The Thunder wrapped up scrimmage play on Tuesday evening in Orlando, beating the Portland Trail Blazers by a final score of 131-120. Chris Paul (rest) was unavailable but the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led offense didn’t miss a beat — erupting for 131 points on 20-of-41 (48.8%) shooting from long range to overwhelm a Portland team that was without its superstar backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
Darius Bazley led the Thunder in scoring with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting — including 3-of-5 from downtown in a special performance. Hamidou Diallo added 16 points on a 7-of-9 shooting clip, as seven players reached double-figures for OKC.
STAT LEADERS:
Bazley: 20 pts, 7/15 FG, 3/5 3P, +5
Diallo: 16 pts, 5 reb, 7/9 FG, +16
Dennis Schroder: 14 pts, 7 ast, +17
Lu Dort: 13 pts, 3 ast, 4/7 FG, 3/5 3P
Abdel Nader: 11 pts, 3/6 3P, +9
Mike Muscala: 10 pts, 2/4 3P, +23
SGA: 10 pts, 7 ast, 3/4 FG, +9
Shai The Floor General
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got the start at point guard with Chris Paul sitting for rest purposes. Though the Thunder will go as far as CP3 will lead them in the playoffs, SGA looked like a star as he ran the show tonight against Portland.
SGA’s most notable plays of the day were back-to-back step-back threes he created in the pick-n-roll. Jusuf Nurkic got stranded on the perimeter each time and OKC’s young king made him look foolish.
One more, Jusuf. This will be over quickly.
Ridiculous amounts of filth, right? You already know what I’m gonna say, partna.
Shai wrapped up his day with 10 points (3/4 FG) and 7 assists in nearly 17-minutes of first half action. He watched from the sideline after the break and appears ready for the regular-season to resume on Saturday. Very encouraging scrimmage finale from the Shai.
Shooters Shoot
The Thunder shot 9-of-18 from long range in the first half and a ridiculous 20-of-41 for the game. The best part of that stat, however, is who contributed to it most.
Dort again looked confident as he fired with no-hesitation — hitting 3-of-5 from deep in the win.
Bazley hit 3-of-5 as well on his way to a scrimmage-high 20 points.
And because he’s suddenly the best shooter in league history, Roberson knocked down his only three-point attempt of the game. No hitch, with confidence.
Incredible. I don’t remember ever seeing him raise his arms and ask for an opportunity to shoot.
SGA, Muscala, and Kevin Hervey added two triples apiece — with Diallo, Gallinari, Devon Hall, and Deonte Burton adding one each. The Thunder role players most certainly won’t stay this hot from long range, but it was a beautiful thing to see them fire with absolute confidence. OKC will need more of that when the games matter and CP3 is on the floor to find them open looks.
Highlights
Notes
The Missing: In addition to CP3, Terrance Ferguson was absent due to a leg contusion. Nerlens Noel was also inactive because he missed a mandatory COVID-19 test. All are expected to be available when the regular season resumes on Saturday against Utah.
Starting Five: Paul was a late scratch but it thrust Roberson into the normal starting five alongside SGA, Dort, Gallinari, and Steven Adams. He contributed 7 points and 5 rebounds in 18 minutes — shooting 3-of-4 from the field and hitting his only three-point attempt of the evening. Dre is going to play a lot, folks. He looks perfectly ready.
Hamidou What I Want: Diallo has been seeing extended run in the scrimmages and played very well against Portland — dropping 16 points and 5 rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting (1/1 3P) in nearly 21 minutes of action. He’s absolutely going to be a part of the regular rotation when the games start counting for real.
Big Steve: Steven Adams had a quiet 9-point performance in 15 minutes of first-half action. He did, however, pull this fancy maneuver:
Next Up: Scrimmage play is over and it’s time for the real thing. The regular season resumes on Saturday against the Utah Jazz — 1:30PM CT on ESPN and Fox Sports Oklahoma.
