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Thunder state
OKC concludes its miniseries contest streak on Wednesday with a rematch against the reigning NBA champion Lakers. The Thunder threw a solid first hit in game one behind a rudimentary competitive effort to force the game into overtime.
“We talked a little bit about not relying on the first game to start playing and then going back to the drawing board,” Daigneault said. “We wanted to go out and compete. I thought we did that. ”
Offensively, the Thunder finished the game with three players recording double-doubles: Hamidou Diallo (20 points, 11 rebounds), Darius Bazley (21 points, 16 rebounds) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (29 points, 10 assists).
Beyond scoring, it was the hustle and bustle of the group that kept the Thunder in the contest for 53 minutes of game action. Part of this effort appeared on the stat sheet: 15 Lakers turnovers forced by the Thunder and 15 offensive rebounds for the Thunder, the season high, six of which belonged to Kenrich Williams and five to Hamidou Diallo.
“Those guys are monsters and it’s every night,” Daigneault said. “They are not perfect, but their effort and their competitiveness and the work they give the team when they enter the game are electric players. They deserve a lot of credit, there were a lot of times it got dangerous tonight, and they came up with a ball that we desperately needed at the time. ”
In the fourth quarter, the Thunder received another showdown performance from Gilgeous-Alexander, who fouled a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left and made all three free throws to send the game into overtime.
The Lakers outscored OKC 9-2 in overtime, but after landing a strong first hit to start the series, it gives the group a great base to build on in their showdown Wednesday.
“These are all learning opportunities,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “You can learn a lot and we will make sure we put in the work to do it.”
In case you couldn’t stay up late last night …
| Game highlights
YouTube | https://t.co/i4T1NlqSak pic.twitter.com/DMoSfxsvAM– OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 9, 2021
Opponent breakdown
The Lakers were led by LeBron James, who had 28 points, 12 assists and 14 rebounds in the game, but was just 2 of 10 from behind the arc. The poor night of 3-pointers was indicative of a bigger issue for Los Angeles on Monday, as the team shot just 23.7 percent from deep (9-38). In turn, the Lakers relied primarily on their paint production and fast break opportunities, two areas in which the Lakers are among the top 10 in the league.
At the end of the night, the Lakers scored 23 fast-break points, led by James, who scored 12 points in transition while Montrezl Harrell led the Lakers with 18 points in the paint alone.
Matchmaking approach
With no Mike Muscala (concussion protocol) and Isaiah Roby (right foot pain) in the Thunder’s lineup on Monday, most of the five reserve minutes went to Darius Bazley, who protected players like Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell. during a significant part of the match. game. In the effort, Bazley knocked down 16 rebounds, a career-high, using his athleticism and beefing up his physique against the bigger centers. While it’s unknown if Roby or Muscala will return to the lineup Wednesday, keep an eye out for how the Thunder use Bazley in the paint against the Lakers’ big men.
“It takes a lot of competitiveness and physicality to compete and he’s done a good job adapting to that,” Daigneault said. “These are just more experiences for him tonight it was really good. Obviously, you know, and they are putting him in so many situations that they will be of great use to him in the long run.
Statistics to watch
Points in the paint: The Thunder dominated this category early in game one by beating the Lakers 40-24. Stops on the defensive end became transitional opportunities and the guards attacked downhill and pressed the basket. It wasn’t until the second half that the Lakers, behind Montrezl Harrell and LeBron James, regained their stride in the paint. At the end of the night, the Lakers outscored OKC by a narrow 62-60 margin in the paint. Keep an eye out for this stat on Wednesday and how the Thunder works to limit the Lakers’ appearance.
Thunder trend
In the last two games, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has improved in decisive moments by averaging 11 points in the last two games. For the season, SGA is in the top 10 in total points (50), assists (9) and free throw attempts (28) in decisive time situations, making him one of only three players this season to they reach that mark.
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