Tag: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Second-half comeback falls short as Toronto outlasts OKC 130-121

Down by 30 in the second quarter, the Thunder put together a second-half comeback that saw them draw within one with two minutes to play.

They almost pulled it off.

Down by 30 late in the second quarter, Oklahoma City put together yet another second-half comeback that saw them draw within one with 2:09 left in the game.

But the Raptors finished on an 8-0 run to escape Chesapeake Energy Arena with a 130-121 win on Wednesday night.

Toronto had seven players in double-digits, including former Thunder forward, Serge Ibaka, who finished with 15. The Raptors were led by Norman Powell, who came off the bench to score 23.

Oklahoma City’s leading scorer also came off the bench, as Dennis Schroder lived up to his reputation as one of, if not the, best sixth man in the country. Schroder scored a game-high 25 on 10-of-17 shooting and hit 5 of his 10 three-point attempts.

A game removed from his historic triple-double, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out six assists, and creating three steals.

Three other players were in double-digits for OKC, Danilo Gallinari with 23, Mike Muscala with 17, and Chris Paul with 16.

Steven Adams played only seven minutes and, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, was ruled out at the half with a right knee contusion. Without Adams, and already missing Nerlens Noel who is still sidelined with an ankle sprain, Toronto dominated the points in the paint, outscoring Oklahoma City 62-48.

The Thunder and Raptors split their regular-season series, they will not play against each other for the rest of the year.

Oklahoma City falls to 23-18 and is back in action on Friday when they host the Miami Heat.

Healthy Raptors look to topple Thunder on Wednesday night

Toronto will get Marc Gasol back in time to face the Thunder on Wednesday night. OKC beat the Raptors 98-97 in Toronto back on Dec. 29.

It’s going to be a healthy Toronto Raptors team that makes the trek to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.

The defending NBA Champions are getting Marc Gasol back after being sidelined for 12 games with a hamstring injury.

Per ESPN, Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell will also return after missing 11 games each.

Siakam attributed Toronto’s success during that stretch to the play of someone the Thunder know quite well – Serge Ibaka.

“Serge has been playing unbelievable the whole time with all the injuries,” Siakam said. “He’s been great. Having those two guys coming in and out is a nightmare for the other team.”

Over the last 13 games, Ibaka has averaged a double-double, 18.6 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 42.1% from beyond the arc.

The last time these two teams met, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made NBA history when he scored a career-high 32 points, the most ever scored against the Raptors by a Canadian born player.

He also scored the game-winning basket to lift OKC to a 98-97 win over the Raptors.

Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off another historic performance in Oklahoma City’s 117-104 win over the Timberwolves on Monday when he became the youngest player in league history to record a 20-rebound triple-double.

Wednesday’s game is the final meeting of the regular season between the two teams.

Tip-off is at 7 p.m. inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Don’t look now: Thunder has NBA’s highest-rated lineup

When Paul, Schroder, Gilgeous-Alexander, Gallinari, and Adams on the floor, OKC is outscoring opponents by 31.4 points per 100 possessions.

Before this season started there were a lot of questions about how the Thunder’s guard-heavy lineup would work.

Turns out, it works just fine.

Although Terrance Ferguson continues to get the starting nod over Dennis Schroder, Oklahoma City is at its best when it’s five on the floor are Schroder, Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams.

Per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, those five aren’t just the best lineup for the Thunder, they’re statistically the best lineup in the NBA, that according to the net rating of lineups that have played a minimum of 100 minutes.

With Paul, Schroder and Gilgeous-Alexander sharing backcourt duties, Gallinari stretching the floor as a power forward and Adams manning the paint, the Thunder is outscoring opponents by 31.4 points per 100 possessions.

That’s more than 10 points per 100 possessions better than the second group, “Utah’s combination of Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert. The Jazz is outscoring opponents by 21 points per 100 possessions with that pairing.”

While the lineup may be the best in the league, they don’t play together often, averaging only 3.9 minutes together per game. That’s because of their lack of size.

