OKC Thunder win ugly in OT vs. Hornets – player grades

As always his game management and calm during the storm are unwavering.

Chris Paul repeatedly made key passes like the one to a wide-open Steven Adams in the paint during overtime to put the Thunder ahead. He managed the team back from the late rally when the Hornets briefly took the lead in the fourth and was a defensive menace in OT.

It wasn’t a great shooting night for him (6 of 20), but he scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished six assists and added a steal. Like his teammates, the fatigue of playing in a back to back showed up in the perimeter shooting where he was 0 of 6.

Still, he was clearly the calm on the court and kept his teammates dialed in particularly late in the fourth and overtime.

A perfect play to sum up the talent of sophomore Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was from 10:05 to 9:45 of the second quarter. First, he fights around a screen and his length on Graham forces the Hornets player to give up the ball.

On the ensuing offensive play, SGA looks like he’s about to get stood up defensively but instead, he spins around the defender and drops in one of these scoop shots that are far more difficult than the guard makes them look.

The best line of the night came from the Charlotte announcers who opined “SGA moves like he has skates on his feet.”

At 7:49 of the final frame, the aggression of the Hornets and the cold shooting of the Thunder found Charlotte retaking the lead for the first time since the score was 10-8.  SGA countered and although CP3 managed the game it was the Canadian who made multiple steals, deflections and defensive efforts to keep the Thunder ahead.

In all, he delivered 27 points on 10 of 17 from the field. He was one of the few to hit a perimeter shot which was the only one he attempted and unlike his court mates shot decently from the line (6 of 8). He also chipped in four rebounds, an assist and two steals (which both came in overtime).