The Oklahoma City Thunder have been the comeback kids of the NBA this season. Tonight they almost pulled off a huge comeback as the Raptors had them down by 30 points at one point in the game. The Raptors had an answer for every Thunder run that would get them close in the game. The Raptors got back Marc Gasol tonight and Pascal Siakam recently after their injuries. It looked like they didn’t miss any beats as both combined for 36 points on the night. It was an all-around performance from the Raptors as they had 7 players in double figures on the night. Norman Powell had a huge night from the field shooting 9-11 for a team-high 23 points. Powell was able to hit on a lot of open opportunities that were given to him when the Thunder were doubling. The Raptors took advantage of the fact that Steven Adams only played 6 mins before getting sidelined. The Raptors were able to attack the paint for 62 points in there without a true rim protector. Without Adams and Noel, the Thunder leaned on Mike Muscala to give some big minutes throughout the game. The Raptors were making some tough shots all night and they capitalized on the Thunder missing a lot of open shots they usually make. The Raptors role players were able to come through for them in big minutes as OG Anunoby had 21 points on the night and made it tough on Terrance Ferguson after he switched off Pascal Siakam. The player that was able to carry the Raptors early in this game was Serge Ibaka as he finished with 15 points but 13 of those points were in the 1st quarter. Tonight the Raptors showed how deep they can be when everyone’s healthy and they didn’t even have Fred Van Fleet. Kyle Lowry was able to put in 17 points and 8 assists on the night. Kyle Lowry’s an amazing leader and he leads this team vocally and in most games as well. Kyle Lowry presented some problems for the Thunder tonight because he can get his shot off while creating for his teammates. Every time the Thunder got close enough to try and take the lead it was Norman Powell or Pascal Siakam that made a big shot to help them keep the lead. The Raptors were up by 30 points in this game and let the Thunder back in the game as they trailed by 3 points late in the 4th.
The Thunder lost this game but it shows how much heart this really has overall. OKC missed a lot of shots that they usually hit and you can tell it frustrated them early. The great thing about this Thunder team is the fact that they have the best leader in the NBA in Chris Paul. Every time this Thunder team gets down CP3 gets into his teammates and gives them the confidence to play to that higher level. Chris Paul didn’t have his best night in the stat sheet but he was able to make some plays defensively down the stretch that helped OKC get extremely close. Chris Paul finished with 16 points, 11 assists and 4 steals on the night. The tale of this game was the fact that OKC only hit 38% of their 3 pointers combined to 55% from the Raptors. Sometimes this team gets happy with the 3 pointers and it has backfired the last two home games that they were able to play. The Thunder were energized by the game that Dennis Schröder was able to bring to the table. Schröder finished the game with 25 points on the night and the Raptors didn’t have an answer for his first step. Dennis plays the game with a lot of energy and he used that energy to get steals while creating his own shots. The Raptors had no answer for Dennis Schröder tonight as they had Lowry guarding him and he was able to blow right by him. The Thunder guards of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dennis Schröder, and Chris Paul didn’t have their best night and it showed. Tonight Shai was able to finish with 21 points but he turned it on a little too late in the game. When Shai gets aggressive as he did in the 4th quarter he’s unstoppable, especially with that length. The Raptors were making sure they were able to take away the inside passage and tried to force them to shoot the 3 pointers instead. It seems like teams are slowly catching on to what the Thunder is trying to do but this team continues to fight. This Thunder team continues to fight and they’re exciting to watch because they play together. When the Thunder got in trouble throughout the game they were able to lean on Danilo Gallinari who’s been consistent all season long. Tonight Gallinari was able to go for 23 points on the night and had his shot working when it was needed. The Thunder fought back into this game and Danilo Gallinari was able to get it down to 3 points after his And-1 dunk. After that moment in the game, the Raptors were able to make some tough shots but the Thunder also put up some 3 pointers that didn’t go down. The NBA is a miss or make league and tonight it proved to be that way the last 3 minutes of this game as the Thunder dropped this one.
The Thunder will be back in action on Friday as they have Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat coming into town. Jimmy Butler will be a handful to guard and the Thunder will need to be up to the challenge in order to get their 24th win before this back to back coming.
Recent Comments