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How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder followed 'the blueprint' to roll past Clippers
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- How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder followed 'the blueprint' to roll past Clippers
The question interrupted them gushing over each other. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was proud of his own answer and Jalen Williams was proud of his teammate's tie.
Their heads swiveled at the same moment, their ears perking up just enough to realize they didn't have to change what they were doing. An hour after the Thunder's 129-107 win over the Clippers , the two were asked what they expected of each other defensively.
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"Each other?" Gilgeous-Alexander asked, smirking.
Williams noted that he didn't expect a fixed number of steals — which SGA leads the league in — or blocks. Only that his point guard would be everywhere. Gilgeous-Alexander noted that he expects Williams to successfully guard the other team's best player.
"And if he doesn't do so, I'm disappointed, and he knows that," said Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 31 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocks.
Their expectations took on lives of their own on Thursday.
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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) goes up for a dunk in front of LA Clippers guard Brandon Boston Jr. (4) during an NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. The Thunder won 129-107.
Williams swapped between his assignments of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George . Gilgeous-Alexander roamed and helped and filled in gaps. The Thunder played one of its best defensive quarters of the year, a roaring third that left the Clippers deflated.
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OKC's young duo shared a pair of plays that defined the third quarter, the Thunder's surge and Los Angeles ' defeat.
There was the 2-on-1 break with four minutes remaining — or at least what should've been. With SGA backpedaling, Russell Westbrook gaining steam and Ivica Zubac in the race, Williams sprinted like the T-1000 to enter the frame just as the gaggle crossed half court.
His strides lengthy and powerful like a horse's gallop, Williams planted his feet in time for Zubac's shot, a trailing denial that put a muzzle on an L.A. fastbreak.
Gilgeous-Alexander's sequence came just two minutes later. An overzealous turnover just as Aaron Wiggins began the break sent Amir Coffey directly toward SGA. Wiggins made a 180 and Gilgeous-Alexander had ground to cover. Both erased it to embarrass Coffey. When the Clippers hurdled toward the rim with the offensive rebound, there was Gilgeous-Alexander. Again.
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It resulted in the 3-pointer that effectively ended the Clippers' night.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault will reference fighting like a washed-up boxing coach. The one you know that swears he taught Floyd Mayweather his moves, and that hisses between the jabs he throws around the house. Daigneault will often say his team didn't have its best punch.
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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (34) defends LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during an NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. The Thunder won 129-107.
But OKC's third-quarter haymaker was worthy of belts. It was a slack-jawing, speedy, blitz of a hook that knocked the Clippers back like a sucker punch. The Thunder prioritized its movements, focusing its energy on forcing certain shots and living with others. Aside from Norman Powell 's four 3s (only one came in the third), the Clippers wound up shooting everything OKC wanted them to.
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Westbrook spiraled out of his own control, flinging up ill-angled layups. Terance Mann went 1 for 5 in the quarter, resorting to post-ups and missing his rim opportunities. Zubac was met with force. The Clippers shot just 30.8% in the quarter, with the Thunder tallying seven blocks.
"These are some of the best athletes in the world and everybody's competitive," rookie Chet Holmgren said. "You don't make it here if you're not competitive, and physicality is just a part of that."
Any notion of the Thunder shying from physicality, even with small lineups, was muted, deafened by a crowd enjoying backbreaking defensive sequences.
Gilgeous-Alexander showed teeth just thinking about it.
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Thinking for themselves
It was Kevin Durant then. Back in November, during a successful trip to Phoenix, the young Thunder toggled their defensive coverages as the game went on to throw off one of the game's greatest scorers.
And it worked.
Daigneault has fostered that sort of environment. One where his players can decide those decisions for themselves on the fly. When to double, when to send a third body, went to hang around in the gap.
"They're figuring it out in live time, not knowing how it's gonna go," Williams said.
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That philosophy has continued to grow. It has kept its illuminated green light, and it's also added wisdom through experience. Deciding when to send bodies at Leonard, when to sink a third defender lower. Knowing where to be, talking through it all.
George finished with just 14 points on 16 shots, and Leonard hardly continued the impact that came from his robotic first half.
"From (Daigneault's) perspective, nothing's changed as far as letting us go out there and make real-time decisions," Williams said. "He kind of gives us the blueprint and we go from there. I think whenever we're able to just have the freedom to play sporadic like that and leave it to the feel of the game, that helps us."
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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) reaches for the ball beside LA Clippers forward Paul George (13) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Gordon Hayward (33) during an NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. The Thunder won 129-107.
Gordon Hayward 's debut
Daigneault didn't give any reason for high expectations. He spoke of metaphors mentioning that the team would merge new forward Gordon Hayward into the lane slowly, that they'd measure twice and cut once when evaluating his debut into the lineup.
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As a result, Hayward's debut was everything it was expected to be.
In 14 minutes, he went 0 for 2, had four rebounds and avoided being a liability in a game with heavy playoff seeding implications.
Hayward has noted that his emphasis since his arrival has been communicating his role defensively and understanding where he needs to be inside a young, active defense. On Thursday, he did just enough. He thwarted a couple of George's fourth-quarter drives. He essentially did what he was supposed to as the man helping from the corner, a low-pressure scenario with him often guarding a lower-level threat.
Not bad for the team's old man.
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Thunder vs. Wizards
TIPOFF: 7 p.m. Friday at Paycom Center (KSBI)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder rolls past LA Clippers in return from NBA All-Star break
