Friday’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors is a prime example as for why basketball games are played out in real life instead of on paper.
On paper, a matchup between two top-eight defensive rating teams would likely mean a low-scoring, defensive slugfest with the Raptors sneaking out of Oklahoma City with a win.
On paper, the Raptors — who entered the night with the seventh-best net rating — should’ve made easy work against a Thunder squad in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
Instead, what transpired was the complete opposite.
The Thunder — off of an impressive pair of middle quarters where they outscored the Raptors 77-61 — put down an offensive drumming against one of the best defensive teams in the league with a final score of 132-113.
With the temperature dropping as snow covered the ground, the Thunder was able to keep its fans warm with a sizzling scoring attack, shooting 55.9 percent from the field and 15-of-36 (41.7 percent) from three as a team.
With nobody scoring more than 22 points, the Thunder offense was attributed to a well-balanced diet of eight players scoring 10-plus points — which is the first time in franchise history that’s happened in a game. The Thunder dished out 31 team assists on 52 field goals made.
Overall, the Thunder made sure fans who fought the elements got their money’s worth with an impressive and relaxed win against a good Raptors squad.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades for all eight players that scored at least 10 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B-plus
While it wasn’t the loud performance we’ve grown accustomed to by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — scoring 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting — he took a backseat to let his other teammates share in on the scoring fun.
Per usual, Gilgeous-Alexander did most of his damage inside the paint and took just two three-point attempts and overall four shots outside of the paint.
Overall, it was a nice and quiet performance for Gilgeous-Alexander and it speaks volumes on how great he’s played that 20 points on efficient shooting is considered a tame game for him.
Shai breaks 'em down, Tre drains the triple 👌 pic.twitter.com/MOi364HlTD
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 12, 2022
Space and opportunity! 👌
An SGA triple makes it four in the opening quarter for the Thunder pic.twitter.com/1wfCYoQxVM
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 12, 2022
Eugene Omoruyi: A
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault always preaches about staying ready regardless if you get guaranteed playing time. The Thunder wants to build a team where all 17 guys are ready to contribute on a moment’s notice. For Eugene Omoruyi, it’s easy to tell he lives by that motto.
Entering Friday, Omoruyi played three total minutes for the month of November. After playing a few G League games with the Oklahoma City Blue where he averaged 26.5 points, the two-way player played his first batch of significant minutes of the season with 27 minutes and scored 22 points in the process.
The bully-ball big stretched his game out to outside as he shot a surprising 5-of-6 from three. Entering the game, Omoruyi shot a total of 2-of-7 from three for his entire career.
Leading the way in the scoring column for the Thunder, Omoruyi’s surprising performance headlined the diplomatic offensive spread.
"It's the 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅 that we have."
Eugene Omoruyi spoke with @NickAGallo following the Thunder's 132-113 win over Toronto. pic.twitter.com/eD72VKOxmp
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 12, 2022
Josh Giddey: B-plus
After being the topic of controversy, Josh Giddey deserves his flowers for his performance against the Raptors.
In 23 minutes, Giddey finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, nine rebounds and five assists. The only thing stopping him from getting an A grade is the fact he turned the ball over a bit too much with seven turnovers.
Besides that, Giddey was great for the Thunder and played a pivotal role in the blowout win.
Giddey with the sideline out of bounds dime…
We've seen this before and it never gets old pic.twitter.com/hJhwlkoz2A
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 12, 2022
Aleksej Pokusevski: A
During Friday shootarounds, Aleksej Pokusevski talked about how angry he was with himself for the airball three he had late in the double overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks due to him wanting that win badly.
The badly-missed shot was magnified and made the rounds on Twitter. Due to this, it was easy to forget just how solid Pokusevski played up until that point of the game.
Which has been the theme for Pokusevski’s third season — he’s played much more consistent basketball but his errors are loud and that can warp his perception for people who don’t fully watch the Thunder.
With that aside, it’s fair to say Pokusevski redeemed himself with his stellar performance against the Raptors in a blowout win.
In 23 minutes as a starter, Pokusevski finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, five rebounds and an impressive four blocks.
When given the starting nod, Pokusevski has averaged 8.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and two blocks on 42.6 percent shooting in eight games this season. That’s a really fine line for the average NBA starter. If he can keep this up — which is a big if — then it’s fair to say Pokusevski will make the Thunder’s patience with him worth it.
Poku goes coast 2 coast for the slam pic.twitter.com/yryCAqLhHM
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 12, 2022
Lu Dort: B-plus
After starting off cold from three, Lu Dort turned in one of his best shooting performances of the season as he finished with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting and went 3-of-4 from deep.
After the game, Dort was sporting a customized CFL’s Montreal Alouettes jersey and joked that them playing against the Toronto Argonauts in a couple days gave him some extra motivation to beat the Raptors.
Maybe the Thunder should ask NBA commissioner Adam Silver to make it mandatory for all 30 teams to roster one Canadian player.
Jalen Williams: A
Off the bench, Jalen Williams had one of the best games of his young season with 10 points and 11 assists to collect a double-double.
After the game, Daigneault spoke highly of Williams, saying his adaptiveness and maturity make it easy to push his limits and experiment with the type of role he plays on a night-to-night basis.
In terms of highlights, Williams also collected the best one of the night with this vicious dunk. There’s been multiple instances this season where Williams has surprised people with his hops. Tonight was one of those instances.
Attacking with AUTHORITY 😤 pic.twitter.com/rEHblaYO3F
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 12, 2022
These two have been have been connecting all night long 🧲 pic.twitter.com/SGwtcQeqLt
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 12, 2022
Aaron Wiggins: A-plus
Aaron Wiggins has been yoo-yoo’d all season long with his minutes.
After Friday, Wiggins has had three DNP games and four games as a starter.
There seems to not be any middle ground for Wiggins and considering the instability of his playing time, he deserves huge props for his performance against the Raptors.
Wiggins finished with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting and dished out seven assists and grabbed four boards.
Taking advantage of second (and third) chance opportunities each possession 💯
📺 @BallySportsOK pic.twitter.com/Y4IFNabpQW
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 12, 2022
extra side of sauce on the spin @OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/kW0o8QAr7p
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 12, 2022
Tre Mann: B
Tre Mann had a good scoring outing for the Thunder off the bench as he finished with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting and shot 3-of-10 from three. While he was outshined by his teammates, it’s still important to give Mann credit for a respectable performance.