But, as noted by Mussatto, that group has been far from a defensive liability.

Among lineups that have logged at least 100 minutes, the Paul, Schroder, Gilgeous-Alexander, Gallinari and Adams partnership has the sixth-best defensive rating in the NBA.

It is allowing 96.5 points per 100 possessions while scoring a league-high 127.9 points per 100 possessions.

This lineup may not be together long as Paul, Gallinari, Adams, and even Schroder have the potential to be traded. But they’re certainly making the most of the time they’re playing together.

Three takeaways from OKC’s 117-104 win over the Timberwolves

In addition to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s historic triple-double, the Thunder got a season-high 30 points from Danilo Gallinari on Monday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a 12-4 record over the last month, including a 117-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

It was their eighth win in the last 10 games.

Here are three takeaways:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s historic performance overshadowed a great night from Danilo Gallinari.

Gilgeous-Alexander is getting all the post-game praise for his 20-point, 20-rebound, 10 assist triple-double, and rightfully so. It’s an impressive feat that should be celebrated.

But don’t forget that Gallinari had a great night against the Timberwolves as well.

Gallo scored a season-high 30 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. But as noted by Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, where Gallinari really excelled on Monday was getting to the free-throw line.

Gallinari already had scored eight of his 14 first-half points on free throws. Half of the Thunder’s made free throws before halftime came from Gallinari. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, made just 10 foul shots.

Gallinari finished the night 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. The rest of the Thunder combined for just 14 attempts from the line.

 

Thunder thrive in the third quarter

For the majority of the season, Oklahoma City has struggled in the third quarter. Not on Monday.

The Thunder held Minnesota to just 19 points, using two separate runs of nine and eight points, respectively, to put the game out of reach.

 

OKC shut down Andrew Wiggins

The Timberwolves were once again without star Karl-Anthony Towns on Monday night, though his absence was reported to be from illness as opposed to injury.

Without Towns, Wiggins was Minnesota’s primary scoring threat and the Thunder frustrated him into shooting 4-of-12 from the floor and just one rebound. Wiggins finished the game as a minor contributor, scoring only 10 points.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an up and coming star in the NBA

Gilgeous-Alexander made NBA history with a 20-point, 20 rebounds, 10 assist triple-double in OKC’s 117-104 win over Minnesota on Monday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was supposed to be the future of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Turns out, the future is now.

Gilgeous-Alexander made NBA history in Monday night’s 117-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves with his first career triple-double.

He scored 20 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, and dished out 10 assists. The only other guard with a 20-point, 20-rebound triple-double in the last 30 years? According to Elias Sports Bureau, it’s none other than Russell Westbrook.

At 21 years and 185 days, Gilgeous-Alexander is also the youngest player to record a 20-point, 20-rebound, 10 assists game. Per ESPN Stats, the last time someone posted that kind of stat line was 64 years ago when Maurice Stokes did it back in 1956.

His triple-double on Monday showcased the variety of skills that Gilgeous-Alexander possesses, causing SBNation to call him “officially one of the NBA’s best young players”.

Gilgeous-Alexander first made a name for himself attacking the rim in off-beat rhythms with advanced footwork. His ability to hit wrong-footed layups and prepare counters on drives made him a unique problem for NBA veterans to deal with as a rookie. In his second pro season, he’s turned into something else: a smooth scorer who can flow in-and-out of dribble pull-ups while maintaining his incredible flexibility and dexterity around the basket.

Fans in Oklahoma City probably aren’t shocked by this assessment, they’ve been watching SGA develop and improve throughout the year.

It’s hard to believe that Gilgeous-Alexander is only in his second year in the league, but if Monday’s game is any indication, he’s got a long, successful career ahead of him.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes NBA history, again

Gilgeous-Alexander became the youngest player in NBA history with a 20-rebound triple-double in OKC’s 117-104 win over the Timberwolves.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made history on Monday night.

And yes, it’s a different history than the last time that he made NBA history.

