On a series of three defeats in a row, a rarity in their season which is explained in particular by the double absence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and of Jalen Williamsthe Thunder returned to victory last night by taking advantage of their visit against the weak Hornets (121-118).
Buoyed by a triple-double of Josh Giddey (20 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists) and a double-double of Chet Holmgren (20 points, 10 rebounds), the Oklahoma City franchise was also able to count on a great collective effort, with seven players at 10 points or more.
“It was clearly not a masterpiece of execution. But this week’s matches are going to be very important for us,” recognizes Mark Daigneault in The Oklahoman. “I think there are things that we can remember, and then there are others that we can actually leave aside. But regardless, there was a lot of learning for our staff and for our players this week. »
In this case, back home in North Carolina, Aaron Wiggins (26 points, 6 steals, 5 assists) scored points to grab minutes in the next playoffs.
“He was very good. He was one of the beneficiaries of our way of playing in this match. He also did some very good things creatively, with the ball in hand. He has progressed well in this aspect of his game.”
“Role players” who build up confidence
Another example of a player who has made good use of his increased role is Lindy Waters III (10 points in 15 minutes), the shooter who showed that he could also win with ball in hand in penetration.
Likewise, Isaiah Joe (10 points) proved that he would not miss twice the opportunity to make important shots at the end of the match. Because if he missed the target in Philadelphia not long ago, he hit the mark in Charlotte!
“Isaiah hit some big shots. I'm happy for him because he had similar positions in Philly in the last minute of the match. He had some good positions but he missed. However, no one takes more pride in succeeding in these actions than him. To succeed [cette nuit] was huge for us. »
Currently third in the Western Conference, one game behind Denver and Minnesota, and therefore potentially facing the Suns in the first round of the playoffs if the standings no longer move, the Thunder will finish their regular season at home, with a series of four home matches. To aim higher.
“We have several players who have gained a lot of confidence in these last matches, the experience of having more minutes and more important roles. When we get Shai and Jalen back together, we hope they can maintain that confidence in the role they normally play for us.” concludes Mark Daigneault.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 71 | 34.4 | 53.9 | 36.5 | 87.2 | 0.9 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 30.3 |
| Jalen Williams | 67 | 31.7 | 54.0 | 43.1 | 81.3 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 19.5 |
| Chet Holmgren | 77 | 29.8 | 52.7 | 36.9 | 79.7 | 1.5 | 6.3 | 7.9 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 16.6 |
| Josh Giddey | 76 | 25.1 | 47.6 | 34.2 | 79.5 | 1.4 | 4.9 | 6.3 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 12.3 |
| Luguentz Dort | 75 | 28.6 | 43.8 | 39.0 | 83.0 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 10.9 |
| Isaiah Joe | 73 | 18.7 | 45.6 | 42.0 | 86.5 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 8.3 |
| Cason Wallace | 77 | 20.7 | 49.4 | 41.7 | 78.4 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 6.9 |
| Aaron Wiggins | 73 | 15.3 | 56.0 | 48.7 | 78.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 6.4 |
| Kenrich Williams | 64 | 14.8 | 47.6 | 39.7 | 50.0 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 4.7 |
| Gordon Hayward | 23 | 16.5 | 39.8 | 52.0 | 72.4 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 4.5 |
| Ousmane Dieng | 31 | 11.0 | 41.3 | 29.9 | 87.5 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 3.9 |
| Jaylin Williams | 64 | 12.9 | 40.0 | 35.1 | 82.5 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 3.8 |
| Tre Mann | 13 | 9.2 | 50.0 | 42.1 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 3.8 |
| Vasilije Micic | 30 | 12.0 | 40.7 | 24.4 | 73.7 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 3.3 |
| Lindy Waters III | 34 | 6.9 | 42.9 | 38.2 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 2.9 |
| Davis Bertans | 15 | 6.1 | 38.5 | 41.7 | 93.3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.9 |
| Olivier Sarr | 14 | 6.8 | 57.9 | 33.3 | 66.7 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.4 |
| Mike Muscala | 12 | 4.5 | 43.8 | 11.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| Keyontae Johnson | 9 | 7.4 | 31.3 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| Aleksej Pokusevski | 10 | 6.0 | 25.0 | 18.2 | 50.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.2 |
| Bismack Biyombo | 8 | 5.4 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Adam Flagler | 1 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
