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OKC Thunder rallies past Toronto Raptors in 2OT for fifth-largest comeback in team history
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- OKC Thunder rallies past Toronto Raptors in 2OT for fifth-largest comeback in team history
There wasn't a perfect description for how strange Sunday's game got.
Two overtimes, 58 minutes, 63 3-point attempts, eight free throws, an abysmal first half of defense, a once 23-point Thunder deficit.
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But with 11.1 seconds to play, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dangled from the rim like Peter Parker on a dunk that sealed Oklahoma City's 135-127 win , he snapshotted the conclusion of a second overtime that summarized about as much explanation as the Thunder needed.
The effort plays. The unsung heroes. The cohesion. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault pointed right to it.
"Some teams are kind of together and happy when things are good, and then they detach when there's adversity," he said. "We've got a group of guys (where) the chemistry of the team is real. As the games get harder, they tend to connect more."
Sunday's was difficult.
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Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) hangs on the rim after a dunk in the second overtime of an 135-127 win against the Raptors on Feb. 4 at Paycom Center.
Gilgeous-Alexander isn't new to being double-teamed. He's demanded paparazzi-like attention for at least a couple seasons now. But Sunday, with Jalen Williams missing his third-straight game, the Raptors hoped to see how far they could take it.
Doubles became a third defender, then crowds. Gilgeous-Alexander could barely breathe without a blitz. It left others to make decisions. To put their heads down for enough drives-and-kicks to make the room spin. Efforts that seldom put the Thunder at the rim and instead left it chucking 3s while Toronto stuffed the paint, rotated and flew around.
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Any quick offensive burst or semblance of hope was lost on the defensive end, with OKC watching the Raptors walk to the rim or efficiently drill 3s. All seemed lost when a Scottie Barnes 3 gave Toronto a 23-point lead.
Then the Thunder bought into Daigneault's words.
Aaron Wiggins hit timely baskets. Josh Giddey made sound decisions, delivering possibly his best game of the season with 24 points. And OKC changed the complexion of its previously listless defense.
"Just be more physical," Lu Dort said of Daigneault's halftime spiel. "You could tell that they was fighting harder than us and going harder than us. We just had to step up and man up and really go out there and get some stops."
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Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) pumps his fist in front of forward Chet Holmgren (7) after beating the Raptors 135-127 in double overtime at Paycom Center on Feb. 4.
The Thunder sorted through schemes. It banked on after timeout plays for any boost it could get.
It found even better looks to finish the night making a franchise-tying 23 3-pointers on those 63 attempts — the third most single-game attempts in NBA history. Only the 2018-19 Rockets chucked more, shooting 70 and 68 three days apart in January of 2019.
OKC ended the game with five players with 20 points or more.
It elevated its defense even further with jaw-dropping sequences. Holmgren 's late switches, which made Immanuel Quickley claustrophobic and Jakob Poetl animated; Gilgeous-Alexander's game-saving block to close the first overtime; Dort's point-of-attack profile and a Tyson Chandler impression that featured tap outs and momentous boards.
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In the end, Daigneault left no stone unturned. He started the second with Jaylin Williams instead of Giddey. He uncharacteristically started the fourth quarter with Gilgeous-Alexander. It earned the team an overtime. And another.
Just enough time to snap out of whatever troubled the Thunder to start.
"These games are allowing us to learn these attacks and get comfortable with the discomfort of alternate defenses," Daigneault said. "… The guys stayed together, they problem solved together, and we got better as the game went on."
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Raptors aggressive guarding SGA
There was some irony in it. Daigneault cites a game in Toronto some seasons back as the inception of Gilgeous-Alexander as a star worth double-teaming. The increased attention, the pressure and adjustments that come with it. It hit like bricks.
Years and a coaching change later, the Raptors pulled into Oklahoma City with similar thinking. A line of thought that isn't all that uncommon these days: Get the ball out of SGA's hands. It produced perhaps OKC's most revelatory game yet in handling that attention.
The Raptors did it aggressively. With two guys as early as they could once Gilgeous-Alexander reached halfcourt. In pinches at the elbow, before he could turn corners. SGA's world became a hall of mirrors, every angle a threat to run into a wall while worried about himself.
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With the first half came minutes of indecisiveness. From the star guard, from his teammates.
As time went on, the Thunder saw that change. A willingness to shoot from players like Giddey. Dort continuing to shoot spot ups. Wiggins finding creases with sidestep 3s and by attacking closeouts. A lack of hesitation from Holmgren. Giddey, Dort and Holmgren combined to shoot 10 for 27 from deep.
When the 3s started to add up, SGA loosened up some, too. He paired 23 points with a career-high 14 assists. Slowly he saw a rare possession or two with a split second of single coverage, opportunities he used to knock down pivotal stepback 3s.
Gilgeous-Alexander, transparent about Sunday's early struggles, was firm on what changed.
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"It was their decisiveness that won us the game tonight," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder beats Raptors in 2OT for 5th-largest comeback in OKC history
