Inside The Thunder

Top Performers in Oklahoma City's Matchup against the Jazz

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missing another game due to injury, two Thunder guards stepped up in a close loss to the Jazz.

Nick Crain

On Friday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost a game that went down to the wire against the Utah Jazz. In what ended up being a six-point loss, the team took yet another step forward while several players shined against one of the best teams in the NBA.

Oklahoma City's star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed this contest due to an ankle injury, meaning other young players on the roster had to step up to keep the contest competitive. 

Here are the top performers from OKC’s loss to Utah:

Josh Giddey

Establishing himself as one of the top rookies in this class, Giddey does a little bit of everything for this Thunder team. On Wednesday night, he was the main facilitator of the team's highly efficient offensive performance.

On the night, OKC shot 41.7% from deep as Giddey generated great perimeter looks for his teammates while he also knocked down three of his own four attempts from deep. The 19-year-old rookie finished the night with 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. While he did have six turnovers, Giddey was perhaps the Thunder's best player against the Jazz.

Lu Dort

Fueled by a 12-point third quarter, Lu Dort led all scorers on Wednesday night with 27 total points. This included five made 3-pointers as he carried the offensive load for OKC. While Rudy Gobert is one of the best defenders in the NBA, Dort went at him all night as he attacked the rim with force.

Even when Gilgeous-Alexander was in the lineup, Dort was still Oklahoma City's best scorer on some nights. Now without him in the lineup temporarily, he's taking his offense to a new level.

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Nick Crain
NICK CRAIN

Nick has spent the last four seasons covering the Oklahoma City Thunder and has grown quickly in the media since starting. He’s continued to produce Thunder content through writing for Forbes.com and podcasting with The Uncontested Podcast, as well as branching out to cover the NBA as a whole for SLAM Online.

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