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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads OKC Thunder in lopsided rout of Portland Trail Blazers
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- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads OKC Thunder in lopsided rout of Portland Trail Blazers
There are what people view as video game numbers.
Even then, there are things you probably can't even get away with in NBA 2K.
Then there's what the Oklahoma City Thunder did in the first half of its 134-91 win at Moda Center in Portland over the Trail Blazers on Sunday .
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OKC looked nothing like a team on the second of a back-to-back — hell, it looked better than most teams with completely fresh legs. It was as if the Thunder froze time and spent four days at a spa in Neverland between its trips to the Bay and the Rose City.
It shot 71.8% from the field and 73.3% from 3-point range, the most efficient shooting half of any team in the league this season.
The Thunder shot 7 for 9 from deep in the second quarter, constantly slipping into its desired creases and finding shooters. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had choices between wing shooters . Isaiah Joe , who continued his absurd shooting run, shot 5 for 6 from 3 for 15 points on Sunday. Lu Dort knocked down a few.
More: NBA power rankings: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder make leap in the top 10
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) makes a shot over Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara, right, during the first half of Oklahoma City's 134-91 win Sunday in Portland, Ore.
And apparently no one let Gilgeous-Alexander know he was supposed to look a step behind 24 hours after delivering a 40-point performance at the Chase Center.
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In just 23 minutes, SGA glided to the rim for 28 points on 13 shots, four assists and three rebounds.
Chet Holmgren , who saved the Thunder with a buzzer-beating 3 Saturday, didn't get the memo either. He shot a perfect 6 for 6 for 16 effortless points.
OKC piled it on for a harsh, blistering shooting performance that felt destined for some record books early into the night. According to ESPN, the Thunder became the first team in at least 25 years to shoot 60% from the field, 60% on 3s and shoot perfectly at the free throw line all in a single game.
Portland's short bursts of third-quarter gumption amounted to little. For every Toumani Camara drive or Skylar Mays bucket, OKC's shotmaking knocked the wind right back out of them.
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Jerami Grant , who hoped to self-create his way out of a massacre early on, never got the desired help. Portland, which currently ranks as the league's worst offense and listed five players on its injury report, shot 40% from the field and 26.5% on 34 3-point attempts.
Coach Mark Daigneault and the Thunder followed most of the rules of a back-to-back, though. Daigneault played a million players (11) as soon as the first quarter. Fans got a Tre Mann sighting as soon as the first quarter, saw Aleksej Pokusevski get some run and to the tune of the blowout, saw Olivier Sarr drill a couple of 3s.
No simulated game could've accurately assessed OKC's fatigue — or lack thereof. The Thunder wound up looking like a cheat code.
More: 'We were resilient': How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder rolled past Warriors
Bench wiped its hands with the Blazers
OKC's reserves didn't look incapable earlier in the week when it handled a Warriors team without Stephen Curry .
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It's still difficult to imagine they were capable of what occurred Sunday night.
70 points. 17 of the team's 22 3-pointers. A final quarter in which they extended the lead (albeit against Portland's helpless bench) by eight points.
On a night where Daigneault surely would've preferred to play them more regardless, OKC's bench came through. Joe hit baffling shots from deep. Lindy Waters III did his best impression of him in the final quarter, drilling four 3s.
Even Davis Bertans ' lone 3 was exemplary of the sort of shooting fortune the Thunder had Sunday. He stumbled out to the perimeter while relocating, looked up in time for the pass flying at him and chucked it (which he will do) without hesitation. Cash.
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Mann's minutes, understandably longer this time and featuring different lineups, came with different objectives. Typically inserted when the team is up or down big, Mann's minutes usually come with the green light to shoot. He did a little bit more Sunday, though, seemingly finding shooters on drives or making the extra pass.
Did I mention Pokusevski played? And hit a 3? There no boxes OKC's bench didn't check off Sunday.
More: Here is the OKC Thunder's roster, player contracts entering 2023-24 NBA regular season
OKC's standing in West
While the Thunder went 3-0 on its West Coast trip, the NBA world continued to revolve around it.
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And on Sunday, OKC leapfrogged a few teams in the conference standings. The team now sits at second in the West, trailing only the Minnesota Timberwolves after being the first team to reach 10 wins.
That'll happen when the non-Jamal Murray Nuggets drop two straight games, the Mavericks drop two straight games, and the Thunder comes off a week in which it looks to have taken a leap even from the early season.
Through 14 games, the Thunder is shooting a league-best 41% from deep, 50.3% from the field, and tied for the league's best free-throw shooting mark at 86.7%.
Its next true test comes when the 76ers slide to town next Saturday. But the hype will seemingly spill over well before then.
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More: Who makes the OKC Thunder list for 15 best players in team history?
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams, right, drives to the basket against Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)
SGA's special start
OKC's young cornerstone put the league on notice a season ago after an All-NBA campaign.
13 games in, the agenda doesn't seem to have changed.
Gilgeous-Alexander is top-five in scoring at 29.6 points per game. He's also averaging 6.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
And while defensive effectiveness is as difficult to measure as anything, his league-leading 2.5 steals per game is a good indicator of the level of defender he's been this year.
Now in his sixth NBA season, he's seemingly navigated the balance between the level of effort to put into each side of the ball. On one end, he's reaching his spots at will, closing games as well as anyone and turning midrange jumpers into free throws. On the other, he's constantly deflecting basketballs, taking on primary creators if the time ever calls for it and using his length to be annoying.
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More: OKC Thunder schedule: How to watch the Thunder in 2023-24 NBA season
Thunder vs. Bulls
TIPOFF: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Paycom Center (Bally Sports Oklahoma)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder hand Trail Blazers worst loss of season in 43-point rout
