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Mark Daigneault reveals how Thunder held Anthony Davis to 2 points in blowout win
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- Mark Daigneault reveals how Thunder held Anthony Davis to 2 points in blowout win
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault reacted to his defense stifling Dallas Mavericks ' Anthony Davis , holding the 10-time All-Star to two points on 1-for-9 shooting in a 132-111 blowout victory. The Thunder extended its winning streak to 13 straight.
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Daigneault highlighted Thunder forward Kenrich Williams and center Jaylin Williams as Davis' primary defenders amidst a team effort that led to one of AD's worst shooting performances of the regular season.
"It's not (easy). J-Will did a good job on him, Kenrich did a good job on him — those two guys, in particular, were the primary matchups," Daigneault said. "And with him, you have to really fight him, you know? For spots. And those guys brought great energy to the matchup. Then, it's a five-man defense against a player like him. He missed makeable shots.
"I think that was kind of an outlier game for him. So, we can't take full credit for that. But we can take credit for making him earn everything. So, that's why we were able to get the kind of night out of him that we did."
After the Thunder's defense held the Clippers to 24 second-quarter points, outscoring them by nine before halftime, Oklahoma City tacked on 38 in the third quarter to cruise to a 19-point win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points and six assists. Chet Holmgren (15 points, eight rebounds) and Jalen Williams (15 points) combined for 30 points and 16 rebounds.
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How Thunder teammates helped Cason Wallace 's defense
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
When Thunder's Cason Wallace and his teammates started a competition to see who could lead the team in steals, it led to the third-year guard averaging the second-most steals (2.2) per game in the NBA. Despite the hurdles of having a shorthanded Thunder roster against the Mavericks , including no Lu Dort, Alex Caruso , or Isaiah Hartenstein , the defending champions prevailed.
Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams revealed how a friendly game turned into Wallace's best start of his career.
"It's more just fun. We might have just started it joking around. He's such a good defender, I was trying to get him to reach more in his rookie year," Williams said. "Then, last year, he started trying it more and more, and he was getting a lot more steals. I was just seeing different ways that he can steal the ball that I probably couldn't, and vice versa. So, we've just kind of challenged each other with it.
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"Then, adding AC, another first-team All-Defense, then, Lu, who gets no steals. It's just a friendly competition. But it's just more trying to challenge ourselves to be great in that regard, every day, and not get bored, trying to play defense."
The Thunder will face the Jazz on Sunday.
Related: Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explains viral Instagram caption
Related: What Mavericks' Anthony Davis said after getting shut down by Thunder
