There was a buzz inside Paycom Center on Thursday night, and it wasn’t because the Hornets were in town.
For the first time since it won an NBA championship in June, OKC returned home for a preseason game against Charlotte. And the Thunder picked up where it left off by earning a 122-116 win.
OKC led by as many as 20 points and never trailed. Even when the Hornets made a fourth-quarter push after the Thunder emptied its bench, Jazian Gortman helped close it out by scoring seven of his team’s last 13 points.
“Anytime the scoreboard is on, they want to try to win the game,” head coach Mark Daigneault said of his players. “The guys did a really good job of focusing possession by possession. They came up with some big stops and big plays. … And obviously (Gortman) got us afloat there offensively. Good contributors from all of those guys.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
There’s no predicting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s next move
Gilgeous-Alexander had more options than potential fits in his closet.
Nothing was off the table when the reigning regular-season and Finals MVP came off a screen from Isaiah Hartenstein early in the first quarter. A pull-up 3-pointer? A mid-range stepback? An acrobatic layup?
It was anyone’s guess, including Miles Bridges, who had the misfortune of trying to predict the most unpredictable scorer’s next move. But no one was prepared for Gilgeous-Alexander’s choice, which was a behind-the-back bounce pass to Lu Dort for an open triple that found the bottom of the net.
Gilgeous-Alexander continued to get whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it during his preseason debut. He racked up 16 points and five assists in just 20 first-half minutes before sitting out the rest of the game.
OKC played hardball with LaMelo Ball
LaMelo Ball was in the eye of the storm.
After getting past Cason Wallace late in the second quarter, the 24-year-old guard’s reward was getting Dort switched onto him. And when Ball tried to sail a pass to one of his teammates, Wallace tipped it into the hands of Alex Caruso for an easy steal.
That marked one of five turnovers on the night for Ball. Even though the Hornets’ star guard managed to score 15 points in 25 minutes, he was constantly swarmed by a pesky pack of perimeter defenders.
Ball won’t be the only victim to the perfect storm that is OKC’s defense this season. From Wallace to Dort to Caruso to Gilgeous-Alexander to Jalen Williams to Chet Holmgren, the Thunder should continue to make life difficult for opposing offenses on a nightly basis.
Cason Wallace did it all, including the unthinkable
Opening night isn’t until Oct. 21, but Wallace might’ve already hit the shot of the season.
When a Jaylin Williams 3-pointer failed to graze the rim as the shot clock winded down early in the third quarter, Wallace refused to let the play die. He grabbed the ball in a mid-air leap out of bounds and heaved it over the backboard as the buzzer sounded.
And it actually went in.
“I don’t know,” Isaiah Joe said when asked if he’s ever seen a crazier made shot. “I think that might be top, top of the list right now. I mean, no time and he basically caught it in the air and just chucked it up over the backboard. That’s top of the list.”
It was easily the play of the night, but it wasn’t the only one on Wallace’s highlight reel. The 21-year-old guard stuffed the stat sheet with six points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals in only 22 minutes.
“The team has performed at a high level while he’s been an NBA player,” Daigneault said of Wallace. “But he’s quietly been developing over that time and growing. His floor is so high and he’s so impactful. I think it’s sometimes easy to overlook how much better he’s getting, but he is getting better in a lot of ways.”
Justin Martinez covers sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
Thunder vs. Pacers
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