It didn't smell good for him Thunder at halftime. Of course, there was only an 11-point lead for Dallas (54-43) but Mark Daigneault admitted that it looked more like the Mavericks were leading by 25 points…
That's because PJ Washington and the Dallas role players continued to punish Oklahoma City from afar, and it was probably enough for Luka Doncic to find a little skill for the locals to make the difference. Except that's not what happened, and behind a very large Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderthe Thunder turned the situation around!
“We took the match possession by possession and it worked in our favor. We have often been in this situation, we have often been trailing by more than 10 points. I believe we are the league leaders in comebacks after being down by more than 10 points. We had done it before and we knew what we had to do to win” explains SGA, author of 34 points on 14/27 shooting, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, who is right about the fact that the Thunder has achieved a record of comebacks while being led by 10 points or more this season.
A mid-distance lesson
And it is in his garden, that is to say at mid-distance, that the Canadian sought this essential success, since it allows Oklahoma City to return to 2-2 in the series, and therefore to regain home advantage.
While the Thunder defense controlled the duo Kyrie Irving – Luka Doncic but also much better the “role players” alongside them, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (finally) received help from a generally upside down Jalen Williams. at the end of the match. To achieve a new comeback, undoubtedly the most important of the year.
“We had to stick to what we know how to do” concludes SGA in the middle of the entire Oklahoma City team, the Thunder players having gotten into the habit of all showing up for the post-match interview at the side of the field. “We all have a job, a role on this team. We know what it’s about and we do it at a high level, that’s why we’ve been good this year. It was about coming back to that, regrouping and fighting the whole game. It wasn't perfect tonight but we did it. »
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2018-19 | LAKE | 82 | 27 | 47.6 | 36.7 | 80.0 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 10.8 |
| 2019-20 | OKAY | 70 | 35 | 47.1 | 34.7 | 80.7 | 0.7 | 5.2 | 5.9 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 19.0 |
| 2020-21 | OKAY | 35 | 34 | 50.8 | 41.8 | 80.8 | 0.5 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 23.7 |
| 2021-22 | OKAY | 56 | 35 | 45.3 | 30.0 | 81.0 | 0.7 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 24.5 |
| 2022-23 | OKAY | 68 | 36 | 51.0 | 34.5 | 90.5 | 0.9 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 31.4 |
| 2023-24 | OKAY | 75 | 34 | 53.5 | 35.3 | 87.4 | 0.9 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 6.2 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 30.1 |
| Total | 386 | 33 | 49.6 | 34.9 | 85.2 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 22.8 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
