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ethanbacanba.bsky.social
Thunder on SI writer | DePaul sports journalism ‘25 | “It’s not what you know, it’s what you can impart on people”
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LeBron James is superhuman.

The Thunder scored a season-high 146 points thanks to Jalen Williams racking up a career-high 41 points. My recap: www.si.com/nba/thunder/...

Jalen Williams has flat-out dominated this fourth quarter.

Thunder has a 13-point lead with six minutes remaining. Spurs first half: 16-for-26 on 3-pointers Spurs second half: 0-for-11 on 3-pointers

The foul is overturned to a block – perhaps the most impressive of Dieng’s career.

Ousmane Dieng’s foul on Devin Vassell looked very clean on the replay. Mark Daigneault is challenging the play

The Spurs did not make a 3-pointer after racking up a franchise-record 16 in the first half.

Oklahoma City won the third quarter 36-23.

EJECTED: Kenrich Williams, Julian Champagnie, Luguentz Dort Jeremy Sochan also picked up a technical foul but remains in the game.

Champagnie inadvertently elbowed Williams in the face while holding the ball.

Jeremy Sochan threw down a dunk, but not before Kenrich Williams and Julian Champagnie became entangled in an altercation near the scorer’s table. All players on the court quickly rushed toward them. Officials are reviewing the situation for any penalties. 100-96 OKC, 3:00 3Q

Luguentz Dort has seven points and four rebounds in the last three minutes, sparking a 13-2 Thunder run. His consecutive putback layups forced an early San Antonio timeout. 85-81 OKC, 9:08 3Q

Thunder’s points allowed since the All-Star break: 107, 123, 131, 121, 119. Four are within the 11 highest opponent scores all season – and even 107 is worse than OKC’s average. Spurs are on pace for 154 tonight.

HALFTIME: Spurs 77, Thunder 72 SAS is 16-for-26 on 3-pointers, setting a franchise record for makes in a half. Castle has four on seven attempts, including two missed end-of-quarter heaves. Five players have made multiple threes. SGA and J-Dub each have an efficient 22 points.

Spurs are 6-for-7 on paint shots during the second quarter – Thunder defense has looked shaky. San Antonio ball-handlers are getting to their spots and making the right reads. 56-53 SAS, 5:48 2Q

END 1Q: Thunder 41, Spurs 38 OKC was saved by the buzzer – Castle’s first 3-point miss came from 38 feet. San Antonio made 10 of its first 13 attempts from downtown. Its last nine baskets are triples. SGA’s 12 points have helped Oklahoma City stay in front.

Safe to say the Spurs have responded appropriately. They’re 6-for-9 from deep, outshooting the Thunder (5-for-9). Harrison Barnes made three straight corner threes before reserves Keldon Johnson and Stephon Castle tallied one. 28-26 OKC, 3:18 1Q

Cason Wallace has gone 2-for-2 on catch-and-shoot threes and made an and-one driving layup over Bismack Biyombo to force a Spurs timeout. Thunder: 4-for-5 on 3-pointers 18-11 OKC, 6:58 1Q

The Thunder suffered two brutal losses to the Timberwolves but went undefeated against every other team during February. I recapped OKC’s two-loss month: www.si.com/nba/thunder/...

Fun sequence to close the night: Keaton splashes a top-of-the-key triple over Cason, and Cason returns the favor with a driving layup past Keaton.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30+ points in six straight games against Atlanta.

Hawks have outscored the Thunder 25-12 in this fourth quarter due to careless two-way play. Things are getting dicey once again. 120-109 OKC, 4:40 4Q

END 3Q: Thunder 108, Hawks 84 Caris LeVert’s and-one layup ended a 17-0 Thunder run. Oklahoma City is a stunning 21-for-39 (53.8%) from downtown. SGA: 23 points on 10-for-19 shooting, five assists, three rebounds, one steal, zero free throws

Aaron Wiggins scored double-digits in every February game.

HALFTIME: Thunder 71, Hawks 64 Atlanta scored 14 straight to finish the second quarter before Hartenstein tipped in a missed 3-pointer. Georges Niang, Terance Mann and Caris LeVert are in double figures off the Hawks bench. Hartenstein and Joe have done so for OKC.

