Thunder Avoid Disaster, Escape Brooklyn with 129-121 Win

On Monday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder found themselves on the wrong side of history as they allowed the Minnesota Timberwolves to come back from a 24-point deficit to force overtime thanks to a 16-0 run to finish out regulation. Despite playing in front of the home crowd, the Thunder simply couldn’t finish out the game like they needed to, and the Timberwolves left with a 131-128 victory and a place in the record books with one of the greatest comebacks to happen in the modern NBA.

The Thunder nearly found themselves with another embarrassing loss on Wednesday night as they kicked off a 3-game road trip with a meeting in Brooklyn against the shorthanded Nets. OKC entered the game as a 17.5-point favorite, but Brooklyn came out shooting lights out on their way to an early 18-point lead. The Thunder made several attempts to cut into the deficit, but Brooklyn maintained a double-digit lead until late in the third quarter.

It took incredible effort down the stretch, but in the end, OKC was able to make the plays necessary—fueled by some incredible defense—to go on a run in the middle of the fourth quarter that would eventually lead to a 129-121 win.

First Quarter: Brooklyn Cannot Miss

Oklahoma City should have come out with some urgency after the embarrassing meltdown on Monday, but it was Brooklyn that came out with an unmatched focus. The Thunder’s defense was not up to snuff, and the Nets took advantage as they knocked down 7-of-15 (46.7%) from downtown with 5 different players hitting a three, but perhaps what was more impressive was Brooklyn scoring on all 8 attempts in the paint.

Meanwhile, the Thunder hit just 3-of-13 (23%) from three in the quarter. The Nets did a good job of doubling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and forcing the ball out of his hands, limiting him to just 3-of-4 (75%) from the field, but Aarron Wiggins came off the bench to score 9 points on 4-of-5 (80%) shooting.

Less than 8 minutes into the game, the Nets took a 30-12 lead, and by the end of the period, the league’s 2nd-lowest scoring team had put 40 points on the board on the NBA’s top defense.

Second Quarter: Thunder Fight Back, But Nets Keep Foot on Gas

A little over 3 minutes into the second quarter, the Thunder had trimmed the deficit to 43-30, and with 6:18 left in the first half, OKC cut Brooklyn’s lead to just 2 points, but a handful of free throws and another barrage of threes gave the Nets a 76-61 lead heading into halftime.

SGA once again struggled to get shots up, knocking down all 3 of his attempts in the quarter, but Chet Holmgren had a well-rounded quarter with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a block. Brooklyn continued their hot-shooting from outside the arc as once again 5 different players hit a three as they went 8-of-15 (53.3%) to head into the break with an incredible 15 made threes on 30 attempts.

Third Quarter: Thunder Close In Late

OKC came out of halftime with 5 quick points to cut their deficit to 10 points, but with 3:32 left in the third, Brooklyn led 94-81 thanks to—surprise, surprise—some more threes and a few free throws.

The Thunder finally seemed to wake up, though, as they finished out the quarter on a 9-2 run, and Brooklyn’s shooting finally cooled off a bit as they made just 4-of-15 (26.7%) from downtown and 5-of-19 (26.3%) overall. Trailing 96-90 heading into the fourth, it looked like OKC was making the run they needed to get on top and get out of town with a win.

Fourth Quarter: Defense Leads to Offense

Less than a minute into the final frame, the Thunder got as close to the Nets as they had been all night as they cut Brooklyn’s lead to 96-95 behind a layup from Jalen Williams and a three from Chet Holmgren. The Nets answered with a three of their own and a wild offensive possession that included 6 offensive rebounds that led to a layup, and once again, Brooklyn led by 6 with 9:51 to play.

Mark Daigneault called a timeout for the Thunder, and whatever happened in that brief meeting turned the tide for the rest of the game. OKC came out with a renewed energy on defense, something they had lacked for pretty much the entire night thus far, and they flipped the game upside down. After taking a 103-101 lead, OKC’s first of the night, Cason Wallace forced a steal for a layup. That play was the start of several consecutive defensive possessions, including another steal by Wallace for a dunk, as the Thunder went on a 22-2 run to take a 117-103 lead over the Nets with 5:13 to go.

The game was all but over, though, and while OKC was able to maintain some distance, Brooklyn did knock down some more shots from downtown to make it a 6-point game with just 21 seconds to go. The Nets were forced to foul, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a couple of free throws to wrap up the game with a final score of 129-121.

Key Player Contributions

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Despite limited shot attempts, he finished with 27 points on 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the field and 12-of-13 (92.3%) from the free throw line. He also had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.
• Jalen Williams: A huge 13-point fourth quarter was key in the Thunder’s comeback as he finished with 22 points on 8-of-16 (50%) from the field and 5-of-7 (71.%) from the free throw line to go with 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
• Chet Holmgren: After sitting out Monday for rest, he played a key role in OKC’s comeback, pulling down 8 of his 17 rebounds in the fourth quarter. He also finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 (58.3%) from the field and 6-of-7 (85.7%) from the free throw line to go with his 4 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
• Aaron Wiggins: Continuing his trend of saving basketball, he finished with 24 points on 11-of-19 (57.9%) shooting. He also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists as he finished with a team-high +/- of +26.
• Day’Ron Sharpe: Filling in for the suspended Nic Claxton, he led the Nets with 25 points on 8-of-10 (80%) shooting and 7-of-7 (100%) from the free throw line. He also led Brooklyn with 15 rebounds to go with 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals, and he had the team’s highest +/- with a +20.
• Killian Hayes: He knocked down 5-of-10 (50%) threes on his way to 19 points while handing out 7 assists.
• Ziaire Williams: He also hit 5 threes, but it took him 13 attempts. He also pulled down 10 rebounds.
• Cameron Johnson: Finishing with a second-best +/- of +12 for the Nets, he knocked down 4-of-7 (57.1%) from downtown on his way to 19 points along with 7 assists.

Looking Ahead: Road Trip Continues

Oklahoma City continues their 3-game road trip on Friday night as they take on Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. Young is averaging 23.9 points per game, and he leads the NBA with 11.4 assists per game. Unfortunately for the Hawks, they are just 27-32 on the season as they sit at 9th in the Eastern Conference standings.

After a 131-109 loss tonight, the Hawks have now lost 4 of their last 5 games. Atlanta is just 13-14 at home on the season while the Thunder has the third-best record on the road at 21-7. OKC needs to strike while the iron is hot and play a much cleaner game on Friday night as the Hawks have a much more potent offense than the Nets.