Young, Budding Stars Take Control for Thunder In Overtime Win

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back in the lineup, but Josh Giddey and Lu Dort were not in uniform for Oklahoma City’s overtime win on Friday.

The Thunder defeated the Pacers 129-125 in a battle of two teams hoping for a high lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

The Thunder turned to some young pieces in order to down the Pacers.

Tre Mann

Tre Mann is becoming a mainstay in the Thunder’s successes.

When Gilgeous-Alexander missed a chunk of time prior to the All-Star break, Mann jumped into the starting lineup and helped propel the Thunder in the absence of their biggest star. In terms of rookies on the OKC roster, Mann is lost behind Giddey, but he’s quickly making a name for himself with countless scoring onslaught when he’s given the minutes to do so.

On Friday, Mann had yet another 20-plus point barrage tallying 22 points, second only to Gilgeous-Alexander on the Thunder. He shot an efficient 8-of-17 and 50% from 3-point-range.

Mann has now scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games including a 30 point onslaught on Valentines Day.

He is quickly becoming a prevalent piece of the OKC lineup and rotation, and when Dort and Giddey return, Mann’s role on the bench will be massive.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Gilgeous-Alexander returned to the OKC lineup on Wednesday after the All-Star break and an injury.

His shooting was an important part of the Thunder offense explosion on Friday. He shot 13-of-24 and scored 36 points in the OKC win. OKC’s offense has been up-and-down throughout the season, but Gilgeous-Alexander has been a consistent piece to the offense.

His 36 point tally led all scorers in the game. It is also his third 30 point game in his last four appearances.

Gilgeous-Alexander also added eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. While the Thunder may be attempting to reach a top overall pick in the NBA draft, Gilgeous-Alexander is showing the promise the OKC lineup contains.

Isaiah Roby

Giddey couldn’t continue his triple-double streak due to missing the game, but Isaiah Roby decided to take part of the load on himself recording a double-double and helping the lineup in a host of different aspects.

He scored ten points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds en route to his second double-double in his last three games.

Roby has played a small role for OKC at times this season and has played out of position as the main Thunder big man at other times, like Friday night.

The undersized big has played well given time to develop and continues to show his importance to the rebuild.

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