OKC Thunder snap eight game losing streak with win over Pistons

The OKC Thunder came into Monday Night looking to snap an eight-game losing streak as they faced off with the Detroit Pistons in the Motor City. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made his return in this game after entering concussion protocol, Josh Giddey and Derrick Favors came back from their battle with the flu, Kenrich Williams re-entered the rotation following an ankle injury, and even Theo Maledon was recalled from the OKC Blue to partake in this game.

Mark Daigneault’s squad was back to being fully healthy and looked to wash a 73 point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies out of their mouth, a game they got down by as many as 78 points in. The OKC Thunder would face off with the top overall pick in the 2021 draft, an Oklahoma State product, Cade Cunningham as well as an old friend Jerami Grant. Hamidou Diallo, who the OKC Thunder shipped to Detroit last season, was out tonight due to a facial fracture.

Cade Cunningham had nine points before the seven-minute mark in the first frame sparked an early lead by the Pistons. The Pistons came in as the worst three-point shooting team in the league but quickly blitzed in four triples on their first five tries.

OKC Thunder snap eight-game losing streak, defeat Pistons 114-103

The OKC Thunder struggled to defend, eventually, the lowly Pistons saw their lead swell to 15 points as halftime drew near. With 3 minutes to play in the first half, the Thunder had only managed to tie the game once, never leading, and allowing the Pistons to stroke 56-percent from beyond the arc. The deficit could only be reduced to 13 by the time the two sides returned to the Locker room for intermission.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his first game back was hyper-aggressive attacking the rim resulting in 11 first-half free throws, though he only knocked down eight of them. SGA turned in 14 points, five assists, and two blocks in the first half of this contest. Though, he needed to play the last two frames in foul trouble as he collected three fouls before the third quarter began.

Darius Bazley, who continues to commit from within the organization, went 1-for-2 in the first half, with four rebounds, two steals, and a block on his way to three points.

In the second half, the OKC Thunder found a way to cut a 16 point Pistons lead down to six. A large part of that is the bench unit, Kenrich Williams, Mike Muscala, and Derrick Favors, all guys who missed time during this recent losing skid.

At the 3:42 mark in the final frame, a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoop layup gave the Thunder their first lead of the night, pulling ahead 98-97. The next possession after a big defensive stop, saw Muscala bury a triple to give OKC a four-point lead prompting a Piston timeout.

A 10-0 run sparked the Thunder taking the lead, their best quarter of the season in the fourth helped them snap an eight-game losing streak and beat the Pistons after being down 18 in the third quarter.

The OKC Thunder started the fourth period shooting 14-for-14 from the floor, and turn their sights to Wednesday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors, a homecoming for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort. The team finished the last frame shooting 17-of-19.

SGA finished with 30 points, 15 free throws, 47-percent from the floor, a mountain of mid-range buckets, two rebounds, 13 assists, and two blocks.

Off the bench, Kenrich Williams had 12 points on 62-percent shooting, three rebounds, three assists, four steals, and two blocks. An unreal performance in his first game back off the ankle injury.

Muscala knocked down two triples, Lu Dort blitzed in five three-pointers on a 50-percent clip. As a team, the OKC Thunder only made nine of their 25 attempts and still found a way to get past the Pistons.

Cade Cunningham was excellent in this game, as good as advertised for the top overall pick, and old friend Jerami Grant chipped in a tough 20 points.

This was the league-leading fifth time the OKC Thunder have come back from down 15 or more points to earn a win.