OKC Thunder Shows Resilience Behind Jalen Williams' Two-Way Play, But Loses Free Throw Battle: 3 Takeaways

After notching a win against the Boston Celtics just one night prior, the Oklahoma City knew it had a tough road test in Atlanta. It might not have come away victorious twice in a row, but it did put forth a promising effort.

The Oklahoma City Thunder never led against the Atlanta Hawks. 

A lot of factors were at play for the second-youngest team in the NBA on the road, especially considering the fact that it had just played a game against an extremely strong Boston Celtics team the night before.

Per reports, things only worsened after the Thunder had a late landing in Atlanta the morning of the game to kick-off its second night of the back-to-back, and combined with the usual fatigue, that doesn't make for a winning recipe. 

Still, Oklahoma City showed up and put forth a strong game, just not strong enough to pull out a victory. But given the way its season has gone leading to this point, the loss was affordable. Not ideal, but affordable. 

And here are three takeaways from it.

Jan 3, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) shoots against Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) during the first half at State Farm Arena / © Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Resilience, Resilience, Resilience

Given the extenuating circumstances that Oklahoma City dealt with before even getting to its practice facility, it wasn't any secret that the Thunder was in for a rough outing. 

Duking it out with the Celtics just one night prior made that a likely possibility, but arriving to Atlanta at 5 a.m. to play a road game sealed it. And when the Thunder took the court in front of a hostile crowd, that was evident. 

Almost immediately, Atlanta got out to a 20-8 lead and set the tone early. It rallied behind its starting unit — the player of which all finished in double-digits — and kept the Thunder relatively at bay for the majority of the game. 

It only got worse in the second quarter when Saddiq Bey hit a 3-pointer to sky the lead up to 21 points, and in that moment, it seemed that a loss was imminent.

But Oklahoma City remained resilient. 

It fought all the way back behind Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and even put up a shooting clip North of 50 percent on the evening collectively. The game came down to a missed 3-pointer on the last possession of the game, which secured the win for Atlanta. 

Oklahoma City's victory came in the form of effort, and if nothing else, further proved why it's a true contender this season.

Jalen Williams' Two-Way Efficiency 

Facing a team whose starters all go for double digits isn’t an easy ask by any means. 

The Hawks had it going all night, which explains their 21-point lead, but despite the Thunder’s overall resilience, Jalen Williams stepped up in two big ways. 

His first way was on offense — as the forward shot 9-12 on a 21-point outing. He only attempted one shot behind the arc, but he hit it. Aside from scoring, Williams notched a few rebounds and six assists to help bring the Thunder back into striking distance. 

And on defense? 

Williams was locked in all night, and it showed. Not only did he keep up well with Atlanta’s playmakers, but he forced numerous turnovers as well — grabbing four steals on the evening. 

Oklahoma City didn’t get the win, but it nearly did, and Williams was a big reason why. 

Now, he hopes to take the same momentum to the Thunder’s next game. 

Free Throw Woes

Another big part of Oklahoma City’s loss wasn’t from traditional shooting outlets. 

On the game, the Thunder shot better than 50 percent from the floor and from 3-point range — the latter of which was better than Atlanta — but it wasn’t either of those clips that told the story of the loss.

It was the free throws. 

Oklahoma City shot 76 percent from the charity stripe on the game, attempting 26 shots, which normally is a lot, unless your opponent trumps you in both of those numbers. 

The Hawks shot an astounding 93 percent from the free throw line and attempted 33 in the process, which allowed them to out-duel an otherwise hot-handed Thunder squad. 

Free throws proved to be the X-factor, and unfortunately for Oklahoma City, it couldn’t keep up. 

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