The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to sweep the LA Clippers in a two-game stand on Thursday with a 118-110 win.
The trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Tre Mann led the way for the Thunder. The trio combined for 59 of the team’s 118 points.
For the Clippers, the return of Paul George was not enough to avenge their previous loss to the Thunder as he finished with just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
The Thunder were also able to win despite not attempting a single free throw until the fourth quarter — something that’s never happened in franchise history. In the end, the Clippers attempted 10 more free throws tonight as the referees allowed the teams to play against each other.
The Thunder were able to win this game with an advantage in shot attempts once again as they outshot the Clippers by 13 more attempts.
A great night from outside helped push the Thunder to their second win of the season as they shot 17-of-38 (44.7 percent) from deep.
Let’s take a look at four Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-minus
The return from the Paul George trade continues to look better every day.
In his second game of the season against his old team, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 10-of-23 shooting, six assists and five rebounds.
The biggest moment of the night came off the court for Gilgeous-Alexander though. As Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault decided to start the second half with him on the bench due to him collecting four fouls in the first 24 minutes.
After the game, Daigneault credited Gilgeous-Alexander for taking the decision well and saying that’s not always the case for players of his caliber.
“There are not a lot of guys – there are some guys that are doing that – but not a lot of guys,” said Daigneault. “It’s a testament to the trust that he has in the team and I thought the group that started the second half fed off that confidence because when you have somebody that’s moping around or protesting that sort of decision, that could bleed into the rest of the team – especially somebody that has the impact in our culture that he does, so that’s a huge credit to him.”
Not as easy as it looks 😳@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/O9TaGQSkT7
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 28, 2022
Artistry everyone can appreciate pic.twitter.com/gVkzwFruaq
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 28, 2022
Shai's on high alert 🚨 pic.twitter.com/XNtyCZZHli
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 28, 2022
Lu Dort: A
Lu Dort almost matched his total made shots up to this point of the season in one game. Dort finished with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting and added four assists and three rebounds.
This is hopefully a turning point in Dort’s young season after struggling to shoot the ball in the opening four games. For Dort, despite the shot not going down, his confidence never wavered.
“I feel like my confidence is always going to stay up,” said Dort.
High efficiency plays 👏 pic.twitter.com/5eYrFaQNKR
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 28, 2022
Continuing to work inside the paint 🎨 pic.twitter.com/4OhrXvMvc3
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 28, 2022
Make room in the lane! pic.twitter.com/pyfs4ZScAx
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 28, 2022
interception ➡️ quick outlet pass pic.twitter.com/U3fiMbGCWn
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 28, 2022
Tre Mann: B
Tre Mann has a special set of feet, according to Daigneault.
At least that’s how he’d describe his ability to create space off the dribble.
Five games into the season and Mann has played like one of the more impressive players on the team so far. Against the Clippers, Mann finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting and went 4-of-7 from deep.
The most significant of those four three-pointers came with under three minutes left in the game, as he drained an off-the-dribble fastbreak three to essentially ice the game for the Thunder.
“When Tre Mann creates space off the dribble, that’s a quality shot,” said Daigneault.
Aleksej Pokusevski: B
After a poor start, Aleksej Pokusevski was able to turn in his best performance of the young season against the Clippers.
Pokusevski finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, six rebounds and three assists.
Pokusevski also went 3-of-5 from deep with his last three-pointer generating the loudest reaction from the home crowd as it gave the Thunder a nine-point lead with under four minutes left.
After the game, Pokusevski said he loved being able to create that type of energy within the home crowd with his play.
It will always be the ball movement for us 💦 pic.twitter.com/8y4exzwxWz
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 28, 2022
