Leading the fastbreak, Cason Wallace was rewarded for thinking ahead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander threw a cross-court pass to him as he went up for the jam. He spun around as he hung on the rim to celebrate the transition dunk as they piled on the scoreboard.
Wallace finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 1-of-2 from 3. He also had four steals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder absolutely humiliated the Phoenix Suns in their 138-89 NBA Cup win. They led by as many as 53 points to punch their ticket to Las Vegas for a second straight year.
Jockeying with Dyson Daniels, Wallace padded his league lead for steals. The opening possession previewed that as he ripped the ball away from Collin Gillespie. Without Devin Booker, Phoenix had to rely on a bunch of role players who aren’t comfortable with the ball in their hands. It turned out exactly as you think it would against the NBA’s best defense.
It was too easy for Wallace. He’s turned into one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. Unfortunately, an injury ruined his fun. Running hard into Mark Williams on a screen, he slowly reacted to the brutal hit. One play later, he intentionally fouled so he could check out to go to the locker room.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault talked about Wallace’s injury. It’ll be interesting to see if he suits up for the 2025 NBA Cup semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, Dec. 13.
“He was ruled out the rest of the game, but we’ll check him out tomorrow,” Daigneault said about Wallace. “I didn’t even know what’s going on, but we’ll check him out tomorrow.”
The Thunder are filled with some of the best defenders in the league at different spots on the floor. From one-on-one stoppers like Wallace to elite rim protectors like Chet Holmgren to switch-heavy and versatile players like Jalen Williams. There was blood in the water from the jump, as Phoenix has zero traditional ball-handlers.
“Gets up. Pressures the ball. Active hands. Great feet. I’ve tried to pressure a couple of times and I don’t know how these dudes stay in front with 94 feet in space and just run by you. Credit to those dudes,” Holmgren said about Wallace. “Cason was great tonight. You never want to see him go out like that. He should be alright, though. Tough guy.”