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THUNDER VICTORIOUS IN NOLA
THE REPORTERS' NOTEBOOK
okcthunder.com
April 13, 202312:42 AM CDT
By Nick Gallo and Paris Lawson | okcthunder.com
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HIGHLIGHTS: OKC 123, NOP 118
5d
Team Highlights
01:55
THE BIG PICTURE
Box Score: OKC 123, NOP 118
The youngest team in the NBA went on the road in a rowdy environment, fell
behind by nine points early, absorbed waves of punches throughout the night and
found itself in a two-possession game for the final 10 minutes of the fourth
quarter. A team with an average age of 23 years and 100-something days doesn’t
often stay poised and come away with a victory against a veteran team like the
New Orleans Pelicans, but that’s exactly what the Thunder did on Wednesday night
in the ninth-10th Western Conference play-in game.
The game had wild swings in the flow as the Pelicans hammered the offensive
glass in the opening minutes, Thunder guard Lu Dort went on a scoring binge with
20 first half points, then OKC got downhill into the paint while going plus-15
on the scoreboard in the third quarter and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got to his
spots more freely.
In the fourth quarter, the Thunder once again had to parry a flurry from New
Orleans in the form of a 9-2 spurt to start the final frame – a run that would
have rattled most teams in OKC’s age demographic. After a timeout, the Thunder
righted the ship and went back and forth with the Pelicans for the remaining 10
minutes. This game featured 13 ties and 13 lead changes, and it wasn’t until
Gilgeous-Alexander drove left and hit a tough runner on the baseline with 28.3
seconds left that OKC took its final lead for good. In the closing seconds, Dort
and Jaylin Williams combined to seal a defensive stand and then Josh Giddey,
Dort and Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down free throws to put a bow on a 123-118
victory that will send the Thunder into the second round of the play-in
tournament.
OBSERVATIONS
FIRST QUARTER
Paris: After falling behind by nine points midway through the first frame,
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault called a timeout. Coming out of the break,
OKC threw a zone at the Pelicans which resulted in a missed basket by New
Orleans and a 3-pointer on the other end for Dort. The basket ignited a strong
14-2 run by the Thunder fueled by its defense, stops and quick baskets on the
other end. Of those 14 points, five of them came on the fast break, an area the
Thunder took advantage of through the entire frame. The Thunder also worked to
quell one of the Pelicans’ most viable sources of offense – the second chances.
OKC gave up 10 second chance points in the first six minutes of action. For the
rest of the quarter, OKC didn’t allow one. Just two and a half minutes after the
Thunder’s timeout, Pelicans’ head coach Willie Green was forced to call a
timeout of his own after a missed shot from Kira Lewis Jr. resulted in a stop
and pop 3-pointer in transition by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gave the Thunder its
first lead of the game at 24-21 and momentum to carry through the rest of the
frame.
Nick: The Thunder knew coming into this game it would need to leverage New
Orleans’ aggressiveness against them with secondary playmaking. The
ever-aggressive Lu Dort was primed and ready to attack quickly against
closeouts, using immediate dribbles to the rim to generate six points on drives
alone in the first six minutes of action. When the Pelicans closed out short to
Dort, the Thunder’s defensive ace was also ready to catch and shoot, as he
knocked down a catch and shoot corner 3 and then another 3 off a rhythm dribble.
In the first quarter alone, Dort scored 14 points on 4-for-5 shooting, and for
the game he scored 27 points on 8-of-14 from the field.
SECOND QUARTER
Nick: To beat a New Orleans defense that has great length and recovery ability,
the Thunder needed to be able to stretch the floor with shooting. In the first
half alone, OKC knocked down eight 3-pointers, including four from Dort as well
as two from Josh Giddey. On a baseline out of bounds play, Mark Daigneault
yelled out a play from the sideline and one of the NBA’s best sharpshooters all
year, Isaiah Joe, got into position. Running off a pair of screens, Joe found an
opening on the left wing and Josh Giddey found him right in the shooting pocket
for a catch-and-shoot three, which Joe swished.
Paris: After a missed shot from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaxson Hayes pulled
down what he thought would be an uncontested rebound. However, lurking right
behind Hayes was Aaron Wiggins who sneakily snatched the ball away from Hayes
and quickly put up the layup as Hayes desperately tried to claw the ball back.
The bucket resulted in an and-one basket for Wiggins and a great example of how
the Thunder has been able to scrap and fight for its looks throughout the night.
