OKC Thunder pull off OT thriller over Nets – player grades

After a heartbreaking loss in Philly, the OKC Thunder claimed an overtime victory in Brooklyn with Chris Paul pulling out the clutch gene once again. Grades offer highlights.

With their sixth win in seven games, the OKC Thunder continues to demonstrate why opponents should avoid letting them keep games close. More than any other team the Thunder close out games with a vengeance and their confidence in these situations is clear.

Factor in the man who should be renamed Mr. Clutch – Chris Paul who flipped the switch to score 20 of his 28 points after the third quarter to lead his team to victory.

There is a swag CP3 has brought to his squad and now even the opponent seems to shrink in his presence once the game reaches it’s closing stages. Joining his efforts in the overtime period was his protege Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the two combined for 10 points while holding the Nets to two points in overtime for the 111-103 victory.

Caris LeVert connected on a 3-pointer at 2:50 in the fourth quarter to give the Nets a six-point lead but Brooklyn only made two additional buckets from then on losing their seventh game in a row.

The other area the Thunder has improved is their effort in the first and third quarters which was a problem throughout the season until recently.

This is a particularly difficult month for OKC as they play 17 games with no more than a day off between contests so Head Coach Billy Donovan elected to rest Danilo Gallinari who had some tightness in his calf.

Donovan stated the Gallo injury isn’t bad but due to the difficult strength of schedule in January, he wants to be careful about managing his players minutes. Nerlens Noel also missed his second game in a row since suffering an ankle sprain.

With that let’s dive into the player grades from this satisfying win.