OKC Thunder: Player grades features first win in 15 games

It has been a long April for the OKC Thunder.

With just two games left to go in the month heading into Tuesday’s battle with the Boston Celtics, the Thunder were staring down the genuine possibility of going winless in April.

The Thunder’s last win came against the Toronto Raptors on March 31. What followed was 14 consecutive losses, most of them blowouts, against teams both good and bad.

Tuesday night was one opportunity to snap the losing streak, which left only Thursday before the calendar changed over to May.

Luckily, the OKC Thunder came prepared.

On paper, the Thunder didn’t stand much of a chance.

The Celtics have Jaylen Brown, Evan Fournier, and Marcus Smart. The Thunder, mostly, has Darius Bazley and Luguentz Dort.

As Thunder fans, we’ve seen the benefits of having players like Moses Brown, Theo Maledon, Isaiah Roby, Kenrich Williams, and others. Still, those names won’t yet draw a crowd or be recognized by other NBA fanbases.

And that’s okay. This team seems to thrive on the challenge.

On Tuesday, it was an overall team performance. If only fewer shots hit their mark for the Thunder, we’d be talking about the 15-game losing streak, but from the starters to the reserves, the Thunder had a solid night all around.

Bazley and Dort did the most, as they often will do. As key members of the starting rotation, Bazley and Dort are expected to shoulder the load and give OKC its best opportunity to win.

The pair combined for 45 of the Thunder’s 119 points, but when the team needed more, Roby and Ty Jerome stepped up and delivered, adding 15 points each. In the end, every player that stepped onto the court for the Thunder scored at least one bucket. No player scored less than four points, and every player but Tony Bradley scored six or more.

The result was the Thunder’s first win in nearly a month.

With that being said, let’s dive into player grades for the Thunder’s 119-115 win over the Boston Celtics.