Inside The Thunder

Top Performers: Pokusevski Instrumental In Second Thunder Win Over Clippers

Although Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort turned in strong performances versus the Clippers on Thursday night, it was Aleksej Pokusevski's time to shine.

Dustin McLaughlin

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In a match that felt much like a roller coaster ride, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Clippers for the second time in three days.

While the Thunder managed to build out an early 18-point lead, the Clippers, bolstered by the return of Paul George, would quickly erase that deficit and build their own 60-53 lead before the close of the first half.

Coming out of the break, the Thunder found their footing once again, outscoring their opponent 36-27 to take a narrow 2-point cushion before the start of the fourth quarter.

It was all downhill from there, as the offense appeared to be in full-throttle as everyone was defending, hitting shots and getting to the free throw line. The Thunder would go up 116-104, invoking Tyronn Lue to deviate from his usual lineups and insert his reserves before a score of 118-110 settled the match.

In his second game back from dealing with a hip contusion, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got off to a rough start, scoring just nine points while picking up four fouls in the first half of play. This led Mark Daigneault no choice but to bring him off the bench to start the third.

But, in the second half, Gilgeous-Alexander finally got it going offensively, squeezing his way through the Clippers’ defense en route to the rim and taking and making whatever shots were available.

Oklahoma City’s franchise guard would lead the Thunder to run the score up on Los Angeles in the fourth and finish the match with a team-high 24 points, going 2-for-4 from deep, grabbing six boards and three steals while finding six assists and turning the ball over just three times.

Luguentz Dort looked much better relative to his previous outings as he played a huge part in the Thunder’s dismantling of the Clippers.

The physical guard came out swinging, scoring efficiently while demonstrating some excellent decision-making that really lifted the offense. Whether it was a hand-off, spot-up, or pick-and-roll action, Dort was making the most of his touches.

After recording an efficient 11 points and three assists in the first half, Dort continued to be a steady hand for the Thunder throughout the rest of the game, finding success on his drives and really mucking things up on defense.

In fact, he was able to strip the ball away from Norman Powell late in the game and find Tre Mann for a transition 3-pointer to give his team a 12-point cushion with less than three minutes on the clock.

Dort finished with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with four assists, three boards, and two steals.

Last but not least, Aleksej “Poku” Pokusevski earns a spot amongst the top performers for his late game heroics in last night’s action.

Coming off the bench on Thursday night, the third-year forward proved to be instrumental in securing the Thunder’s second win at Paycom Center this season, utilizing his length to compete in the paint and hitting big shots down the stretch to pull away.

After stringing together a solid first half that featured seven points, some confident shooting, and an assist to Aaron Wiggins, Pokusevski turned up the heat.

In his final two frames, Pokusevski played the connector role, making great decisions with the ball in his hands, finding an open Kenrich Williams on the right wing for a 3-pointer and making a beautifully quick skip pass to Wiggins in the right corner for another triple.

With the Thunder up just one with less than five minutes remaining, the Serbian seven-footer pulled up from 28-feet and knocked down a 3-pointer that appeared to get the ball rolling for Oklahoma City’s offense.

About a minute later, Pokusevski confidently knocked down his third triple of the night off a drive-and-dish by Gilgeous-Alexander.

In total, Pokusevski dropped a season-high 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, grabbed six boards, and blocked one shot. His three assists led to three triples for the Thunder.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will hit the road to take on the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. CST.

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Dustin McLaughlin
DUSTIN MCLAUGHLIN

Dustin has followed the Oklahoma City Thunder since their inception in 2008, and the NBA since the early 2000s. He's been scouting NBA prospects for 4 years and running.

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