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USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Clemente Almanza

Player grades: Comeback attempt falls short in Thunder’s 117-115 preseason loss to Hornets

Thunder Hornets Aaron Wiggins Jaylin Williams Jalen Williams Kenrich Williams OKC Tre Mann Chet Holmgren Vasilije Micic

Trailing in transition, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl caught the ball from Aaron Wiggins and had a chance to hit a layup to send Sunday’s preseason game into overtime.

Instead, the ball failed to go through the hoop and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s comeback attempt fell short in their 117-115 preseason loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

“Obviously we came up a little short, but I thought we came with it tonight,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault on their effort.

Preparing to play on a sleepy Sunday afternoon, the shorthanded Thunder used their third preseason matchup to rest their starters and several key players.

Prior to the game, the Thunder elected to rest Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort and Isaiah Joe. Kenrich Williams (back spasms) and Aleksej Pokusevski (ankle sprain) were also ruled out.

The long list of injuries grew during the game as the Thunder ruled Cason Wallace — who started and had five points in eight minutes — out with a toe sprain in the second quarter.

With arguably their top-nine players out for most of the night, the Thunder used their loss to the Hornets as a chance to allow their depth players to play a heavy dosage of minutes.

Even without their starters, the Thunder offense didn’t miss a beat, scoring 115 points on 42-of-91 (46.2%) shooting. The ball movement was crisp as active off-ball movement and cuts helped OKC generate 30 assists on its 42 field goals.

“Offense was really good,” Daigneault said. “I thought we generated great rhythm. Worked together. Got our cutting in. Moved the ball side to side.”

For a third consecutive preseason game though, the defense continued to show leakages.

The Hornets scored 117 points on 46-of-88 (52.3%) shooting in their two-point win. Charlotte utilized 69-point middle quarters to help it enter the final frame with an 11-point lead. Without Holmgren, the Hornets scored 62 points inside of the paint.

The Thunder made it interesting in the fourth quarter, cutting the Hornets’ lead to as little as one point against Charlotte’s reserves. OKC had a pair of layup attempts in the final seven seconds that missed, which would’ve either given it a one-point lead or tied it and forced OT.

The Hornets were led by P.J. Washington, who’s grown a reputation for turning into Steph Curry when facing OKC. During an essential must-win game for the Thunder late last March in the midst of their Play-In push, he scored 43 points and played spoiler in the upset.

In a much less pressure-filled environment tonight, Washington had 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting and 5-of-8 shooting from 3 in 24 minutes. The Hornets elected to treat this game as a regular-season matchup with their starters playing 20-plus minutes.

LaMelo Ball had 16 points, six assists and six rebounds in 24 minutes. Terry Rozier finished with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and six assists in 26 minutes. 2023 No. 3 pick rookie Brandon Miller had eight points and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Thunder were led by Jaylin Williams and Aaron Wiggins in this exhibition. Williams received his first start of preseason and played the point center role. Wiggins — who is from North Carolina — had several fancy finishes around the rim for 16 points.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades.

Jaylin Williams: A

Williams returned to familiar territory on Sunday when he was named as a starter. Holmgren replaced him as the starting center in OKC’s first two preseason games and that will remain the case as long as he’s healthy in the regular season.

But when/if he misses time, Williams serves as a suitable replacement. He was the best player on the court for the shorthanded Thunder on Sunday. He finished with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, nine rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes. He also went 2-of-4 from 3.

“Offensively tonight, he really quarterbacked us,” Daigneault said about Williams.

Williams served as an offensive hub for the Thunder and served a playmaker role with several off-ball players cutting the basket at a frequent level this game. It’s a role the second-year forward excels at as arguably the best passing big man on the roster.

“Guys kinda understand his thought of play. The way he wants to play,” Wiggins said about Williams. “Like you said, he’s a great passing big. I think he’s really good in the pocket.”

Sharing is caring 🥰 @okcthunder | #ThunderUp | pic.twitter.com/loviXzFbrG

— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) October 15, 2023

Aaron Wiggins: A-

Wiggins was another beneficiary of the long list of Thunder absences. Given the starting nod, he finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, four rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes. He also went 2-of-4 from 3.

The third-year wing continues to create space with his legs by being a constant off-ball mover. Of his four made shots inside the paint, three were assisted.

It was an excellent performance for Wiggins, who returned home after previously growing up in Greensboro, NC.

“It’s fun being able to go home and you got your family there and everybody,” Wiggins said. “It’s limited how much they can see you when you’re far away.”

While he had an overall fine game, Wiggins came up short in one of the contest’s biggest moments. With a chance to lead by one point, he missed a driving layup with 7.1 seconds left following an OKC timeout.

The missed shot forced Wiggins to foul Hornets center Nathan Mensah, who grabbed his miss.

After Mensah went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, Wiggins pushed the pace and had a chance to finish with the game-tying assist but alas, Robinson-Earl’s miss ended the game in regulation.

6️⃣ 🪡 2️⃣1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/qtAuvNMgZm

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) October 15, 2023

Wiggins is COOKING 👨‍🍳

Wiggins leads the Thunder in scoring with 13 PTS in the 1st half@okcthunder | #ThunderUp | pic.twitter.com/SpVQS8mr0f

— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) October 15, 2023

Vasilije Micic: B-

Micic was given the starting nod in his first preseason game where he played significant minutes for the Thunder.

In his debut start, the 29-year-old turned in mixed results. In 26 minutes, he recorded six points on 3-of-10 shooting, eight assists and three rebounds. He also went 0-of-5 from three and five turnovers.

There were signs of Micic playing like a traditional playmaker — especially in the pick-and-roll — but it’s evident the former EuroLeague MVP is still getting accustomed to playing NBA-style basketball.

The poor shooting is irrelevant, a lot of his misses were short. On any other night, he likely has a better shooting game with a little bit better luck. The outside form looks formidable too, so I wouldn’t read too much into the shooting line.

Tre Mann: B-

It was a mixed bag of results for Mann, who is fighting for a roster spot.

The third-year guard finished with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, eight rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes off of the bench. In a vacuum, a solid stat line.

Peeling back a bit further though, Mann’s four turnovers are a bit concerning and most of his production occurred in the fourth quarter against the Hornets’ reserves.

Mann played the entire fourth quarter and scored nine points on 3-of-5 shooting and grabbed five rebounds. If he can play more like he did in the fourth quarter than he did in the first three, then that boosts his chances of sticking with OKC beyond preseason.