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Thunder/Pistons Game Thread

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Erik Gee|
Thunder/Pistons Game Thread
Thunder/Pistons Game Thread

One day after the NBA trade deadline, the Thunder will take the floor. You would think with Woj bombs every five minutes; it would have been a little unsettling for the Oklahoma City locker room. Billy Donovan says, "The one thing I respect and appreciate about these guys. I think that they understand it is the business aspect and the business side of this."

Donovan says that because the Thunder enjoys playing together, they are willing to make sacrifices for each other. He doesn't believe the talk of players being moved ever got in the way of his team being able to perform on the court. "They did a really good job of focusing on one thing and moving to the next."

The Thunder will need that focus tonight when they host the 19-34 Pistons. No Derrick Rose, no Blake Griffin, Markieff Morris is out with the flu, and Andre Drummond was traded to the Cavaliers. A quick look at the Detroit game notes shows the majority of the roster crossed out. 

But don't let the smooth taste fool you. These are the kind of games that can lull an excellent team to sleep only to see them get punched in the mouth. Despite being 15 games under .500, the Pistons have the third-best bench in the association. Detroit's bench is averaging 48 points per game lead by Rose, who's scoring 18.5 in reserve. Since Rose is out, Langston Galloway will have to pick up the slack. Galloway scored 15 while playing 29 minutes in the Pistons win over the Suns.

Thunder bench isn't exactly a bunch of spares. Oklahoma City has the ninth bench in the NBA and is outscoring opponents in 38 of 51 games. "I think that our bench has done a good job this year. We've been able to use Steven (Adams) sometimes and Chirs (Paul) sometimes with that unit, kind of been able to play the starters with that unit, so that's been effective." For the Thunder tonight will be about not letting the Pistons second unit keep them hanging around late in the fourth. 

 The starting Five for Oklahoma City according to the game notes, Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams; tipoff is at 7 on Fox Sports Oklahoma. 

First Quarter:

Danilo Gallinari is getting a thunderous (pun intended ) applause from the Peake crowd tonight. I was asked today what was Presti thinking by not making any moves to acquire draft picks? It’s simple anyone he could trade now, might bring more value this Summer. Plus, with the way this team is playing, you owe to the guys not on the block to let this thing ride. 

OKC up 5-4, Gallinari right on cue hit the opening three. 

After hitting two free-throws, Gallinari has 5 of the Thunder’s 7 points. 

Thon Maker puts the Pistons up 14-12. Maker is two points below his average from beyond the arc; still, he’s a 30 percent shooter from three. I can remember when he was with the Bucks watching assistant Darvin Hamm work with him before the game, and all he did was shoot threes. Apparently, it’s paying off. 

Ferguson and Schroder are in for Dort and Paul.

Schroder comes in and picks up an and one.

Thunder force a shot-clock violation, aided by a block from Nerlens Noel. 

23-14 Thunder, timeout Pistons. 

Reggie Jackson gets a smattering of boos. Only Kevin Durant is a more disliked former Thunder than Jackson. Have to admit, wonder how different Jackson’s attitude would have been if Paul was the PG, not Russ. 

Westbrook has his leadership style, and it worked, but you won’t confuse him for being warm and fuzzy. I can see how quickly he and Jackson would have gotten sideways. Paul could have smoothed any hurt feelings over. 

Second Quarter:

Thunder up 29-24 and Nader in to start the second quarter.  Nader, Noel, Bazley, Schroder, and Paul on the floor. 

Bazley with a nasty jam! Thunder lead 33-27 with 9:03 left. Gilgeous-Alexander in for Paul.        

Thunder shooting an astounding 60 percent from the floor, and 40 percent from three. 

Still having issues in transition, on two fast-break points. 

I can hear Michale Cage now. “That’s a tough call Chris” “You can’t make that call.” “That was all ball.”  And this is one time he would have been right from where I am sitting in “Cloud City’” Can’t tell Gallinari touched Maker. 

Thon Maker is going to make all the Piston fans forget about Andre Drummond. Maker 14 points.

Paul nails a three. 46-42 Thunder with 1:38 left. 

Third Quarter:

52-47 Thunder.  Dort, SGA, Adams, Paul, and Gallinari on for OKC.

Tony Snell starts the scoring with a three. 55-50 Thunder.  Snell is a good story out of New Mexico. A lot of people myself included thought he shouldn’t have left school early for the NBA. He’s been in the association now for six seasons and is a starter for Detroit. Glad I got that one wrong. He’s a joy to watch. Good defender, length, and can shoot. He’s playing 26.9 minutes this year. 

Paul with 10 points. OKC leads 61-57.  Noel is coming in after the timeout. It’s been a grind it out the game so far, which is what I expected. Billy can say his players get the business end of the NBA, but the last 48 hours has to have been emotionally draining. Plus, the Pistons aren’t playing like a team who’s management just threw in the towel on their season.  

Thunder 70 Pistons 60. Coming out of the timeout. 3:30 to play. Ferguson back in. Pistons keep hitting timely hoops. 70-63. 

Schroder and Gilgeous-Alexander each with 15. Paul and Adams back in. Thunder with a 76-66 lead and we are under a minute to go. 

The Pistons have the third-best bench in the NBA, Oklahoma City has the ninth the Thunder are outscoring the Pistons reserves 20-14. Rose being out for his third straight game, is making a huge difference. 

78-68 OKC going into the fourth quarter. 

Fourth Quarter:

Schroder with the and one puts OKC back up 10. 81-71

Ferguson picks up his fifth foul. Dort comes in. Ferguson has played 12 minutes tonight. Which is an increase from Wednesday where he played 11. It will be worth watching to see how Billy Donovan uses him the rest of the year, and if he will slowly ramp up his minutes and put him back in the starting lineup. Dort is still on a two-way contract, and unless the Thunder gives him a full NBA deal, it’s conceivable that Ferguson could start again before the end of the season.  87-78 Thunder with 9:01 left in the game.  

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Erik Gee
ERIK GEE

With more than 20 years of experience hosting local and national radio shows, Erik Gee is a fixture of Oklahoma sports media. He has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for the past six seasons. He is also the co-host of the Pat Jones show on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa. 

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