Matched up on Jaren Jackson Jr., Lu Dort was able to beat him to the pass. On one arm, he fought off the multi-time All-Star. On the other arm, he gained possession of the ball as both players tumbled towards the sideline fans. Talk about pure effort.

Dort finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and four rebounds. He shot 3-of-6 from 3. He also had three steals and three blocks.

The Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away late in their 119-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Both teams had shorthanded rosters with half of their respective players on the injury report.

There’s been a lot of talk about Dort in recent days. You can suggest he’s had a slow start, but to say they should pull the plug on the All-Defense member is a bit reactionary. This game showed you why the Thunder ride with him through the ups and downs.

At his best, Dort can provide awesome one-on-one defense. He helped lock down a Memphis offense that solely relied on bail-out outside jumpers. He made loud defensive play after loud defensive play against a team that had several key players out.

And on the other end, the outside jumpers finally fell. That must’ve felt good. It’s been an ice-cold start for him from deep to start the season. Perhaps a couple of absent stints have played a role in that. It’s difficult for a streaky shooter to get hot when they’re in and out of the lineup. That said, being back home always helps out the role players. You saw that with Dort.

“I feel like whenever we play in our flow and share the ball and run the flow, we get going,” Dort said. “I feel like we did that and that got us going.”

Don’t expect the Thunder to give up on Dort anytime soon. He’s developed too many battle scars and stepped up in too many big moments for that to happen. You can’t be a prisoner of the moment — especially with the absurd amount of room for error that OKC can toy with.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has seen Dort grow from an undrafted two-way player to a starter on an NBA champion. That type of developmental path defied basketball odds and has given him enough leeway to work through any struggles.

“I have such a belief in Lu and his competitiveness. I’ve seen him go through so many ups and downs over the last six years and how he’s responded to that. He’s so consistent as a competitor,” Daigneault said about Dort. “He always puts the work in. He has unbelievable self-belief. He maintains a level of high confidence throughout all circumstances. I got a lot of faith betting on that.”