The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Detroit Pistons 114-107. This was on the second night of a back to back. And the Thunder was coming off of two loses. Where the Thunder were schooled by the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers. So the Thunder looked to rebound after the last two games.
Tonight the Thunder really flexed their muscles last night. You thought that okay this game should be an easy win. I mean there’s no Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, and Andre Drummond. As well as Thunder killer Reggie Jackson was bought out. And Thunder used this their advantage with 58 points in the paint. This very young team had no real shot blocker or rim presence. So the Thunder offense thrived.
Thunder offense
The Thunders offensive production was absolutely outstanding. This is the best offensive efficiency all season. And they needed this get their mojo back. They were super efficient from the field. I mean 69 percent from the field and 67 percent from three is good right?
They are also shooting 8 for 12 from distance for 67 percent
— FanSUZUKI BleacherMob (@Bleachrmobradio) March 5, 2020
Like I said The Thunder really flexed their muscle. Overall they dominated the points in the paint by a plus 18 margin. Also the Thunder really shared the ball to. With 18 assists in the first half. The Thunder were cruising in the first half.
Ohh look at that pass. 18 assists and 30 points in the paint for the half https://t.co/O4OZWDcQnN
— FanSUZUKI BleacherMob (@Bleachrmobradio) March 5, 2020
Second half the game was a different story however. The Thunder after getting comfortable lead of 18 in the third quarter. Seemed to get to relaxed. And let the Detroit Pistons back into the game. Christian Wood and Brandon Knight led the come back for the Pistons. Those two seemed to go on a 15-2 run And boom the Pistons hit a three to go up one in the fourth quarter. But the plays that
Guard play
And the guard play was fantastic last night. Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous Alexander through the Detroit Pistons defense. Dennis Schroder played well too. Who his own right had 23 points and nine assists. But Watching this offense come alive last night was awesome see. Especially because the last two games they were held in check.
Chris Paul
Where would this team be without Chris Paul? He literally dictates the tempo and run the offense. Which is what he did last night. Paul had 16 points on 7 for 10 shooting last night. He was one for three from behind the arch. He also had six assists and four rebounds. Also Chris Paul had three steals.
Shai Gilgeous Alexander
Shai Gilgeous Alexander played like a man possessed last night. He was very aggressive early in the game. In fact the first Thunder basket was a three-point attempt by Shai. I loved the aggressive attitude last night. I know he was frustrated with the way performed the last two games. He really wanted to get going last night. And he did just that
Shai dropped 27 points with 12 out of 15 shooting. That’s an 80 percent clip. He his burst of speed to gracefully blow past defenders. When Alexander gets aggressive great things happen. He can certainly cause headaches for anybody trying to guard him. Not only he blow by you. But he effectively use the midrange game to his advantage. And on top of all of that. Alexander can make long range threes.
Thunder Defense
Defensively the Thunder caused many turnovers. In fact had 11 in the first half alone. And 17 total in the game. These 17 turnovers led to 26 points for the Thunder. They also seemed to crash the boards on the defensive end really well. Grabbing 31 total defensive rebounds. Which turn means that the thunder forced 31 one and done trips for the Pistons.
Adversely the Thunder became more and more relaxed later in fourth quarter. And the Pistons took advantage. They started hitting three pointers at a higher rate. As well as getting those second chance buckets. They had 16 total second chance buckets to the Thunders two. Which really kept them in the game. Along with winning the board battle the Pistons really made things interesting.
All that is important that OKC won this game. They were ran threw the ringer last two games. And they needed a confidence boast. A game where they can get their mojo back. And that’s what they did. Well it’s onto the New York to face the Knicks.
This article was written using information and media from NBC Sports, Fox Sports and CBS Sports. For more sports, news and entertainment, follow us on Twitter @MWSNsports or like our page on Facebook.
