OKC Thunder drop final preseason game in overtime thriller

The OKC Thunder finished out the preseason with a highly competitive match versus the Denver Nuggets. The game was pushed to overtime offering up dramatics for the fans at the BOK Center.

This was the fourth and final preseason game for the OKC Thunder who finish with a 1-3 record but ample lessons learned. This final game featured a barrage of perimeter shooting for both squads.

As was anticipated both sides elected to rest their core players with only Josh Giddey of the Thunder and Will Barton of the Nuggets starting for their respective squads. Despite the absence of the superstars, the game was one of the most entertaining of the preseason.

OKC Thunder finish preseason with a competitive overtime loss

Mark Daigneault started Giddey along with Theo Maledon, Aaron Wiggins, Tre Mann, and Mike Muscala. Michael Malone countered with Barton, Facundo Campazzo, Austin Rivers, Zeke Nnaji, and Bol Bol.

The Thunder were aggressive from the tip taking a 30-26 lead after the first quarter. Denver countered in the second frame with a 30-20 effort to take a six-point lead into the break.

In the second half, Mann (heel) and Isaiah Roby (sore knee) were shut down so Daigneault had to reach even deeper into his bench. OKC responded with an aggressive effort posting a 33-21 third quarter.

Once again the Nuggets countered although it required late-game heroics. Entering clutch time the Nuggets had shot 3 of 11 but got key 3-point buckets to take the frame 25-19 and draw to a tie. Yes, fans we got an overtime game to close out preseason play.

Unfortunately, the Thunder ran out of gas in the extra frame while the diminutive Markus Howard remained blistering hot from the perimeter. Howard connected on the 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation that sent the game to overtime and hit another three of his nine triples to push the Nuggets ahead for good.

Despite the loss, there were ample positives to take from the match.  Five Thunder players reached double figures — starters Giddey,  Muscala, and Maledon along with Aleksej Pokusevski and Ty Jerome.

POKU and Giddey in particular had strong matches with Aleksej leading the scoring effort (22) and the rookie flirting with a triple-double (13 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists). It was great to see POKU break out of his shooting slump as he’d struggled in the prior matches.

The final stats don’t look quite as enticing because too many shots were forced up in overtime trying to collect the win.  POKU shot 9 of 16 from the field and 4 of 9 from deep. Those stats took a hit with the Thunder trying to counter in overtime as he missed three of his four attempts (all from 3-point land).

It’s clear the squad has a pet play of nailing corner snipers with passes from the top of the key. The play develops either with an open 3-pointer or the shooter opts into driving aggressively to the paint for an easy bucket or if the paint is clogged kick it back out to an open shooter at the top of the key or opposite corner. The side-to-side movement of this play will tire out opponents and if the Nuggets were a harbinger of what’s to come — it’s working.

For his part, Giddey plays with poise and looks much more like a grizzled vet than a rookie. His height allows him to quickly survey the floor for open teammates, battle for rebounds and his movement is akin to a 6′ guard.

The rookie made some tantalizing spin moves in the paint on Thursday some resulting in easy layins and others leading to passes to open shooters.  Anyone who didn’t understand Sam Presti selecting the Australian with the sixth pick prior to preseason got more than enough ammunition to change their perspective via his preseason performances.

The OKC Thunder will return to practice sessions to complete training camp and prepare for the regular season which tips off in Utah versus the Jazz six days from now.