OKC Thunder delivers statement win vs. Pelicans – player grades
B+. . PG. Oklahoma City Thunder. LU DORT
The last time these squads played, Luguentz Dort had a tough night at the office. In fairness, he was tasked with the defensive assignment of guarding Brandon Ingram who scored 20 points before being ejected in the third quarter for hitting Isaiah Roby unintentionally in the face as he tried to block Roby’s shot.
On this night Ingram was held to 24 points six of which came at the line while he missed both 3-point attempts. Dort made Ingram work for everything, frequently having to deal with some body-jarring Big Kiwi screens.
His most important defensive stand came on the final play when he forced the ball out of Ingram’s hands not allowing him the opportunity to steal the victory.
His stat line of nine points, a rebound, and an assist is moot as his defensive leadership was what should be credited in this win.
A+. . SF. Oklahoma City Thunder. DARIUS BAZLEY
This was the night Darius Bazley let the NBA world know he’s coming! While SGA gets most of the media praise and spotlight (and deservedly) as I’ve said since the Orlando bubble, Bazley has the potential to be a very special NBA talent.
What made his 20 points, 12 rebound double-double (plus three assists and a steal) particularly poignant was the variety of ways he scored and WHEN he scored. To wit, in several games this season, the Thunder hung close but then hit a cold stretch where the opponent would pull ahead by double digits and put the game out of reach.
On this night, Bazley came out of the locker and lit up the Pelicans scoring the first 11 points by either team. By the time Ingram shot free throws Bazley had single-handedly erased the five-point deficit and put OKC up by six!
The other standout occurred in the fourth as the Pelicans were riding a momentum shift, chipping away at the lead. Bazley drove the paint but by now Stan Van Gundy had his squad woke to defend him. Bazley never panicked, instead he spun around and found Mike Muscala who was on fire from deep.
His defense is still a work in progress but he’ll improve and sure will be fun to watch as he continues to develop and ascend.
B+. . F/C. Oklahoma City Thunder. AL HORFORD
Al Horford isn’t the type of player who’ll burst out with copious points or fill up the stat sheet on a consistent basis but his contributions were as important as Bazley and SGA in the win.
He’s a calming presence on the floor as he does all those little things that matter. He struggled shooting (3 of 11 from the field and 2 of 7 from deep) but one of those deep balls came at a pivotal point in the match. The Pelicans were bearing down on the Thunder threatening to steal the game and up 104-100 when Horford nailed the 3-point shot to keep OKC in the match.
Like the first meeting, the Pelicans owned the board battle (52-38) including the offensive glass 9-4. Horford grabbed seven boards and got only one offensive board but it came at 16.6 seconds of the final frame.
He maintained his footing while astutely getting the ball to Dort who whipped it to Hill who drove the paint drawing the foul that sent him to the line for the go-ahead free throws.