The Oklahoma City Thunder are officially in the play-in tournament race.
Following an impressive 37-22 fourth-quarter advantage that capped the Thunder’s third consecutive win and wrapped up a four-game road trip with a 3-1 record, the Thunder are tied with the Phoenix Suns (21-23) for 10th in the Western Conference.
That means with 38 games left in their season, the Thunder are in the playoff race.
The Thunder left New York with a 112-102 win over the red-hot Brooklyn Nets, who were 18-3 in their previous 21 games entering Sunday.
The Thunder played a close contest against the Nets, who were missing Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons. Durant continues to miss time with an MCL sprain, and Simmons was a late scratch due to back soreness.
The game offered 16 lead changes and seven ties. Neither team led by more than 12 points.
Promisingly, the non-SGA lineups continued to hold their own.
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sitting the first six minutes of the final quarter in a five-point game, Josh Giddey led a 24-12 run. Giddey finished with 11 points and three assists in 10 fourth-quarter minutes.
On the night, Giddey scored a career-high 28 points. Gilgeous-Alexander also finished with 28 points. OKC’s young backcourt combined for an impressive 56 points.
The Thunder shot 44-of-90 (44.4%) from the field and went 12-of-31 (38.7%) from 3. The trio of Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey and Lu Dort combined to score 78 of OKC’s 112 points.
For the Nets, they shot an inefficient 39-of-91 (42.9%) from the field and went a cold 12-of-41 (29.3%) from 3.
Seth Curry led the Nets in scoring with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting off the bench. Nic Claxton collected 17 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double. Kyrie Irving was held to 15 points on 7-of-20 shooting and 1-of-7 from 3.
The Thunder left Oklahoma City for an extensive road trip with many looking at the reverse standings and lottery odds. They return to Oklahoma City a little over a week later with the focus shifted to where they stand in the actual NBA standings.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lived at the free-throw line Sunday.
In 36 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 28 points on 8-of-17 shooting and 1-of-4 from 3. From the free-throw line, Gilgeous-Alexander shot 11-of-14. He also added seven rebounds.
Gilgeous-Alexander partnered with Giddey in the fourth quarter to close the win. They combined to score 18 of the Thunder’s 37 fourth-quarter points with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring seven points in his six minutes.
Over the last two games, Gilgeous-Alexander adopted a passive role and let Giddey cook. The chemistry between the two continues to grow.
Maker of plays! ⚡️
The next era of the Thunder story.
Vote Shai: https://t.co/2FFNkzy5oU pic.twitter.com/m07FlJteFm
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 16, 2023
Pump, pump, pump it 🆙
Thunder next is now.
Vote Shai: https://t.co/2FFNkzy5oU pic.twitter.com/2tzufiVsMy
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 15, 2023
Fair to say Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has his signature move? 😳@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/IGctBD8dwP
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 16, 2023
A series of pump fakes opens up a shot for Shai from deep 😤@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/z6i7PZQdtw
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 15, 2023
Josh Giddey: A-plus
Playing an old-school style of basketball, Josh Giddey was able to shoulder his way into an uncontested layup against Nic Claxton, who just moments ago got in a kerfuffle with over a rebound.
Following the score, Giddey decided to showboat a little bit and motion for the ‘too small’ gesture by lowering the palm of his hand above the floor.
When you score back-to-back 25-plus point games despite not being billed as a scorer, a little cockiness is warranted.
Josh Giddey's confidence on the court is unmatched 👀@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/QG2WsEpxqZ
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 16, 2023
This play exemplified the night Giddey had in Barclays Center as he turned in arguably his best game of the season.
In 37 minutes, Giddey scored a career-high 28 points on 12-of-21 shooting along with nine assists and nine rebounds. Giddey also went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line and was a game-high plus-14.
With most of his teammates struggling to score, Giddey stepped up in the fourth quarter and led the Thunder to a win with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting and three assists.
Giddey did a lot of his damage inside the paint, scoring 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting in that area.
The Thunder talk a lot about growth this season and Giddey is the face of it as he collects his third consecutive 20-plus point game and his eighth 20-plus point game in his last 12 outings.
Working in rhythm to build on the lead! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/R61b515pD0
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 16, 2023
JDub taking a page from Giddey's passing playbook 😳@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/z37XGFeT2F
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 16, 2023
AND-ONE FOR JOSH 🔥
There's a new option to watch the Thunder. Learn More: https://t.co/YioxgSU4nH@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/JU2bsaheRH
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 16, 2023
Pretty finishes from 3️⃣ 😤 pic.twitter.com/zcMb46f3t9
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 16, 2023
Great vision & patience!
Our game never stops.
Vote Thunder: https://t.co/2FFNkzy5oU pic.twitter.com/az4ZC0Koeh
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 16, 2023
KRich comes up with the steal ➡️ Giddey converts it! pic.twitter.com/ej4MEJLhqx
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 15, 2023
Lu Dort: A
Lu Dort was the other 20-point scorer for the Thunder as he finished with 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting and went 5-of-7 from 3. From the free-throw line, Dort shot 5-of-6.
Dort played a nice part in the opening and closing quarters as he scored six points in each of the quarters on 4-of-4 shooting from 3.
Having to deal with Dort and Darius Bazley, Kyrie Irving was essentially a non-factor in this game.
Irving finished with 15 points on 7-of-20 shooting and went 1-of-7 from 3. With it being a close contest in the fourth quarter, Irving was invisible with two points.
Dort is a streaky shooter and can develop tunnel vision on his drives, but games like these show the value he possesses.
Irving is one of the greatest point guards ever and is averaging 25.6 points on 59.3 true shooting percentage this season. To hold him to 15 inefficient points while adding five three-pointers is an extremely valuable performance.
Back-to-back early for Lu from downtown! 👌 pic.twitter.com/dpNwskXPCO
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 15, 2023
That's 2 quick 👌's for Lu Dort in Brooklyn! 🔥
There's a new option to watch the Thunder. Learn More: https://t.co/YioxgSU4nH@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/Bwgh8b4Vsg
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 15, 2023
