Lu Dort Plays Crucial Role in Thunder's Win Over Cavaliers

The Oklahoma City Thunder traveled to Cleveland and pulled out a gutsy, resilient win over the shorthanded Cavaliers.

Initially, the Thunder looked solid. Chet Holmgren was blocking everything and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 18 first-half points. The Cavaliers' defense would improve in the second half, though, had they would steal some momentum in the third quarter.

By the end of the third quarter, Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey were struggling. Fortunately for them, the Thunder has plenty of depth and the team was still leading the game.

Lu Dort played into his role perfectly on Friday night. With Williams and Giddey struggling, Dort provided a perfect dose of efficient offense. He finished with 25 points, six rebounds, a steal and a block while shooting 9-of-13 from the field and 3-of-4 on 3-pointers.

One of the biggest critiques Dort received about his game from last season was the quality of shots. In the season opener, Dort stayed in his lane by playing his elite defense while shooting quality shots.

When the offense needed it, the 6-foot-4 guard combined quality shots with an improved role and had an incredible showing to keep the Thunder close in the game. Dort, as mentioned, provided his elite defense. When the Thunder led by a basket and the Cavaliers needed to score or the game was essentially over, Dort got the one-on-one stop against Donovan Mitchell.

LU DORT STOPS DONOVAN MITCHELL

THUNDER WITH THE BALL AND THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/p1nkKg6JWC
— Matty Double Dribbles (@MattTyranny) October 28, 2023

This was no easy task, though. Mitchell scored 43 points on 15-of-27 shooting. He was incredible in the fourth quarter and willed the Cavaliers not only into the game but into a position where they led 100-90 with a few minutes to go.

"I’m one of the best defenders in the NBA. I train for those types of moments," Dort said after the game. "He’s a really tough cover, he’s a really great player. He probably had 40 something, I don’t know much he had, but it was tough. It was tough. At least it was not easy."

Now, as Dort provided offensive assistance on the game while playing his typical defense that is tough for any player in the NBA to score on, he got assistance defensively from Holmgren.

While Holmgren didn't have his ideal season opener and NBA debut game two nights ago, he balled out on Friday, finishing with seven total blocks, which set a Thunder rookie record for single-game blocks (previously held by Aleksej Pokusevski).

"Seven blocks ... it's crazy," Dort said.

Through two games this season, the Thunder has allowed 104 and 105 points. In the current state of the NBA, that's absurd to open a season. With Dort and Holmgren both incredible on the defensive end, there will be plenty more games where they can sway the outcome of the game with their play on the side of the floor.

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