The Pelicans racked up 15 second chance points in the first half, and while that
would be a massive number in most games, the Thunder neutralized the extra
points with 13 second chance points of its own to go along with nine points off
the Pelicans turnovers.
THIRD QUARTER
Paris: SGA attacked the middle of the floor using a series of hesitations and
between-the-leg dribbles before hitting a spin and to finishing a high-level
scoop layup through contact at the rim. The play didn’t result in a foul call,
but it did force the Pelicans to burn a timeout after Gilgeous-Alexander’s
outburst at the start of the third. OKC’s all-star posted a relatively quiet
first half with just seven points but erupted out of intermission with 10 quick
points in the first six minutes of action going a perfect 4-of-4 from the field
during the span. SGA posted 17 total points in the third and finished the night
with a game-high 32 points to go along with three steals, five rebounds and
three assists.
Nick: While OKC was able to knock down shots from the outside in the first half,
the Thunder got back to its bread and butter in the paint in the third quarter.
After heading into the half trailing 32-22 in the paint, OKC outscored the
Pelicans 24-10 in the third quarter alone. Gilgeous-Alexander, who came out of
the halftime locker room early to get as much warmup time as he possibly could,
attacked the rim relentlessly and used his craftiness to score. Josh Giddey used
his size and physicality to get through and shoot over the top of defenders,
including an and-one layup over the 7-foot Jaxson Hayes. The sequence that stood
out though was after a missed three by Jalen Williams, his fellow rookie Jaylin
Williams chased down the loose rebound, then immediately looked for a cutter and
found Jalen diving to the rim. Jalen finished with a lefty layup without ever
having to bring the ball back over to his right hand, a bucket which also helped
Jaylin rack up one of what would be a career-high eight assists.
FOURTH QUARTER
Nick: The Thunder is built on trust both on the defensive end to know that your
teammate has your back in help and on offense to make the extra pass. As the
ball swung around the top of the key, a Pelicans defender closed out to Josh
Giddey and the 20-year-old Australian swung the ball one more time instinctively
to the right wing into the hands of Jaylin Williams. Despite going 0-for-6 from
three to start the game, Giddey and the Thunder had trust in JWill – a
40-percent 3-point shooter this season. Not only did Giddey make the extra pass,
but Williams didn’t hesitate at all to take the shot. After all, his teammates
had been encouraging him all night to continue shooting and fortunately he kept
listening, because that 3 put OKC up 106-104 in a tight game that went down to
the wire. In the closing moments, Williams also factored heavily into a crucial
defensive stop as he came over to help shade Brandon Ingram on a double team,
then recovered back into the lane to snap up the defensive rebound. For the
game, Williams finished with eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Paris: Josh Giddey was all over the floor for the Thunder against the Pelicans.
Whether it was making his presence known on the glass, dishing out extra passes
or getting to the rim, Giddey made a strong impact in multiple areas of the
game. The second year guard played a massive role in the Thunder’s ability to
get up the floor quickly, even on made baskets. After a made basket by Naji
Marshall on one end, Giddey was quickly up the floor finishing a layup on the
other end before the Pelicans’ defense could get back and set. For the night,
Giddey finished with a game-high and career-high-tying 31 points, 10 assists,
nine rebounds on 11-of-22 from the field.
QUOTES OF THE NIGHT
"Great 48 minute effort out of the team. Great poise. New Orleans made a couple
of big runs at the end of the second and then the beginning of the fourth and I
thought our guys just had a great temperament in the huddles and got back to our
stuff. We weren't perfect tonight, but we got back to our habits and it was a
great effort out of the team." –Coach Daigneault
"Credit to the group. It was a resilient night. They kept making runs, they kept
going in front with a couple of minutes left, but we stuck with it and grinded
it out. A big win in a tough environment to play in." –Josh Giddey
“We knew this time of year it was going to be a 48-minute basketball game. Both
teams are going to want the game extremely bad and it came down to habits and
and making plays.” –Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
WHAT'S NEXT
The Thunder will immediately fly to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves in
Friday’s final play-in game. A win would earn the Thunder the eight spot in the
Western Conference playoff standings and a first-round matchup with the Denver
Nuggets.
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GREAT EFFORT, TEMPERAMENT FOR 48
5d
Game Story
01:13
WEDNESDAY'S PHOTOS
By Zach Beeker | OKC Thunder
TAGS
Josh GiddeyMark DaigneaultShai Gilgeous-Alexander
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