OKC Thunder Head Coach Says Team is 'Better' After Four-Game Road Trip
The Oklahoma City Thunder finished off a four-game road trip on Tuesday night with a 118-102 victory over the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers.
The win moved OKC to 3-1 on its East Coast road trip, notching victories against the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards in addition to the 76ers. The Thunder's only loss came at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who currently boast the best record in the NBA at 34-5.
Despite starting the road trip with a loss, Mark Daigneault's team bounced back, beating the Knicks by 25 points and the Wizards by 41 points before knocking off Philadelphia. After four games away from the Paycom Center, OKC's head coach noted that his team has improved in that stretch.
"Overall on the trip, I thought there were a lot of positives," Daigneault said. "(We) took a step forward. We're better now than we were when we left home, and that's the goal when you leave for an eight-day road trip."
Before starting the aforementioned road trip, the Thunder were in the midst of a 15-game win streak that was snapped in the team's loss to Cleveland. Next, OKC will return to the Modern Frontier for a rematch with the Cavaliers on Thursday night before meeting the Mavericks in Dallas on Friday.
Oklahoma City will play 10 of its next 14 games in the Paycom Center before a pair of road trips in February. Starting on Feb. 13, the Thunder will play three consecutive road games before returning to OKC for one matchup, then embarking on another three-game road trip.
After the team's Feb. 13 game, however, OKC will get an extended break for NBA All-Star Weekend before returning on Feb. 21 in Utah.
The Thunder currently hold the top spot in the Western Conference, holding a 6.5 game lead over the Houston Rockets.
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