the second half to open up a 14-point lead a little over three minutes into the final frame.

Holmgren was the catalyst of this run as he scored nine straight points for OKC to start the fourth quarter. The Rockets had no answer for the seven-foot center, who turned into a scoring machine.

The closest the Rockets got the rest of the way was within eight points before OKC responded with a 9-0 run to put this one away. The Thunder’s 36-point fourth quarter turned it from a double-digit deficit to a double-digit win for them.

Overall, OKC shot 47% from the field and went 17-of-35 (48.6%) from 3. It went 14-of-15 from the free-throw line. It also dished out 30 assists on 46 baskets.

Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 36 points on 23 shots to lead the Thunder in scoring. Holmgren had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with 19 points in the fourth quarter. Jalen Williams scored 22 points and Lu Dort had 16 points.

“I thought (he) played with great recognition,” Daigneault said on Holmgren. “We continue to do a better and better job at finding him when he’s open for three and when he’s around the basket.”

Meanwhile, the Rockets shot 41% from the field and went 16-of-41 (39%) from 3. Houston held an advantage at the free-throw line over OKC, going 18-of-23.

Jabari Smith Jr. led the way with a monster 20-point and 17-rebound double-double. Alperen Sengun struggled through foul trouble and was limited to 19 points and 12 rebounds. Fred VanVleet had 20 points.

This was an impressive win for the Thunder, who’ve struggled in Houston recently. This comeback win snapped a five-game losing streak at Toyota Center for OKC. It also has now won 40 games before 20 losses, an impressive mark that’s been used as a barometer for serious contenders.

But considering what they’ve done this season, that’s been evident for quite a while now for the Thunder. A 40-17 record — with the 40th win being a gutted-out outing — is only an additional affirmation of that.

“We had some poise but it was more urgency. I thought tonight was a recognition of if we kept playing like that, they could’ve just run us off the floor,” Daigneault said on their double-digit comeback. “Our urgency ticked up and we go nastier and tougher and more tight and together on the defensive end of the floor.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Player grades: Thunder clinch crucial tiebreaker with 129-107 win over Clippers

Player grades for the Thunder’s 129-107 win over the Clippers.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Running the break, Jalen Williams received the bounce pass from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and jammed it in for the one-handed dunk that sent the energetic crowd into a frenzy. It’s only fitting that these two punctuated a pivotal victory.

The Oklahoma City Thunder collected an important 129-107 win over the LA Clippers in the first game back from the All-Star break. In the win, OKC clinched the tiebreaker over LA.

“We amped (the physicality) up pretty good at the end of the first, end of the second,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “And continued that in the second half. I thought we were really good physically and played a good game.”

The Thunder got off to a 35-33 lead following the first quarter. Entering halftime, OKC held a close 61-59 lead. The opening two quarters lived up to the hype of a heavyweight fight between two of the top teams in the league.

A 35-point third quarter by the Thunder helped them create a 12-point quarter advantage over the Clippers to enter the final frame holding a 96-82 lead with all the momentum.

The Thunder started off the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run to give them a 19-point lead with a little over nine minutes left in the contest. The closest LA would get the rest of the way was within 12 points. Clippers head coach Ty Lue surprisingly pulled the plug with a little under four minutes to go in a 16-point deficit.

OKC’s lead ballooned to a game-high 22 points and the starters eventually left the court with the active crowd — who created a playoff-esque atmosphere with a stellar showing — applauding their efforts.

The Thunder shot 56% from the field and went a sizzling 17-of-35 (48.6%) from 3. All five Thunder starters scored double-digit points with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31 points leading the way.

Jalen Williams scored 18 points, with 12 of them coming in the fourth quarter. The 22-year-old continues to command fourth quarters for OKC.

Meanwhile, the Clippers shot 45% from the field and 12-of-32 (37.5%) from 3. After starting hot, LA lost its luster as the game progressed. OKC put the defensive clamps down in the decisive third quarter, limiting the Clippers to 23 points.

The Thunder blocked seven shots in the 12-minute frame and limited the Clippers to 31% shooting in the decisive quarter.

“There’s a lot of randomness coming out of the All-Star break, so I thought it was great mental toughness by us,” Daigneault said about the third quarter. “… I thought we did a great job coming out of the break and readying ourselves for competition and diving in.

“I don’t think we saw the best version of them tonight. I wouldn’t read too much into the game outside of a good, mental test for our team that we passed.”

Kawhi Leonard led the way for LA with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Outside of him, the other two Clippers stars struggled as Paul George had 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting and James Harden had 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

“We limited mistakes that yielded great shots for them,” Daigneault said. “They’re just too good of a team to give great shots to. I thought we were able to limit that in the second half… We forced a good team to earn what they got tonight.”

As mentioned, this was a massive game for future standings implications. Both the Thunder and Clippers have been neck and neck in the standings and that will likely continue the rest of the way as OKC holds a 1.5-game lead.

If tiebreakers are necessary, the Thunder own it over the Clippers, which could prove pivotal with home-court advantage in the playoffs.

“We have to keep pushing to get better and stretching ourselves and that starts with me,” Daigneault said. “I’m gonna continue to be aggressive about finding what’s best for our team. There’s gonna be failure along the way in doing that but it’s the only way to uncover the best version of your team.”

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.