OKC Thunder fail to sweep season series against Nets
The OKC Thunder could not provide any answers against James Harden and Kyrie Irving Friday night as the Brooklyn Nets pummeled OKC 147-125.
Harden had a triple-double in 32 minutes of action as he went 9 of 14 from the field, scoring 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an impressive outing as he was overly aggressive getting to the free-throw line while shooting 10 of 13 from the stripe. Overall, he had 24 points in 31 minutes of action and went 7 of 10 from the field.
The player of the contest is awarded to Theo Maledon.
The rookie poured in six 3-pointers and did not miss a single shot from behind the arc, scoring 24 points in 33 minutes of action. The 19-year-old French product was on fire for most of the night and was by far the best player in a Thunder uniform during this contest.
Both teams shoot lights out from beyond the arc
Brooklyn had no issue scoring against OKC, as the Nets are the third-best 3-point shooting team in the league. Brooklyn was able to amass 70 points in the paint in comparison to OKC’s 38 points.
After the game Coach Daigneault expressed his lack of concern with the paint production because OKC did well getting to the free-throw line, hitting 29 out of 34 attempts. This type of display is what OKC needs moving forward.
Both teams were on fire from beyond the arc, OKC shot 16 of 38 while the Nets shot 19 of 45 from 3-point land. OKC had no answer for Brooklyn as the Nets had eight players who hit at least one 3-point basket against the Thunder.
Kyrie and Harden looked too in sync, and the rest of the NBA should be worried as this two-headed guard scheme will look to improve as the season progresses.