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One OKC Thunder play from NBA playoffs that'll likely be forgotten from but shouldn't
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- One OKC Thunder play from NBA playoffs that'll likely be forgotten from but shouldn't
History won't be kind to a play that seemed destined to be immortalized, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander smirked at the thought of that.
The memory of it came and went. In Game 6 , juggling between elimination in Dallas and a possible Game 7 in Oklahoma City , Gilgeous-Alexander sized up a pesky Derrick Jones Jr. with less than 30 seconds to play. When the switch came, SGA probed for a moment before slamming the gas.
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He'd been a man possessed. The answer to unsolvable questions, the key that jimmied Dallas' defensive hold. The Mavericks treated him as such. Four bodies collapsed as he drove. None stayed near or even floated toward the baseline, where Chet Holmgren was about to bring meaning to the word poster.
Gilgeous-Alexander floated the Thunder's hopes to the top left corner of the backboard. Holmgren, with latter-like limbs, found the ball at its apex and willed it through the hoop — unchallenged, with surrounding eyes wide and mouths agape, though none of that made the connection feel less improbable or significant.
Air was sucked from the building. Deafening chants stopped abruptly. Holmgren and Gilgeous-Alexander's connection paused the moment because it was the moment.
"I thought we were going to win," Thunder wing Jalen Williams said in the aftermath.
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Chet Holmgren #7 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dunks the ball during the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round Playoffs at American Airlines Center on May 18, 2024 in Dallas, Texas.
SGA's intended game-winning lob to Holmgren should've been just that: A glorious sequence that puffed life into a young Thunder team trying to extend the first of many possible playoff runs. A season's worth of persistence put on display, worthy of another day. Instead, it was forgotten.
The foul that followed, which granted the three free throws that sealed OKC's fate in a 117-116 loss , is what will stay with Gilgeous-Alexander for the summer. Until his next chance.
That's where history's boot feels like a wet Timberland. It kicked aside the 3 Larry Bird drilled just before Magic Johnson's famed baby hook in the 1987 NBA Finals. Fewer folks recall Tim Duncan 's off balance, leaning midrange jumper over an outstretched Shaquille O'Neal with 0.4 seconds left to play in the 2004 West semis than the wild Derek Fisher shot that followed.
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The plays are tougher to find in archives. When uncovered, they're tied to the play that overshadows their existence.
For the Thunder, the play was even more fleeting to its creators than spectators.
"It felt good, but I was so, like, on to the next play," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I didn't really get to soak it up."
"I don't think it was like a crazy play," Holmgren said. "I feel like it was a pretty normal play, it was just at a significant time."
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May 18, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) reacts in front of Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford (21) during the second half in game six of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center.
Williams, though, knew what he thought he'd witnessed.
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"I didn't think (Holmgren) was going to grab it with one hand," Williams said. "I would not have done that. Shout-out to Chet for being 7-feet. I think if you asked him, he'd probably say it was pretty easy. I'm not a 7-footer, so I don't know what to say, but I definitely would not have grabbed that with one hand."
Like the rest of the forgotten trove of buckets, the lob felt decisive. No different from the ones that became classics. The Thunder's felt like a vehicle of hope. For a Game 7, and for a future of emphatic alley-oops.
Circumstances aside, it felt eerily familiar. Of all the great things Kobe Bryant and O'Neal did together, Bryant finding his monumental counterpart mid-air in Game 7 of the 2000 West Finals floats to the surface.
The two clips aren't perfect tethers, by any means. The Lakers, established and bound to finally break the seal, were up four with just over 40 seconds to go in a game that would give them their first Finals berth of the era. The Thunder, still in its adolescence, was fighting to overturn a series that could extend its run into the conference finals.
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Gilgeous-Alexander isn't quite a Bryant clone. Holmgren isn't O'Neal. But that June night belonged to Bryant — an uncharacteristic one for O'Neal — the same way Gilgeous-Alexander had a grip on the series and Game 6. He was a walking engine, and his trust despite teammates playing as shells of themselves spoke volumes.
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Bryant faked, then went left. Gilgeous-Alexander opted for the right. They walked into the same crowd, with the same reasons to shoot before trusting anyone else. Still, each found their big men for transcendent plays. Side-by-side, they reference each other.
One was the beginning of something great. The other is still waiting to see.
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Maybe Gilgeous-Alexander's throw to Holmgren won't be completely forgotten but remembered differently. What could've been this season but will remain on the horizon.
All told, the play remains great. Appreciated, even as Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren poked at the sour taste stuck between their teeth.
Time can only be so cruel to a couple 20-somethings. Both will continue writing the story. They'll aim to snuff out someone else's West Finals chances, to eventually come face-to-face with Larry O'Brien.
They'll create memories, so many that perhaps Gilgeous-Alexander's find, Holmgren's preposterous reach, and the promising season they were meant to continue are eventually minimized and buried.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder play from NBA playoffs not to forget from Mavericks series
