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Player grades: Thunder lose high-scoring affair to Hawks, 137-132
OKLAHOMA CITY — Remember how the Oklahoma City Thunder scrapped by the Denver Nuggets for a 101-99 win just two days ago?
Well, it felt like they played a completely different sport on Wednesday in a 137-132 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
It was pretty clear where this game was heading after the first quarter, as the Thunder led 43-39. This belief was reaffirmed at the half with a tied game of 77-77.
Then by the end of the third quarter, both teams scored over 100 points. Ultimately, both teams scored over 130 points in regulation.
The Thunder scored 132 points on 53-of-102 (52%) from the field and went 15-of-34 (44.1%) from 3. The Hawks scored 137 points on 50-of-84 (59.5%) from the field and 11-of-29 (37.9%) from 3.
The biggest difference between both teams came from the free-throw line. The Hawks went 26-of-33 (78.8%) and the Thunder went 11-of-16 (68.8%).
The high-scoring affair was main evented by the battle of 2018 draft companions Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Trae Young. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 36 points while Young finished with 33 points and 11 assists.
Trailing 131-122 with 1:54 left, it felt like the game was about over. But a 10-4 flurry helped the Thunder make it a three-point game with 14.1 seconds left.
Alas, Gilgeous-Alexander missed a pair of shots near the rim and hopes of a comeback win were evaporated.
Outside of Young’s dominant night, the Hawks also had four other double-digit scorers.
Dejounte Murray finished with 21 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic finished with 20 points. John Collins and Clint Capela each collected double-doubles. Capela had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Collins had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A+
Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an awesome night as he had another efficient 30-point performance.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 36 points on 13-of-22 shooting, seven assists and five rebounds. From the free-throw line, Gilgeous-Alexander went 9-of-10.
A lot of Gilgeous-Alexander’s damage came in the first half, where he scored 26 points — a new career-high for most points scored in the first half.
Trailing by three points, Gilgeous-Alexander had a chance to cut the Hawks lead to one point or even tie the game. Instead, he missed a pair of shots near the rim that sealed the game.
Jalen Williams: A+
Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
The loudest reactions of the night all came from Jalen Williams’s dunks.
Williams finished with 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting, five rebounds and four steals.
Like most nights, Williams scored most of his points inside the paint and went 9-of-14 in that area — with a lot of those finishes being loud dunks.
Josh Giddey: C
Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
In a rare occurrence, Josh Giddey struggled with his shot against the Hawks.
Giddey finished with 16 points on 8-of-19 shooting, eight rebounds and six assists.
Giddey went just 8-of-17 inside the paint, a weird individual performance in a game where defense was nonexistent.
To Giddey’s credit, he overcame a slow four-point first half. In the second half, Giddey finished with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Kenrich Williams: C
Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
The Thunder elected to go small with their starting lineup as Kenrich Williams was the starting center with the regular four.
A decision that paid off as the Thunder outscored the Hawks by 19 points in Williams’ 30 minutes. The plus-19 was the best mark on the Thunder.
Williams finished with nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
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