Thunder Finding Different Ways to Win in Playoffs

The Thunder won a game four slug fest on the road Monday night and needed every single bucket down the stretch to do it. The team erased a double digit deficit and stole a game from the Mavericks to even up the series. It was the biggest Thunder win in many years, and could potentially be the turning point of the series. The team’s versatility was shining through during the second half run.

Oklahoma City has proven it can win in multiple ways over the course of the season, and Monday night was no different.

During the regular season, Mark Daigneault’s squad played an upbeat style of offense that featured plenty of points in transition and behind the 3-point line. A good deal of Oklahoma City’s success was found in draining triples, as the Thunder had the No. 1 3-point percetange in the NBA and the No. 3 scoring offense in points per game. OKC won games with high octane offense and out scoring opponents all season long.

It hasn’t been the same in the playoffs, though. The Thunder have fallen to the No. 8 scoring team, squarely in the middle of the pack, and the 3-point percentage has dipped too. Monday night was the perfect example that this team isn’t one dimensional, though, and simply finds ways to win. Grit, toughness, and physicality won game four and might’ve saved the season. Oklahoma City simply outlasted Dallas in a must-win road game.

On Monday, Oklahoma City shot an abysmal 38% from the floor and 25.9% from 3-point range. The Thunder had hardly any ball movement and had to rely on gritty defense and hero ball from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA went full takeover mode for one of the most impressive games in his career with 34 points on 14-of-27 shooting. We’ve rarely seen the Thunder’s core disappear and leave Gilgeous-Alexander to take over, but that’s part of what happened in game four.

The Thunder forced 13 turnovers and kept the rebounding pace all game long, refusing to get dominated on the boards. It was a team effort defensively and the effort was there all game, but the team looked to its star for guidance on the offensive end. Instead of drilling triples, the team also relied on fundamentals by stepping up at the charity stripe. OKC shot 23-of-24 at the free-throw line.

It wasn’t the usual high-paced, 3-point scoring attack, but that’s okay. In the playoffs, versatility is needed. Oklahoma City won on Monday with toughness, willpower, and belief in its MVP candidate.

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