OKC Thunder: 3 takeaways from Bucks revenge game

OKC Thunder takeaway No. 3) Tired legs a factor

Although the Thunder made the game interesting they simply didn’t have enough left in the tank. OKC fought back to narrow the lead to seven points midway through the fourth but that was as close as they got.

Watching the ebb and flow it was obvious the toll of playing the night prior took. Moreover, having to fly into Memphis on game day and arriving just two hours prior to game time probably factored too.

The evidence of tired legs showed up in the missed 3-point attempts as many of them were wide open. Contrasting the win on Valentine’s Day the Thunder shot  15 of 36 from the perimeter for 41.7 percent but on Friday shot 12 of 40 for 30 percent.

More telling was the Thunder effort at the charity stripe and on the boards where the tired legs played a factor in out jumping players with the length of Giannis. OKC shot an anemic 11 of 21 from the free-throw line equating to 52.4 percent.  They lost the rebounding battle 50 to 38 although they limited the Bucks to one offensive board in the second half after giving up 10 in the first half.

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The Bucks allow teams to shoot from deep but teams can also feast in the mid-range (as the Raptors just demonstrated) so it was a little surprising the mid-range master Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t make them pay for that.

Ten missed free throws, inarguably too many 3-point attempts, and being minus 12 on the glass all added up to those extra 13 points. It’s something this young squad can pack away in their memory banks for future efforts.

This young squad is learning and developing in every game but to end this on a positive note the compete level of this squad should be applauded. To wit, in a stretch in the fourth Lu Dort took a hard hit trying to draw a charge, Hamidou Diallo blocked Antetokounmpo causing a jump ball and rookie Theo Maledon didn’t back down against the much larger Brook Lopez or GA.

Those types of efforts highlight the grittiness of this young squad and even on a night when they lost to a team EXPECTED to win the Thunder gets our praise for making this season enjoyable regardless of the record.

The OKC Thunder are back in action on Sunday as they travel to play to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers with a tip time of 7:00 EST (6:00 p.m. CT).