The NBA world was stunned yesterday after the passing of Kobe Bryant. All of the basketball world was affected by the loss of one of the greatest to ever play the game. Kobe Bryant meant a lot to so many players in the NBA and it showed with the outpouring of love all over social media. A lot of those players wear his sneakers, mimic his moves, and play with the Mamba Mentality he showed on a daily basis. Two of those players that really idolized Kobe Bryant in their work ethic and basketball attire on the court were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Luka Doncic. Both players wanted to play tonight and put on a show for Kobe Bryant who’s watching from heaven. The game started with a moment of silence for Kobe Bryant followed by the OKC fans chanting “Kobe, Kobe, Kobe”. Both teams paying homage to Kobe Bryant with the 8-second violation followed by the 24-second shot clock violation. Once that happened the game got underway and that’s when the Dallas Mavericks were able to push the tempo right away.
It was tough to see because the Thunder usually dominate the paint and tonight OKC/DAL both only had 36 points in the interior. The Mavericks were able to contain the Thunder bigs Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel as they combined for 18 points. The Mavericks made it an added effort to contain the paint and they wanted to force the Thunder to score outside the paint. Without Chris Paul, in the lineup, OKC needed Shai and Dennis to show up on the night. Both combined for 37 points as they played extended roles with the basketball in their hands. Shai was missing a lot of shots that he can usually hit and wasn’t getting the calls he normally gets on a nightly basis. The whole Thunder team didn’t play as motivated as they usually do and it’s tough to do so after a tribute to one of your favorite players. The Thunder would get closer and closer in the game but every time the Mavs would make a run. The Thunder had no answer for Luka Doncic who wanted to play well in homage to Kobe Bryant. Luka who’s a Jordan Brand ambassador played the game in the Nike Kobe 5 “Chaos” to show love to all the victims from the crash. Luka was able to finish the game with 29 points and he was able to hit some unbelievable stepback jumpers on the night. The Thunder put multiple defenders on Luka but there wasn’t much that they could do. Once Luka gets hot it’s going to be a long night as that usually opens up the passing game for him as well. When Luka started getting it going he had the Thunder players on their heals as they didn’t know if he was attacking or dishing to get others involved. OKC was short-handed but this was still a big win for the Mavs moving forward. The Thunder and Mavericks meet one more time and OKC will be looking for a different outcome.
Recent Comments