Oklahoma City’s Backcourt Shows Off in Close Loss to the Heat

Oklahoma City had a chance to pull off an impressive road win on national television against one of the East’s playoff teams, but a last minute collapse buried the Thunder. Miami came away with a 112-111 win in a back-and-forth game.

The Thunder held a five-point lead with under a minute left in the game. Victor Oladipo drilled a 3-pointer and Kenrich Williams missed two straight free throws opening the door for Jimmy Butler’s and-one. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 3-pointer was never a clean look, and OKC came up just short.

Butler’s and-one to win the game was the story of the night, as the Heat’s star scored exclusively at the free throw line. He was a whopping 23-of-23 from the charity stripe, and as a team, Miami shot an NBA record 40-for-40 at the free throw line. On the flip side, Oklahoma City attempted just 21 free throws. It was an odd game all-around, and considering how the game was officiated, Oklahoma City’s effort to hang around all game long was an impressive feat in itself.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

It took him a while to fully get going, but Gilgeous-Alexander turned in a respectable box score. The Thunder star poured in 26 points on an even 9-of-18 from the floor and 2-of-4 from 3-point range. Gilgeous-Alexander had an uncharacteristic six turnovers in the loss but he led the Thunder down the stretch.

Josh Giddey

Despite the loss, Giddey put on a show. Oklahoma City’s point guard recorded a triple double with 18 points, 15 rebounds and ten assists. He’s clearly taken leap over the last month, and Tuesday night was just another example. Like Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey also turned the ball over six times. The 12 combined turnovers between the duo proved costly on the offensive end.

Jalen Williams

Williams displayed his promise and potential in front of NBA fans everywhere. Oklahoma City’s rookie added 12 points, five rebounds and two steals in 32 minutes against the Heat. His versatility on both ends of the floor opens up a lot for this young Thunder team.

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