OKLAHOMA CITY — Remember how the Oklahoma City Thunder scrapped by the Denver Nuggets for a 101-99 win just two days ago?
Well, it felt like they played a completely different sport on Wednesday in a 137-132 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
It was pretty clear where this game was heading after the first quarter, as the Thunder led 43-39. This belief was reaffirmed at the half with a tied game of 77-77.
Then by the end of the third quarter, both teams scored over 100 points. Ultimately, both teams scored over 130 points in regulation.
After gutting out a scrappy win on Sunday, the Thunder needed more offensive fireworks on Wednesday in a loss.
“Neither team was playing defense,” Josh Giddey said. “It just became a battle of who could score more points.”
The Thunder scored 132 points on 53-of-102 (52%) from the field and went 15-of-34 (44.1%) from 3. The Hawks scored 137 points on 50-of-84 (59.5%) from the field and 11-of-29 (37.9%) from 3.
The biggest difference between both teams came from the free-throw line. The Hawks went 26-of-33 (78.8%) and the Thunder went 11-of-16 (68.8%).
The free-throw disparity adds to a recent disturbing trend for the Thunder, who have been outshot from the line 94-43 in their last three games.
“I thought those were plays they probably could’ve gotten. We’ll see the L2M report,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said when asked about not getting calls late in the game. “The thing that was disappointing is they told me — I did get an explanation in the first half and they said we’re shooting a lot of threes, and then you look down, and we took 15 to 20 more shots in the paint than they did and so if they’re going to give me that explanation, then I’d like that to be true.”
The high-scoring affair was main-evented by the battle of 2018 draft companions Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Trae Young. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 36 points while Young finished with 33 points and 11 assists.
Before the season, Young was the viewed as the better player between the two. With Gilgeous-Alexander graduating to superstardom this season, it feels like public opinion is starting to shift in his favor.
Trailing 131-122 with 1:54 left, it felt like the game was about over. But a 10-4 flurry helped the Thunder make it a three-point game with 14.1 seconds left.
Alas, Gilgeous-Alexander missed a rare pair of shots near the rim and hopes of a comeback were evaporated.
“I think we let one slip tonight for sure,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Offense was good enough, we just didn’t bring it defensively. They made us pay.”
Outside of Young’s dominant night, the Hawks also had four other double-digit scorers.
Dejounte Murray finished with 21 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic finished with 20 points. John Collins and Clint Capela each collected double-doubles. Capela had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Collins had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A+
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an awesome night as he had another efficient 30-point performance.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 36 points on 13-of-22 shooting, seven assists and five rebounds. From the free-throw line, Gilgeous-Alexander went 9-of-10.
A lot of Gilgeous-Alexander’s damage came in the first half, where he scored 26 points — a new career-high for most points scored in the first half.
Trailing by three points, Gilgeous-Alexander had a chance to cut the Hawks lead to one point or even tie the game. Instead, he missed a pair of shots near the rim that sealed the game.
Despite the loss and the pair of late misses, Gilgeous-Alexander was great and went toe-to-toe against Trae Young. In a re-draft, those two will likely be top-three picks alongside Luka Doncic for most people.
Energized on both ends of the floor! ⚡️@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/6yJXRaabJh
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 26, 2023
Strong attacks to the basket only! 😤 pic.twitter.com/rFQHHqmehY
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 26, 2023
Pretty basketball taking place in Paycom 😍 pic.twitter.com/lhWGPEAurw
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 26, 2023
That's nasty, SGA 🤧 pic.twitter.com/kTMQGnEjtL
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 26, 2023
Shai just passed it through Clint Capela's legs AGAIN 😂
There's a new option to watch the Thunder. Learn More: https://t.co/YioxgSU4nH@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/W0IhQnXM8O
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 26, 2023
Shai has been on ANOTHER PLANET in the 1st 🌎@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/NwUNTtPL67
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 26, 2023
Shai did Clint Capela DIRTY 😳 right through his legs to Kenrich Williams.@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/xA9uleGxKz
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 26, 2023
Jalen Williams: A+
The loudest reactions of the night all came from Jalen Williams’s dunks.
Williams finished with 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting, five rebounds and four steals.
Like most nights, Williams scored most of his points inside the paint and went 9-of-14 in that area — with a lot of those finishes being loud dunks.
The previously mentioned 10-4 run late in the game was highlighted by two massive JDub dunks that got the crowd rocking. The Thunder fell short, but that mini-run fueled the crowd.
Another steal results in a JDub JAM!
Thunder trail by 1! pic.twitter.com/1SJo9VxgPT
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 26, 2023
What a defensive stop and powerful jam! pic.twitter.com/sQjXJXyEHV
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 26, 2023
Off to the races! pic.twitter.com/GN11CcfMhk
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 26, 2023
Josh Giddey: C
In a rare occurrence, Josh Giddey struggled with his shot against the Hawks.
Giddey finished with 16 points on 8-of-19 shooting, eight rebounds and six assists.
Giddey went just 8-of-17 inside the paint, a weird individual performance in a game where defense was nonexistent. An unusual night in the paint for Giddey.
To Giddey’s credit, he overcame a slow four-point first half. In the second half, Giddey finished with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Kenrich Williams: C
The Thunder elected to go small with their starting lineup as Kenrich Williams was the starting center with the regular four.
A decision that paid off as the Thunder outscored the Hawks by 19 points in Williams’ 30 minutes. The plus-19 was the best mark on the Thunder.
Williams finished with nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
