OKC Thunder can not survive swarming Raptors, 117-98

The OKC Thunder played their final game before the NBA Trade Deadline when they welcomed the Toronto Raptors to the Paycom Center in downtown Oklahoma City. The NBA Trade Deadline is just hours away, and Sam Presti might still shake up the roster after making their first deal of the week with the Miami Heat acquiring KZ Okpala, for now. Mark Daigneault said pregame the situation is “fluid” as the team could easily waive Okpala who is on an expiring contract or flip him in another trade.

Sam Presti still has a few hours to evaluate if he wants to trade Mike Muscala, Kenrich Williams, or any other surprise moves. For now, the Oklahoma City Thunder had to battle the near-perfect health Toronto Raptors without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Roby, Mike Muscala, KZ Okpala, Vit Krejci, and Paul Watson Jr. The Raptors were only down Goran Dragic, Justin Champagnie, David Johnson, and Isaac Bonga.

OKC Thunder can not survive the swarming Toronto Raptors and fall on Wednesday, 117-98

The Oklahoma City Thunder saw Josh Giddey post 13 points, haul in nine rebounds, dish out six assists, and swipe a steal all while shooting 54-percent from the floor, and 1-for-4 from the three-point line. The sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft logged 28-minutes in this game after Mark Daigneault explained to the media he would be receiving fewer minutes due to the massive workload he went under in the early stages of the season for a guard that has never played in this long of a season. His rookie counterpart Scottie Barnes logged 31-minutes for Nick Nurse in tonight’s contest.

Giddey’s Rookie teammate Tre Mann did not find much success going 0-for-5 from the floor scoring two points, four rebounds, and delivering a pair of assets. Aleksej Pokusevski, the second-year project forward, had the best game of his season in 30-minutes shooting 77-percent from the floor, 4-for-5 from three-point land, four rebounds, four steals, an assist, two blocks, on his way to 18-points.

Theo Maledon, also selected in the 2020 NBA Draft, delivers 18-points, three assists, and two rebounds off the bench getting more burn due to Josh Giddey’s sudo minute restriction.

The Raptors grew a 21 point lead, seeing this game tied once, and only a pair of lead changes in the entire contest. The two teams tied on the glass, Toronto had one less turnover, shot better from all three phases, and more points in the paint.