OKC Thunder Fall Short After Late Comeback Attempt in Atlanta
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After beating the league-leading Boston Celtics on Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder fell flat in Atlanta.
The Thunder fell to the Hawks 141-138 on the second night of a back-to-back. Seven Hawks scored in double figures to help lead them over the Thunder, including four 20-point scorers.
The Thunder quickly cut their deficit to three after trailing by 16 in the last three minutes. Following Bogdan Bogdanovic’s missed 3-point attempt, the Thunder had a chance to tie with only 3.2 seconds left but Isaiah Joe’s corner three as time expired did not fall.
Needing a solid 12 minutes to get back into the game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to winning the third quarter by four. His 14 points in the quarter, along with the Thunder taking better care of the ball, helped them cut the deficit to seven before the Hawks extended their lead again.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished just shy of a triple-double with 33 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. His 11-of-24 night from the floor was an example of Oklahoma City’s struggles throughout the night.
The Thunder cut their deficit from 17 to 12 just a couple of possessions into the second half. With the lead down to 11, the Hawks called a timeout early in the third quarter, but it took nearly 10 minutes for the game to resume after a lengthy delay trying to figure out Jalen Williams’ foul count.
An alley-oop finish by Jalen Johnson helped spark a 10-2 run that helped push Atlanta’s lead to 21. Oklahoma City cut its deficit to 17 by halftime but still had a lot of ground to make up.
Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 18-point first half led the Hawks to their big lead. Meanwhile, Trae Young’s eight free throw attempts led them to 23 first-half attempts, nailing 22.
The Hawks continued their hot foul shooting throughout the night, ending 31-of-33 from there. Meanwhile, Young finished the night with 24 points and 11 assists.
With the Thunder starters struggling to find a rhythm, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins provided valuable minutes off the bench, scoring 15 and 13, respectively.
The Hawks jumped out to an early 11-0 lead, with the Thunder unable to score their first field goal until the 7:16 mark. Despite getting to the free-throw line at a good rate in the first, the Thunder faced a 14-point deficit going into the second quarter.
The Thunder will look to get back on track in Brooklyn when they play the Nets on Friday.
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