END 1Q: Thunder 40, Hawks 23 Isaiah Joe hit his third triple of the quarter with a second remaining. OKC has scored two fewer points on 3-pointers than Atlanta has total points. It has forced seven turnovers. SGA: Eight points on 4-for-5 shooting, three assists, two rebounds

Quick start for Oklahoma City’s one-center lineup. Every starter has scored. Holmgren’s semi-transition layup forced an Atlanta timeout. Hawks have more turnovers (three) than made shots (two). 15-4 OKC, 8:15 1Q

OKC Thunder’s Cason Wallace Anticipates Matchup Against Brother Keaton www.si.com/nba/thunder/...

Pelicans take down the Suns 124-116 – and have won three straight for the first time this season. Check out Zion Williamson’s shot chart:

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points on 11-for-23 shooting – just his second time below 50% all season. Don’t think he’ll lose much sleep after adding 19 rebounds, seven assists and a block in a nine-point win over the Nuggets.

TNT broadcast announced Nikola Jokic hit 300+ points, 120+ rebounds and 120+ assists in February – the first time it has been done since 1968. Wilt Chamberlain that month: 396 points, 374 rebounds, 170 assists in 16 games

Nets first half: 76 points on 26-for-47 shooting (15-for-30 3-pointers) and four turnovers Nets second half: 45 points on 12-for-46 shooting (8-for-31 3-pointers) and 11 turnovers

FINAL: Thunder 129, Nets 121 Brooklyn made 14 more threes on 31 more attempts, but OKC’s bench lineup led a significant comeback after allowing 76 first-half points. Holmgren: 22 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, two steals Wiggins: 24 points, five rebounds, +26

Jalen Williams flips in an and-one layup. Oklahoma City has scored 16 consecutive points.

Cason Wallace has forced two Brooklyn timeouts in 30 seconds with steals and finishes. 109-103 OKC, 7:00 4Q

You won’t see this very often: Thunder has lost SGA’s 29 minutes by 13 points and won the other 11 minutes by 17 points. It is getting downhill relentlessly right now. 107-103 OKC, 7:28 4Q

Brooklyn responds with a second-chance 3-pointer and sixth-chance (!!!!!) layup. Sharpe still has not missed a shot – he has 23 points on eight attempts, 11 rebounds (five offensive), four assists, two steals and a block. 101-95 BKN, 9:51 4Q

Holmgren swishes a wide-open triple from Wiggins’ kick-out, and Oklahoma City is within a point. Jordi Fernandez calls a quick timeout. 96-95 BKN, 11:02 4Q

Killian Hayes has made four or more 3-pointers for the fifth time in 217 career games. 90-79 BKN, 5:04 3Q

Entering this game, the 2024-25 Nets have attempted 44.7% of their 4,861 field goals from downtown, making 34.6% of them. Nets have shot a ridiculous 63.8% of their field goals from deep tonight on 50.0% shooting. Nearly impossible to overcome that volume and efficiency

HALFTIME: Nets 76, Thunder 61 Brooklyn is a scorching 15-for-30 on 3-pointers. Four Nets have made multiple triples, led by Keon Johnson’s four makes on seven attempts. Thunder needs a much better defensive half to avoid its first losing streak of the 2024-25 season.

Sharpe made contact with the ball before hitting Dort’s arm on the follow-through. This should be overturned.

Day’Ron Sharpe: 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting (including a 3-pointer), five rebounds (three offensive), two assists, one steal, game-high +19 Lowest Brooklyn starter is +13, highest Brooklyn reserve is -7. The difference: BKN is 11-for-24 on 3s, OKC 5-for-19 56-50 BKN, 4:30 2Q

Aaron Wiggins has 13 of the Thunder’s 15 bench points. 42-38 BKN, 8:57 2Q

Brooklyn scored 40 points in the first quarter. It previously reached that mark three times: 10/29/24 vs. DEN (L), 1/14/25 @ POR (W) and 2/22/25 @ PHI (W). That is also a new season-worst for Oklahoma City’s No. 1 defense.

The Nets have put on an efficiency showcase in this first quarter: 5-for-5 on twos, 7-for-14 on threes, and zero turnovers against the league’s best in that department. 33-18 BKN, 3:11 1Q

Every Brooklyn starter has scored – Cameron Johnson is 2-for-2 from deep. Ziaire Williams has three points and five rebounds. Only Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein have made field goals for OKC. It is 4-for-11 overall. SGA has two early turnovers. 20-10 BKN, 6:46 1Q