Cason Wallace Played the Hero in Oklahoma City's First Playoff Game

The Thunder's rookie guard made the biggest stop of the game on Sunday night.

For a night, playoff basketball was officially back in the big league city.

Oklahoma City took game one on Sunday night despite a poor shooting performance. It took every point and every last second to secure the win, and the Paycom Center was on fire. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points and the game-winner, and Jalen Williams electrified the crowd into barking with big shots down the stretch. Chet Holmgren netted five blocks and was a defensive anchor all night. However, it was an unlikely hero who won the game for Oklahoma City.

Cason Wallace locked up CJ McCollum on the finals possession, poking the ball out and forcing a missed shot as time expired. With how good Holmgren is, Wallace has been somewhat of the forgotten rookie this season. But on Sunday night, he was anything but forgotten. He was the hero.

The Kentucky product added five points on 2-of-3 shooting and drilled a big-time 3-pointer in a stretch where the Thunder couldn’t hit a shot. His growth on both ends of the floor has been beyond impressive this season.

For Thunder players, Sunday night’s performance was expected. Wallace operates like a seasoned veteran.

“He's a tough defender,” Lu Dort said. “I don't know why they was doing that. But if that's who they was trying to pick on it, it's good. He just stepped up with pride, and that’s what we want him to do.”

That’s high praise coming from Dort, who usually takes those late-game matchups that Wallace got on Sunday night. 

“Being in that moment, I think he understood what had to be done,” Isaiah Joe said. “The defensive tenacity that it took to get that stop, made it real uncomfortable for CJ McCollum.”

Wallace has earned the respect of his teammates and now he’s in the national spotlight. Everyone watched him step up in the biggest moment of the game, and he’s becoming an invaluable piece to the Thunder’s bench. There are surely more moments to come for Wallace throughout the playoff run.

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