Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 31 Points Not Enough in Thunder's Close Loss
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Oklahoma City fought hard in the final quarter against the hobbled New Orleans Pelicans, but the Thunder fell just short in the Big Easy, losing 105-101.
The Thunder’s final quarter was a positive from Monday night, but outside of that, it was a relatively sloppy basketball game. OKC turned the ball over 19 times and forced 22 takeaways on defense. As a team, the Thunder shot just 37% from the floor, and down the stretch, the lack of big shots allowed the Pelicans to stay a step ahead.
New Orleans was missing both CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram, making this a very winnable game for the Thunder. With a five-game road trip following a battle with the Spurs on Wednesday, the close losses could start to add up soon. Oklahoma City never seemed to find rhythm from the start of the game, though, and ultimately fell just short.
Despite the loss, OKC’s youthful squad had multiple solid individual performances. Here’s who led the Thunder on Monday:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
It was night SGA’s best night to say the least. Oklahoma City’s MVP candidate finished the game at 7-of-21 overall and just 1-of-6 from 3-point range. He also had an uncharacteristic seven turnovers. Gilgeous-Alexander, however, found a way to score 31 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Without him, this game wouldn’t have been close.
The guard was an impressive 16-of-18 at the free throw line, and even though he struggled to find a rhythm on offense, he found other ways to impact the game. Scoring 30 points on an off night is the mark of a great player.
Lu Dort
Dort’s night could’ve been a good deal worse if it weren’t saved by a solid finish. He especially struggled in the first half, but the strong close helped the Thunder stay close.
He finished with 14 points on 6-of-13 and nine assists. Dort also drilled two triples.
Ousmane Dieng
Dieng only had six points in 11 minutes, but after spending the last few weeks with the Oklahoma City Blue and recovering from an illness, he looked phenomenal Monday.
The lottery pick drilled two 3-pointers in three tries, recorded three rebounds, a steal and two blocks. For someone still adjusting to the pace of the NBA and receiving inconsistent minutes on a nightly basis, his ability to come in cold off the bench and knock down 3-pointers says a lot about his maturity. Dieng will only get better as the season goes on.
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