In Oklahoma City’s 117-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted his first career triple-double.

Not just any triple-double. A monster triple-double. 20 points. 20 rebounds. 10 assists. Of which both the 20 rebounds and the 10 assists are also career-highs.

According to Sports Illustrated, only two other guards have posted a 20-point, 20-rebound game in the last 25 years. Ben Simmons, and none other than the former face of the Thunder franchise, Russell Westbrook.

At 21 years and 185 days, Gilgeous-Alexander is the youngest player in NBA history to record a 20-rebound triple-double according to the Elias Sports Bureau, surpassing Shaquille O’Neal.

He’s also just the fourth second-year player in league history with a 20/20 triple-double, joining a pretty star-studded group in O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Oscar Robertson.

And if that wasn’t enough, Gilgeous-Alexander also became the first Canadian-born player to record a triple-double in the NBA. Not bad, eh?

(Also, for those of you saying, um … remember Steve Nash? Nash was born in South Africa.)

It might be worth it to also mention that somehow, Gilgeous-Alexander is not getting votes for the NBA All-Star game.

Maybe all of that history made in Minnesota on Monday night will change that.

Gilgeous-Alexander posts first-career triple-double in win over Wolves

Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists, becoming the youngest player in NBA history with a 20-rebound triple-double.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on an absolute clinic on Monday night in Oklahoma City’s 117-104 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The first-year Thunder guard notched his first career triple-double, scoring 20 points, grabbing 20 rebounds, and dishing out 10 assists.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s big outing overshadowed a season-best 33 point outing for Danilo Gallinari, who made 8 of his 12 shots from the field and 11-of-12 free throws.

The Thunder had five other players in double-figures. Terrance Ferguson and Dennis Schroder both scored 14, Steven Adams had 13, Mike Muscala chipped in 11, and Chris Paul added 10 to round out the scoring attack.

As a team, Oklahoma City shot 50.0% from the field and 40.0% beyond the arc.

But the night belonged to Gilgeous-Alexander.

Per the Thunder, he’s just the fourth second-year player in NBA history to register a 20/20 triple-double, joining Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, and Oscar Robertson.

He’s also the youngest player in NBA history with a 20-rebound triple-double, according to Elias Sports Bureau, surpassing Shaquille O’Neal.

During his postgame interview, Gilgeous-Alexander was interrupted by Dennis Schroder (because when doesn’t Schroder interrupt a postgame interview?) saying, “20, 20, and 10? That’s so tough bro!”

He told Thunder reporter Nick Gallo that Billy Donovan had challenged him before the game because “he knows what I’m capable of” and Gilgeous-Alexander said he just wanted to step up to the challenge.

He did, and then some.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves odds, picks and best bets

Previewing day’s Oklahoma City Thunder at Minnesota Timberwolves sports betting odds, with NBA matchup analysis and picks.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (22-17) head to the City of Lakes to play the Minnesota Timberwolves (15-23) at the Target Center at 8:00 p.m. ET. We analyze Thunder-Timberwolves odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

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Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Thunder at Timberwolves: Key injuries

THUNDER

  • C Nerlens Noel (ankle) out
  • SG Andre Roberson (knee) out

TIMBERWOLVES

  • C Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) out
  • SF Jake Layman (toe) out

Thunder at Timberwolves: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Thunder 119, Timberwolves 104

Moneyline (ML)

This moneyline is terrifying me. Why are the 22-17 Thunder only -154 against the 15-23 Timberwolves team? Towns will miss his 14th consecutive game, and the Thunder have all their top producers in the lineup. I cannot make sense of it, and either BetMGM is way off on their number or I’m going to lose money this game. Granted the Thunder are 9-10 overall on the road and the trends aren’t ideal—Thunder are 1-8 ATS in the last nine meetings—but the Timberwolves are just 6-11 overall at home. The Thunder have a matchup edge over the Timberwolves in the strength of schedule, field goal percentage, offensive rating, defensive rating, effective field goal % and opponent’s effective field goal %. This will be the fifth game for the Thunder in the last seven days, and the odds makers could be expecting weariness on the road with such a busy schedule.

