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Inside The Thunder

Hot Shooting Night Lifts Hawks Over Thunder

Oklahoma City struggled to defend in a home loss to Atlanta.
Hot Shooting Night Lifts Hawks Over Thunder
Hot Shooting Night Lifts Hawks Over Thunder

The Thunder came into Wednesday night’s contest against the Atlanta Hawks coming off a rare win over the Magic.

The momentum didn’t carry over, as the Thunder got dominated by the Hawks in a blowout 136-118 loss.

While the Hawks were red hot, the turnovers didn't help for the Thunder. OKC committed 18 turnovers compared to Atlanta's12x.

Oklahoma City was led by a multitude of scorers, as four players netted double-figures.

Lindy Waters III had a huge night playing against former teammate Trae Young. Waters poured in 25 points and drilled seven 3-pointers. The Oklahoma State product his now made at least four 3-pointers in three straight games.

Speaking of Young, it was quite the night for the Hawks star, too. Young netted 41 points on 13-of-24 shooting, adding eight assists too. He played just 29 minutes.

Theo Maledon and Olivier Sarr also had efficient performances for OKC. Maledon added 18 points and eight assists, while Sarr contributed 17 points and nine boards.

In the first quarter, Oklahoma City saw the game fall out of reach within five minutes. One second, OKC was competing and making shots. The next second, the Thunder had allowed 42 first quarter points and trailed by 18.

At the end of the first frame, the hole was already deep, as Atlanta led 42-24.

The Thunder came alive offensively in the second frame, but still couldn’t stop the Hawks. Atlanta notched a second 40-point quarter behind Young’s huge performance.

Oklahoma City allowed a franchise record 85 points, heading into the break trailing 85-58.

The Thunder continued to score at a high clip, stringing together their second straight 30-point quarter in the third. Waters knocked down two triples to help. OKC somewhat tightened things up, only allowing 30 points.

Atlanta was able to put the game on cruise control in the fourth quarter because of the massive lead. After another strong quarter, the Hawks finished the night shooting 53.8% overall and 46.2% from three.

Next up for Oklahoma City is Cade Cunningham and Detroit. The Pistons travel to OKC to take on the Thunder on Friday at 7 p.m.


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Published
Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Ross is a 2023 Oklahoma University graduate who has formerly written for the OU Daily and Prep Hoops. He now works for the New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committee and covers OU sports for AllSooners.com. He has been covering the Thunder since the 2019-20 season.

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