In what could potentially go down as the season-defining possession of the season, Lu Dort fought threw several screens to get the final stop on Kawhi Leonard in a 101-100 win.
The win puts the Oklahoma City Thunder (36-36) back to .500 and gives them the tiebreaker over the LA Clippers, who are 0-3 against OKC this season.
The defensive stop, which was 21 seconds of pure defensive talent, saw Leonard not even get off a shot in time. It was the buzz on NBA Twitter following the win.
Let’s look at some of the best tweets about the final 21 seconds of the game as Dort locked up Leonard.
LU DORT DPOY!! pic.twitter.com/uxl5bBhchC
— josh giddey (@joshgiddey) March 22, 2023
Asked Mark Daigneault if he's ever seen a stop like the one Dort had tonight, when Kawhi didn't even get a shot off:
"Yeah, I saw it in Denver against Jamal Murray. I saw it in Dallas against Doncic, I saw it in the playoffs against Harden for like seven straight games …
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) March 22, 2023
i count four attempts to either screen or divert Lu Dort off of Kawhi in the final possession. stuck to him like a shadow.https://t.co/OVTMZOsT4x pic.twitter.com/1JU8aMbnsH
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 22, 2023
DONT TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT LU DORT EVER AGAIN
— Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) March 22, 2023
Asked Shai what it’s like to face Lu Dort one-on-one.
“Lu would never do nothin like that to me.” pic.twitter.com/ImPNE9A4vF
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) March 22, 2023
Lu Dort said absolutely not. pic.twitter.com/J49EgYGHOG
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) March 22, 2023
📈📈LU DORT📈📈 pic.twitter.com/8YTpu3k1ud
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) March 22, 2023
Lu Dort locks up Kawhi 🗜
Thunder win. pic.twitter.com/F9000XgG25
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2023
KAWHI GETS LOCKED UP BY LU DORT OMG DUDE CLIPPERS ARE FOREVER BUMS AND USELESS!!!!! MF WAS IN JAIL!!!!!!
— 🏆LakersGuru🏆 (@GuruLakers) March 22, 2023
Lu Dort seals the Thunder win on a TOUGH defensive possession.
Lockdown 🔒 pic.twitter.com/kEXXRB180J
— NBA (@NBA) March 22, 2023
And that is exactly why Lu Dort is a key piece of this young Thunder core.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) March 22, 2023
LU DORT STOPS KAWHI FROM EVEN GETTING A SHOT OFF
ALL DEFENSE HIM
pic.twitter.com/cp9CEQthja— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) March 22, 2023
LU DORT CLUTCH DEFENSE. 🔓🔓🔓
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 22, 2023
KAWHI CAN'T GET A SHOT. LU DORT DEFENSE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL.
THUNDER. WIN. ⛈ BIG WIN. ⛈ @okcthunder | #ThunderUp | pic.twitter.com/xehxNYbUYs
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 22, 2023
LU DORT GOT THE THUNDER TO 500
— Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) March 22, 2023
DORT 🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒🔒
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 22, 2023
*light switching screen*
Dort: No.
*more solid screen*
Dort: No.
*more solid screen with Kawhi dribbling into it*
Dort: No.
*ghost screen*
Dort: No.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) March 22, 2023
This is my Luguentz Dortpic.twitter.com/ssKT9PgE23
— Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) March 22, 2023
Dort on stopping Kawhi pic.twitter.com/xiwuIrv3gi
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) March 22, 2023
Daigneault on Dort’s stop pic.twitter.com/WPj0Xi1u3r
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) March 22, 2023
Morris trying to get Dort to switch off Kawhi: pic.twitter.com/EkmnGO5psK
— ham (@GoinHAM9HD) March 22, 2023
Lu Dort put Kawhi Leonard in the torture chamber to seal a big-time win for the Thunder pic.twitter.com/8uozSEPR4f
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) March 22, 2023
"That's why we love him. He's some player and some competitor. He rises to those types of situations."
Disciplined Dort 💪@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/GNjRf3rbFy
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) March 22, 2023
I’ve never seen Kawhi not be able to get to his sweet spot. Incredible defensive possession by Lou Dort.
— Rafael Barlowe (@Barlowe500) March 22, 2023
Lu Dort again at his best: guarding superstars in crunch-time.
— Derek Parker (@DParkOK) March 22, 2023
LU FREAKING DORT
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) March 22, 2023
