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Mark Daigneault’s blunt take on Thunder winning amid adversity
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- Mark Daigneault’s blunt take on Thunder winning amid adversity
Mark Daigneault's blunt take on Thunder winning amid adversity appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
OKLAHOMA CITY — After a series of devastating injuries to his starting lineup one week into the 2026-27 season, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault made sure his team never felt sorry for themselves. Knowing it would do nothing to improve their current situation — losing Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace to long-term injuries before All-Star Chet Holmgren was ruled out for eight-to-10 weeks — Daigneault preached a next-man-up mantra.
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After a pair of consecutive blowout losses to the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets on the road, the Thunder answered the call with two impressive wins against the Cleveland Cavs. Daigneault guided his team to a 117-112 victory on the road before the Thunder grabbed a lead and never looked back in a wire-to-wire 124-116 win at home against the Cavs.
After the game, Daigneault doubled down on his philosophy for the shorthanded Thunder, emphasizing an approach for his team to abide to while dealing with untimely injuries to its core.
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"The circumstances aren't going to change in the short term. I've said this before when we won these games; we're not going to look for sympathy," Daigneault said. "We're not going to make excuses. We're going to accept the circumstances as they are, and try to thrive within them. And that's been something that the team has done over time.
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"And when we've done that, we've benefited from it. From the investments we made during those times, or just the metal that it builds inside of the team. So, the guys have done a great job, and we'll continue to need to as we take on more and more challenges."
Mark Daigneault watched his Thunder team beat the Cavs in nearly every statisical category in Wednesday's win, including rebounds, steals, turnovers, fast-break points, shooting percentages, and fast-break points. Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 of his game-high 42 points after halftime, keeping Cleveland at bay in the second half.
However, this was an all-hands-on-deck kind of win for the Thunder. Ajay Mitchell continues to thrive filling in for Jalen Williams in the starting lineup, as he finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal. He impacted both ends of the floor against the Cavs, as did rookie Bennett Stirtz, who finished with a season-high 16 points, including four threes, and two steals.
Kenrich Williams added 13 points, four rebounds, and two assists, and rookie Aday Mara, in his first NBA start, chipped in nine points, five rebounds, two assists, and three blocks.
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"We played to our identity," Gilgeous-Alexander said after the Thunder's win. "We played together. Played fast, most importantly, and, yeah, just be who we are."
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The Thunder (6-2) will face the Memphis Grizzlies on the road on Friday.
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