Beaten in Atlanta then in Brooklyn, the Thunder regained momentum on the Washington floor last night. Mark Daigneault's troops delivered a solid match, leading the race from start to finish. Thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren (32 and 31 points), they resisted the offensives of the locals led by Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma.
OKC took control of the match from the first act, carried by an SGA-Holmgren duo on cloud nine with two 3-point baskets each to quickly increase the gap (15-24). We could then fear a new “blowout”, except that the Jones-Coulibaly-Kispert trio managed to respond from afar in order to keep the Wizards in the game (30-36).
While OKC seemed to keep control, notably thanks to Aaron Wiggins and Jalen Williams, authors of Washington's first 15 points in the second quarter (39-51), then during the remarkable return of the SGA-Holmgren pair, notably with the special drive of the first to lead to an easy basket of the second (52-60).
SGA takes care of everything
But the Wizards managed to hang on before the break to stay alive, including a good pass from Kyle Kuzma and a 3-pointer from Tyus Jones to get back to -3 shortly before the break (59-62). The scenario repeated itself upon returning from the locker room, with a Thunder which regained the lead by relying on its sure values, with Luguentz Dort, Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams to support the Gilgeous-Alexander-Holmgren axis ( 67-78). And Washington found the resources to react immediately and stay alive, this time with Deni Avdija to sanction from afar, the 2+1 from Daniel Gafford and the hot shot from the Jones-Poole tandem. Kyle Kuzma concluded this great offensive with two baskets which put Washington back in the game, at -3 less than a minute from the end of the third quarter (97-100).
OKC then did what was necessary to avoid a suspenseful end to the match, relying on Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams for 3-pointers while Kenrich Williams punished Bilal Coulibaly's missed lay-up by adding two points. more on the counterattack (99-112). With 9 minutes left, the Wizards threw all their strength into the battle. It took a big pass from the returning Landry Shamet, author of 12 points in a row, and a 3-pointer from Corey Kispert to put the pressure back on the Thunder (118-124).
Who says pressure says Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who broke away twice near the circle to restart his team, finishing with a lay-up and a 2+1 in front of Kyle Kuzma. In 30 seconds, the gap returned to +11 in favor of Oklahoma City (118-129) which was then able to secure its 10th away victory of its season, 136 to 128.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The almost perfect finale of SGA. He hardly missed anything all evening, turning into an insoluble “cheatcode” for the Wizards' defense, with no solution to his devastating drives or his vision of the game which was particularly illustrated in his relationship with Chet Holmgren. But what can we say about their leading side which came out at the end of the match, when DC returned to -6 with 4 minutes remaining. With crazy energy, SGA did not give up to finish near the circle and calm down the enthusiasm of the locals for good. At the very end of the match, it was again he who had the composure necessary to score his two free throws and continue his good series: for the 16th time in a row, it was he who finished as the Thunder's top scorer .
– The Thunder puzzle. OKC's strengths are not limited to the SGA-Holmgren pair, and Washington, which compiled too many small errors throughout the match, learned this the hard way. Other players had their highlight, whether it was Isaiah Joe on the outside shot, or the efficiency of Aaron Wiggins, but that's not all! Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams were also poisons throughout the game. The team's main creators, they coincided with the Thunder's good spells as evidenced by their +/- of +22.
– The French corner. We were expecting Bilal Coulibaly in defense on SGA. Overall, the Frenchman was in line with his last outings, still a little too discreet even if he showed some good things, with a 3-point shot scored or even his two blocks. In defense, however, the observation was the same as for the others, SGA has the capacity to be untenable. To take revenge, Bilal Coulibaly tried to slam a big dunk on his head, which turned into a foul and two throws for the former Mets 92.
