In a game in which the Oklahoma City Thunder grabbed their first lead in the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault discussed what led to an 18-0 run in Wednesday’s 129-121 win. During his media availability, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander credited Chet Holmgren with helping Oklahoma City chip away at the Nets’ lead. For Daigneault, it was a group effort on defense.
The Thunder lacked high-level defense, which Daigneault saw as a swift change in the second half, especially in the final frame.
“I thought it was just our intensity, our pressure, our physicality versus the force that they tried to play with,” Daigneault said. “If you don’t win that battle, then you’re going to be behind the ball. They won that battle early, and as the game went on, we won it more and more.”
Still, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault wants to see that same defensive intensity throughout an entire game instead of saving it for the fourth quarter.
“We need to be a 48-minute team. We really turned it up on the defensive end of the floor. We gave up two offensive rebounds [on] back-to-back possessions, and they pushed it back to six,” Daigneault added. “From then on, we really turned the water off and were able to get out and run. And then I thought our force on offense during that particular period, I thought, there was some contact on some of those finishes that we just played through.”
Gilgeous-Alexander’s 27 points led four Thunder players who scored 22+ points, including Oklahoma City’s guard Aaron Wiggins’s continuous impact off the bench with 24 points, Jalen Williams, and Holmgren, scoring 22 points.
The Nets’ Day’Ron Sharpe scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half. He also finished with 15 rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and two steals. Brooklyn also drained 23 threes, which kept the Thunder at bay for three quarters before an 18-0 run secured a lead, keeping OKC ahead for good down the stretch.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander keeps it 100 about Chet Holmgren
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is seeing Chet Holmgren take another step in his recovery. In his sixth game back from a pelvic injury, Holmgren finished with a season-high 17 rebounds while giving the starting lineup a lift on both ends of the floor.
“Chet was very steady – running around, rebounding, making the right plays, finishing around the rim,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He kept us within reach the whole night, and then when it was time, we were able to strike.”
The Thunder will face the Hawks on Friday.
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