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OKC Thunder outlasts Heat behind Jalen Williams to end four-game road trip
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- OKC Thunder outlasts Heat behind Jalen Williams to end four-game road trip
MIAMI — Jalen Williams knew.
Walking up the sideline of the Kaseya Center floor, he braked so that his steps matched Mark Daigneault's. Williams sauntered with the ball. Daigneault signaled the set. If the night had foreshadowed at all, Williams' destination was drawn before Daigneault could close his fist.
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The sophomore wing, perhaps generous on Monday but evidently intentional on Wednesday, knew where Chet Holmgren wanted the ball — no, needed the ball — to finish the play. The velocity. The location. The timing.
The ball hung from his left hand as he watched Holmgren slip a screen, flying straight toward the big man's extended frame for one of his several alley-oop finishes and one of Williams' career-high 12 assists.
Williams' fingers had thoughts and a mind of their own, his hands articulating them with every dime to Holmgren. Their connection blossomed from adolescence to adulthood in a 128-120 Thunder win over the Heat on Wednesday.
Similar to Monday's win over the Wizards, the maturation of Williams and Holmgren's link was necessary. The wrinkle itself, the offensive firepower. Williams finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists — 22 total assists through the past two games. Holmgren added 23 points on 15 shots, nine rebounds and three blocks.
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"Good dialogue within the game," Williams said of the pairing. "Chet's a really high IQ player. We're able to talk through some of the stuff he sees and what I'm seeing. … I'm just throwing it somewhat close to the rim and he's able to finish them."
The Thunder shot an absurd 69.2% from the field through the first half. The Heat still led by four. Turnovers and a shorthanded Miami squad knocking down 3-pointer after 3-pointer made it that way.
Snuffing out an ever-feisty Heat squad was no light feat. The third quarter saw sparks — sometimes back-and-forth, other times a chess match.
A humming OKC offense that swung its way to 36 assists (again) and received 28 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on 11-for-17 shooting. A relentless Miami team that knocked down 15 3s and deployed a zone that kept the Thunder on its toes.
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Daigneault knew the game that would come within the game, perhaps more of a tradition with Miami than most teams. The adjustments that wouldn't last, the spurts of mental warfare.
One of the few common denominators as the night went on?
Holmgren and Williams. Dub and Holmes. The 6-foot-5 creator and the 7-foot-1 beacon the Thunder merely dreamed of having to help lead the way a year ago.
Defensive revival
Remember when, behind its talented core of defenders, Oklahoma City played like one of the best defenses in the league? Some time before the East Coast trip, before Boston 's late comeback attempt?
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Pepperidge Farm remembers. And maybe the Thunder does, too. It felt that familiar feeling in the second half of Wednesday's win.
After Miami torched the nets and made 9 of 19 3-point attempts in the first half, things quickly turned ugly.
The Heat shot just 33.3% from the field and 35.3% from 3 the rest of the way. Tyler Herro , who'd abused Bam Adebayo screens through 24 mins to skip downhill and trap OKC defenders, shot 2 for 11 in the second half.
Rookie Cason Wallace started in place of Lu Dort out of halftime and stood his ground. Williams and Holmgren, who'd locked arms in harmony for most of the night on the other side of the ball, were part of the group that delivered crucial stops to open the fourth quarter.
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The Thunder did just enough to hold off the Heat and revive a waning feeling.
"A lot of it goes down to playing really hard," Williams said. "Making up for some of the mistakes we had. We'd gotten away from it a little bit in this big stretch, but the last two games we've been able to get on track with that.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) drives to the basket over Miami Heat guard Josh Richardson (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
A necessary trip in the books
Perhaps not as often acknowledged when discussing the Thunder's uncommon maturity is the level of introspection it's shown. For some, it's been expressing a willingness to fail. Noting the trials of a young team.
This week, the young Thunder knew it hardly looked like the version of the team that's exceeded expectations. It didn't run from that, or the weight of such a trip.
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"We didn't have our fastball from an energy standpoint on this trip," Daigneault said. "We had a lot of late arrivals, a lot of travel, built-in excuses. Scheduling excuses that everyone goes through. … I thought tonight and in Washington, we did a good job of drumming up energy in those games and getting back to our attention to detail."
Perhaps if the Thunder's early ambitions hold up toward the end of the season, maybe we won't even remember the East Coast trip OKC stumbled through. Or maybe it'll serve as a necessary growth point.
"We play in, like, six hours, so for us, the trip is not even really done," Williams said. "But just learning about ourselves playing on the road. … Just trying not to make the same mistakes we make each game and build on that."
Thunder tip-ins
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Few months will be as valuable to Vasilije Micic as January. With the avalanche of games, he'll have a chance to prove himself and carve a more defined role. Wednesday was a start. He was a team-high +16, broke Miami's zone late in the third quarter and threw a necessary no-look dime to start the fourth for some of his best minutes yet.
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With Wednesday's 36-assist performance, the Thunder set a franchise record for the most 30-assist games as a team in a season. It only took 36 games.
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With a shorthanded Miami team holding its weight — a thorn of a zone, elite shotmaking in the first half — Williams was often the spark that helped regain rhythm and solve possessions.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder tops Miami Heat behind Jalen Williams big night
