He also missed three of his 10 free throw attempts. He scored 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting - his lowest-scoring game in almost three months and an uncharacteristically inefficient one at that. It wasn’t SGA’s night offensively, particularly in the first half, but Gilgeous-Alexander set a tone befitting the big moment. It would’ve been forgettable had SGA not exerted such noticeable effort early in the game. That was a first-quarter possession, by the way. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stuck to Jazz rookie Ochai Agbaji like a magnet clings to steel.Īgbaji was mercifully released from SGA’s vise grip when Gilgeous-Alexander poked the ball out of Agbaji’s hands and out of bounds. More: 'He's making Hamilton his': How Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's hometown shaped him “We know that we can control our own destiny with this next basketball game … That’s all we’re focused on,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.Īdded Giddey: “We know the job that we need to do, and we’ll be ready for Memphis.” Gilgeous-Alexander clenched his fists when the ball swished through the net. Then Josh Giddey hit a 3-pointer on OKC’s next possession. Utah responded with a 7-0 run to slash OKC’s lead to 11.Īaron Wiggins stopped the slide by nailing a corner 3-pointer with eight minutes left. The Thunder delivered what looked like a series of knockout blows as it went on a 14-0 run spanning the end of the third quarter into the early minutes of the fourth quarter to build an 18-point lead.īut the Jazz didn’t quit. “The game kind of got rough at the end of the second, the scoreboard got tight at halftime, and we leaned back on our defense, leaned back on our standards,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. You could feel the urgency of the situation, particularly after the Jazz closed the first half on a 14-2 run. Had the Thunder lost to the Jazz, OKC would have ceded control of its destiny to Dallas. Play-on: How does the NBA play-in tournament work & what are the odds the OKC Thunder make the playoffs? “If you asked me if I’d want to be in this position at the beginning of the year, I’d tell you yes,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. The Thunder can also clinch if the Mavericks lose to the Bulls on Friday. OKC beat Utah 114-98, which means the Thunder (39-42) can clinch a play-in berth if it beats Memphis on Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma City. It wasn’t pretty, or particularly convincing, but it was a win - and that’s all the Thunder needed. It wasn’t quite a must-win, but the closest thing to it in OKC’s play-in pursuit. Presti hasn’t gone on many road trips this season, but the Thunder general manager was in San Francisco on Tuesday and in Salt Lake City on Thursday for the Thunder’s biggest game of the season. SALT LAKE CITY - Sam Presti stood outside of the Thunder’s locker room at halftime, and as players filed out one by one for the second half, Presti gave them a slap on the butt and words of encouragement. They have shot 36.4% from beyond the arc (28% of the team’s baskets).Watch Video: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander talks about Thunder's best dunkers This year, the Thunder have taken 63.6% two-pointers, accounting for 72% of the team’s baskets. So far this season, Oklahoma City is draining 12.2 threes per game (13th-ranked in NBA) and is shooting 36% (14th-ranked) from downtown. The Thunder have been putting up 120.1 points per game in their last 10 appearances, an average that’s slightly higher than the 117.8 they’ve scored over the course of the 2022-23 campaign. The Thunder are averaging 120 points per game this season in home games, which is 4.5 more points than they’re averaging in away games (115.5). Oklahoma City is surrendering 116.8 points per game this season (20th-ranked in NBA), but it has really thrived offensively, scoring 117.8 points per contest (third-best). Jazz: Russell Westbrook: Out (Not With Team), Collin Sexton: Out (Hamstring), Jordan Clarkson: Out (Thumb), Ochai Agbaji: Questionable (Leg) What you need to know about the Oklahoma City Thunder
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