OKC Thunder back atop Western Conference standings after win vs Milwaukee Bucks
The lone ounce of certainty among the top of the Western Conference came in Oklahoma City.
Amid a playoff race with infinite scenarios — Doctor Strange’s head would be spinning — each of the West’s top-three teams played in games that leaned toward wins. Only two ended in nail-biters.
The unrecognizable Hawks gave the Timberwolves a legitimate scare. The Spurs actually spooked the Nuggets into a three-way tie. But the Thunder’s 125-107 win over the no-Dame, no-Giannis Bucks was convincing. So convincing that Doc Rivers seemingly waved the white flag late in the third quarter.
Milwaukee dearly missed its star duo. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who suffered a calf injury earlier in the week, was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season. Damian Lillard was ruled out ahead of the game with a sore left adductor.
Antetokounmpo had been the driving force in a win in Milwaukee weeks back. He’d imposed his will, setting the tone for a level of physicality the Thunder never quite matched then.
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Without him, Friday looked different.
Rookie Chet Holmgren was forceful around the rim. With his shot blocking, with his recognition and abuse of switches. His drop-step finish for an and-one, which removed 6-foot-6 Milwaukee wing Chris Livingston almost completely from his path, was like a rare Pokemon. A move we haven’t quite seen a lot this year, and a sign of his progress when handed switches.
Holmgren finished with 22 points on 13 shots, nine boards and three blocks.
OKC shot 52.8% from the field and 34.2% from 3, getting just a bit of scoring from everyone. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who played a masterful first quarter full of head fakes and dizzying hesitations, finished with 23 points on 7-for-21 shooting. He gave the Thunder its first leg up.
Holmgren’s presence and some notable decision making from OKC’s role players staved off Milwaukee’s attempts at runs.
The Thunder had six players score in double figures, including Aaron Wiggins, who finished with 19 points and played the duration of Friday’s second and fourth quarters.
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Thunder not focused on hectic seeding race
If it was the Thunder way to do so, perhaps then OKC’s players would’ve described how far their jaws dropped when discovering the Spurs’ win over Denver. But it isn’t. And there were several Thunder players, all set into the accustomed too-cool, too-locked-in-to-view-the-future that’s become a lifestyle. A brand.
The Thunder is human. Mostly 20-something-year-old humans. It would’ve been natural to express some sentiment about how unpredictable this unprecedented West race is. But each of Holmgren, Wiggins and Williams uttered some version of indifference toward seeding order when asked if they’re tracking it.
“Nope,” Williams said, his face resting in his hand.
“I’d love to give you more detail, but I really don’t be paying attention to it. Especially this year. It’s been moving around so much, I could care less.”
Coach Mark Daigneault didn’t have much of a reaction to San Antonio guard Devonte’ Graham’s game-winning shot against Denver, or the result that thrust OKC into the West’s first seed.
“For 81 games, we've focused on the same stuff and we're just gonna keep doing that all the way through the finish line here,” Daigneault said.
Wiggins noted that he’s seen it, mostly because of how tight the race is, but that, “I don’t think we’re worried about it as a team.”
Jason Kidd told Dallas media on Friday that he’ll rest the majority of his starters Sunday in OKC, with the Mavericks already having clinched their seed. It leaves a runway for OKC to control its destiny to some degree. There are plenty of different scenarios, but if it wants the first seed, it's up for grabs — and likely — barring another Nuggets loss.
Maybe then Williams and friends will tune into the NBA’s play-in tournament.
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Aaron Wiggins’ adaptability
Aaron Wiggins has been given every title possible this season.
A swiss army knife. Mark Daigneault’s best system player. The savior of basketball.
Plenty of the admiration comes from his game. Plenty of it also stems with how seamlessly he can teeter between DNPs and games, like Friday, where he might play an entire quarter.
“It’s an adaptive team,” Daigneault said. “He obviously is a great example of that he's had great moments and you know, he just sees a punching bag. He just eats punches and nothing really throws him off and it's made him incredibly mentally tough.”
Daigneault’s trust in Wiggins has seemingly increased as the season has gone on, even if might not be as obvious to those of the belief he should play even more.
Questions of whether he’ll be prominent in the Thunder’s playoff rotation have lingered. With his quick bursts of points, monumental runs, electric fastbreak plays, deflections, occupying space.
Even if dependent on matchup, Wiggins has been a bit too sound in his role to feel like anything less than a consistent part of the rotation. He felt that vote of confidence on Friday.
“(It) gives you a sense of understanding that you're out there and you're contributing in the right way,” Wiggins said. “The more that you're out there, the more you feel as though coach and the players around you trust you.”
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Thunder vs. Mavericks
TIPOFF: 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Paycom Center (Bally Sports Oklahoma)
Western Conference playoff picture
Thunder (56-25): Beat Bucks 125-107 on Friday. Up next: Regular-season finale vs. Mavericks at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Timberwolves (56-25): Beat Hawks 109-106 on Friday. Up next: Regular-season finale vs. Suns at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Nuggets (56-25): Lost at Spurs 121-120 on Friday. Up next: Regular-season finale at Grizzlies at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder beat Bucks as Giannis and Damian Lillard sit for Milwaukee
