OKLAHOMA CITY — The young Oklahoma City Thunder quickly grew up following the first quarter of a 128-120 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
At least, that’s what Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault alluded to following their failed 21-point comeback attempt.
“I thought there was a little bit of a boogie man in the first quarter,” Daigneault said. “But once we opened the closet and realized there was no one there, we started playing.”
The scoreboard reflects Daigneault’s thoughts as the Thunder outscored the Warriors by 10 points in the final three quarters after finishing the first quarter trailing 38-20.
Alas, despite a valiant comeback attempt that saw the Thunder cut the Warriors’ lead to as little as two points in the fourth quarter, several timely three-pointers from the Splash Brothers cooled off the possibility of an OKC win — a site too familiar for Thunder fans.
The biggest one being Steph Curry’s eighth and final three-pointer that grew the Warriors lead to eight points with 2:35 left in the game.
Curry used an off-ball Andrew Wiggins screen to create enough space from the right-wing to swish in a three that iced the game.
“That first quarter was not good enough,” Josh Giddey said. “Dug ourselves a 20-point hole that we dug out of but it was too deep.”
It was a vintage night for the Warriors big three.
The Warriors were led by Curry, who finished with 38 points on 12-of-20 shooting and 8-of-14 3-point shooting along with 12 assists.
Without Lu Dort, Klay Thompson enjoyed 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting and 6-of-14 from 3. Draymond Green also finished with seven points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
The Warriors shot 46-of-90 (51.1%) from the field and went 20-of-47 (42.6%) from 3. 37 assists were dished out in the win.
For the Thunder, they shot 46-of-93 (49.5%) from the field and went 11-of-24 (45.8%) from 3.
The biggest difference came from outside. The Warriors made nine more three-pointers than the Thunder, which essentially decided the game. It’s almost impossible to overcome a 27-point difference from the perimeter.
The Thunder’s fight to get to .500 continues on as they now drop two games below at 24-26. It just seems like they can’t overcome this hill.
Although, they do have a decent shot at finally breaking even with their next two games being against the Houston Rockets.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s performance was symmetrical with the Thunder’s performance.
After struggling in the first quarter, scoring just four points on 1-of-8 shooting, Gilgeous-Alexander bounced back and finished with 27 points on 7-of-16 shooting in the final three quarters.
Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points on 10-of-24 shooting and 10-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line. Gilgeous-Alexander also finished with seven assists and five turnovers.
A tame 30-point performance for Gilgeous-Alexander.
“The way we fought was impressive… Kept fighting until the game was over,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “As a young team, that’s all you can ask for.”
COME ON NOW SHAI 🤯@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/PFRP6z6MXi
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 31, 2023
Shai with the skillful finish! Play through the whistle, kids! pic.twitter.com/cnRwUnqMRI
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 31, 2023
SGA with the smooth drop off to KRich! pic.twitter.com/iGxYMf4KG3
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 31, 2023
Josh Giddey: B
In 29 minutes, Josh Giddey finished with 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting, six assists, eight rebounds and five turnovers.
Giddey’s game could be sliced down the middle as he struggled in the first half but finished with a strong second half.
In the first half, Giddey had seven points on 3-of-8 shooting and two assists. In the second half, Giddey had 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and four assists.
It was a tough night inside the paint for Giddey, as he went just 6-of-13 in that area.
Josh Giddey was absolutely in his bag on this one 😳@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/5Z6VSakvbJ
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 31, 2023
Giddey with the tough drive and finish with the off hand! pic.twitter.com/0mLaxhRAin
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 31, 2023
Jaylin Williams: A
One of the few individual bright spots for Thunder in this loss was Jaylin Williams.
Off the bench, Williams finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 2-of-3 from 3, eight rebounds and three assists.
When the Thunder needed a boost of energy, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault relied on Williams.
After the game, Daigneault admitted he wasn’t really planning on using Williams but with the team lacking energy and the game plan not fully working, he needed a spark off the bench and that’s what the second-round rookie provided.
In his 18 minutes, the Thunder outscored the Warriors by one point.
Jay Will goes to work in the low post! pic.twitter.com/inEiYB2ItS
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 31, 2023
WHAT A MOVE FROM JAYLIN WILLIAMS 😳@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/eENF0CnHmZ
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 31, 2023
Jalen Williams: B
The other J. Williams on the team had a pretty nice night too.
Jalen Williams finished with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, four rebounds and two assists.
Williams scored almost exclusively near the rim, as he shot 7-of-8 inside of the paint.
Williams continues to have a phenomenal rookie season and an 19-point performance being considered a relatively quiet night for him proves that.
Shai threads the needle on this dime to JDub! 🪡@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/H5qM0uI24b
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 31, 2023
Jalen Williams forces his way into the paint for +2️⃣@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/v7f63Liau5
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) January 31, 2023
Workin' his way downtown! 👌 pic.twitter.com/XJXUDqkNoR
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) January 31, 2023
