Nuggets and notes
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came into the match ill and with a questionable knock. The reigning MVP played and dropped 40 on the Wolves, going 12-of-19 from the field, 15-of-17 at the line, plus 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
- In other words, sick SGA is still an MVP-caliber player.
- Minnesota drilled 17 threes and shot 45.9% from deep. OKC converted only 26.9% of its threes (7-26). That’s right, Minnesota beat Oklahoma City with thirty points from three. That kind of disparity would sink most teams.
- I feel like I’m repeating myself, but the Thunder just have a lot of ways to win. When the team shoots well, it blows down its opponents’ doors, but even when the shots aren’t falling, OKC is so hard to beat because it makes so many other winning plays.
- Last night? The Thunder made their free throws (30 of 78.9% compared to 22 of 59.% for Minny), won the points from the turnover battle (20-11), won the points battle (14-7), won the points in the paint battle (50-28), won the fast break points battle (16-8).
- Speaking of turnovers, OKC finished with just 7 and is a strong indication of how focused the team was on playing smart. Against an overmatched opponent, we saw the Thunder get sloppy with the ball, but the players knew the margins could be tight tonight, with every possession counting, and they did a great job of protecting the ball. SGA had a strong assist-to-turnover ratio of 6:1 and a steal-to-turnover ratio of 3:1.
- Ajay Mitchell really gave OKC juice: 13 points, three assists, +15.
- Chet struggled the first three quarters. He was just 1-of-7 from the field and headed in the fourth. Holmgren was visibly frustrated with himself. But bro is a baller and was monumental in the fourth quarter. Chet had 10 points in the final frame, including two absolutely critical threes to keep Minnesota at bay.
- Gobert is not good at free throws.
- Welcome back Kenrich Williams! Kenny Hustle did not score, but recorded 4 rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes.
- OKC is on a 77.7 win pace.
One important takeaway
In the first rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals, with huge implications for the NBA Cup, you just knew this was going to be a big game. ESPN in town, the Wolves are essentially healthy and hungry to avenge last season’s playoff ouster, this game felt like a play-off game.
As the Thunder cruise through the regular season tearing apart opponent after opponent after some early-season battles, could the Thunder be ready for an all-out playoff-style brawl?
Yes. In a physical game that featured 75 free throws, 2 technical fouls (against Minnesota) and 1 flagrant (against Minnesota), the defending MVP champions survived a three-point barrage from Anthony Edwards and a Rudy Gobert block to earn a victory.
I love watching the Thunder just destroy their opponents, but watching OKC execute a playoff team (yet again) to get to 18-1 this season?
Simply beautiful.
#Thunder #Wolves #dayafter #report