Thunder Complete Double-Digit Comeback, Knock Off Nets in Brooklyn
The Oklahoma City Thunder stole a victory from Brooklyn at the Barclays Center on Sunday evening, taking down the Nets 112-102. With the victory, OKC has now notched three consecutive wins, and has a season record of 21-23.
In the absence of former MVP Kevin Durant, Nets guard Seth Curry was the team’s leading scorer, tallying 23 points off the bench. For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey led the way with 28 points apiece.
In the first quarter, the Thunder got off to a quick start as a Jaylin WIlliams offensive rebound and putback got OKC on the board first. A few moments later, defensive standout Lu Dort knocked down back-to-back catch-and-shoot triples to give Oklahoma City an early 12-10 lead.
A Gilgeous-Alexander 3-pointer increased the Thunder's lead to 21-16, but the Nets would quickly battle back, taking a 24-23 advantage on a Curry pull-up jump shot. OKC closed out the opening frame with an Isaiah Joe triple that put his team up 28-24 heading into the second quarter.
Early in the next period, the Nets took a 34-32 lead behind a 3-pointer from Curry. Second-year wing Aaron Wiggins finished a reverse layup on the baseline to tie the game at 34, sparking a 9-0 run by Oklahoma City that would give the Thunder a 45-37 lead late in the second.
Brooklyn answered with an 11-0 stretch of its own, claiming a 48-45 advantage after a scoring flurry from Curry and TJ Warren. Wiggins connected on a 3-pointer to stop the run and tie the game at 48 with less than a minute left in the first half.
At the break, the Nets led OKC 50-48 with Dort and Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way offensively, notching 11 points each.
Oklahoma City had a hard time finding the bottom of the net in the third quarter, starting the second half 2-of-9 from the field. Midway through the frame, Giddey and Nic Claxton got into a brief tie-up over a jump ball.
Afterwards, Giddey and Claxton went at each other, each scoring impressive baskets on the offensive end of the floor. Giddey got into the paint and finished a layup off the glass over Claxton, who came back on the other end and finished an acrobatic layup between two defenders.
On the ensuing possession, Giddey got into the lane again and finished a layup off the glass while drawing a foul. Despite the young guard's efforts, the Thunder struggled to keep pace with Brooklyn, who held a 10 point advantage after a Curry 3-pointer with two minutes left in the third period.
OKC finished the quarter on a 5-0 run to cut the Nets lead to 80-75 heading into the final frame.
To start the fourth quarter, Darius Bazley found Giddey as he was flying down the lane for a layup and foul. Giddey missed the free throw, but Oklahoma City grabbed the rebound and got the ball back to the 20-year-old Australian, who finished another layup to bring the Thunder within one.
A few possessions later, Giddey nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the contest at 82. After both teams briefly traded blows, two deep shots from Dort and two more from Joe gave the Thunder a 99-92 lead halfway through the fourth quarter.
After a solid defensive stretch for OKC, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a shot with three minutes left in the game to give the Thunder an 11 point lead, their largest of the game.
Oklahoma City never looked back, defeating Brooklyn by a final score of 112-102.
OKC returns to the Paycom Center on Wednesday, January 18 to take on the Indiana Pacers at 7 P.M. CT.
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