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In the short time since the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 and rebranded themselves as the Thunder, the franchise has fielded some great teams that have made the playoffs more times than they haven’t.
Of course, there was the Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook era, which included five 50-win seasons, four trips to the Western Conference Finals and one NBA Finals appearance. But the post-Durant era also included successful runs behind Westbrook, Paul George, and then Chris Paul for a year.
None of those teams were able to do what the 2022-23 team did on Tuesday, though.
With their best player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, sidelined, the Thunder scored a team record 150 points in a win over the Boston Celtics — the same Boston Celtics who have the best record in the NBA, a team that had only allowed that many points once prior in their own franchise history. And OKC did it in regulation!
The Thunder were 11.5-point home underdogs with +425 moneyline odds at BetMGM. All they did against those odds was shoot 59% from the field, cashing half of their 40 three-point attempts against one of the NBA’s best defensive teams. Seven players scored in double figures, including five with at least 20 points. And these aren’t household names. Unless you follow the NBA or college hoops closely, you probably don’t know many of these players.
Josh Giddey, the second-year pro from Australia, led the team with 25. The undrafted Lu Dort added 23. Tre Mann and Isaiah Joe had 21. So did Jalen Williams – not to be mistaken for Jaylin Williams, who finished with eight. Aaron Wiggins had 17 and Kenrich Williams had 10. One of the longest tenured Thunder players, Darius Bazley added four.
I would recommend getting a little more familiar with these guys. There’s clearly a foundation for something good in the near future.
— Prince J. Grimes
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Speaking of incredible scoring outputs, Donovan Mitchell became the seventh player in NBA history to score 70 points in a game, leading the Cavaliers to an overtime win over the Bulls on Monday.
The only problem: the 13 points he scored in overtime shouldn’t have counted. That’s according to the NBA’s Last 2 Minute report, which says Mitchell committed a lane violation on his game-tying put-back of an intentionally missed free throw with four second left in regulation.
It’s in the history books now, so most of us probably don’t care about the violation. But the Bulls might. From USA TODAY Sports:
Bulls coach Billy Donovan knew Monday night that it was a violation, and predicted the league’s Last Two Minute Report would prove him right. The league has used the reports for years as a form of accountability and transparency, but outcomes of games are not changed by the discovery of a missed call after the fact.
“It doesn’t do anything,” Donovan said. “It’s like, ‘We’re sorry.’ … That’s unfortunate, because I thought our guys battled and competed.”
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Milwaukee Bucks (+150) at Toronto Raptors (-4.5, -180), O/U 225.5, 7:30 PM ET
The Toronto Raptors are STRUGGLING lately, particularly on defense, and that’s a bad place to be with Giannis Antetokounmpo coming into town on a heater. Giannis has scored at least 40 in three straight games, including a career-high 55 in a win over the Wizards on Tuesday. So even on the second night of a back-to-back, and with some key players missing, I like Milwaukee to cover.
Shootaround
— This ball glitch is proof the Warriors have been playing NBA 2K in real life all along
— The NBA should have just counted this insane game-winner-that-wasn’t by Lauri Markkanen
— HoopsHype discussed Jacque Vaughn’s very real Coach of the Year candidacy
— Top draft prospect Scoot Henderson took off for flight with an insane posterization