I might end up with egg on my face because this bet is too good to be true, but BET THUNDER -154 on the moneyline. New to sports betting? A $143 wager on the Thunder to win returns a profit of $100.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

If we are on Thunder -143 to win straight up, then we love Thunder -3.5 (-106). Oklahoma City has performed well against bookmakers’ expectations this year—their 26-13 ATS record is tops in the NBA; the Timberwolves’ 16-20-2 ATS record is the 25th-worst in the NBA. They crush bad teams when visiting their homes:  the Thunder are 9-2 against the spread in road games against below. 500 teams. Timberwolves are 2-3-1 at home against above .500 teams.

In their last game, the Lakers mopped the Thunder, 125-110, but the Thunder have bounced back well from double-digit losses this season—they are 7-0 ATS in their last seven games following a straight-up loss of more than 10 points. BET THUNDER -3.5 (-106). 

Over/under (O/U)

The juiced line is BetMGM trying to scare you away from the Over and the combined per game scoring totals of each team is 227.7. That’s too simplistic of a handicap, here are more tidbits:

  • The Over is 5-0 in the last five Thunder-Timberwolves games.
  • The Over is 11-1 in Thunder’s last 12 games as a road favorite.
  • The referee crew assigned to this game has an Over/Under of 40-16 on the season.

HAMMER OVER 217.5 (-125).

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SGA: ‘I think we were embarrassed’ in first half against Lakers

L.A. outscored the Thunder by 24 in the first half of Saturday night’s 125-110 loss, including a 41-19 margin in the first quarter.

It was a tale of two halves for the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night against the Lakers. Unfortunately for OKC, their slow start was just too much for them to overcome.

The Thunder lost 125-110 to a Lakers team that didn’t have their top two scorers in LeBron James or Anthony Davis. It didn’t matter. For L.A., it was business as usual. Kyle Kuzma started in place of Davis and scored a game-high 36, while Rajon Rondo got the start for LeBron and posted a double-double.

The Lakers outscored Oklahoma City 41-19 in the first quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander attributed the lopsided score to a lack of effort and told The Oklahoman after the game the difference in the team’s play between the first half and second half was pride.

“I think we were just embarrassed, and we knew what we needed to do going into the game to give ourselves a chance to win, but we didn’t do it in the first half. I think we just tried to do it a little hard and a little bit more in the second half, but it obviously wasn’t enough.”

He followed that up by saying the team has a “bunch of competitors” that “are going to give it our all” regardless of the score.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari both led the Thunder with 24.

OKC outscored the Lakers by nine in the second half, getting as close as 11 in the fourth quarter but could not close the gap any further.

Oklahoma City will look to bounce back when they travel to take on the Timberwolves on Monday night.

Kyle Kuzma’s 36 leads Lakers to 125-110 win over Oklahoma City

Kuzma got the start in place of an injured Anthony Davis as the Lakers beat OKC for the third time this season.

It turns out the Lakers didn’t need LeBron or Anthony Davis to take down Oklahoma City.

Los Angeles topped the Thunder 125-110 on Saturday night in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score might indicate. LA scored 41 points in the first quarter compared to OKC’s 19. While it was fairly even from there, the initial deficit was just too much for Oklahoma City to overcome.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari both scored 24 to lead the way for the Thunder. Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, and Steven Adams were also all in double-figures, adding 16, 13, and 12, respectively.

Kyle Kuzma, starting in place of an injured Davis, who missed his second straight game with a bruised buttocks, led all scorers on Saturday with 36.

Rajon Rondo, who got the start with LeBron James was scratched with “flu-like symptoms” put up a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

The Lakers have won all three meetings with Oklahoma City this season, with Saturday night being the largest margin of victory for L.A.

The two will not meet in the regular season again until the Thunder travel to Los Angeles for a primetime showdown with the Lakers on Sunday, April 5.