Thunder 116, Pistons 124: The Day After Report

Box Score | Play-by-Play

Oklahoma City was down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Ajay Mitchell. Add a few scrubs to those six and you still have a home court advantage roster. They were playing against the Eastern Conference #1 seed, short only Isaiah Stewart (out on bad behavior).

Of course the Thunder played up* to Detroit, going up 34-22 in the first quarter and once again showing that OKC’s players—not just the stars—can hang with absolutely anyone. The Thunder have been winning in next-man-up* mode for three straight regular seasons, and had won the last three games without Shai. They pushed the Pistons up* until the finish behind a career scoring night from Jaylin Williams (30 points, 5-10 3PA), and had a chance to snatch the up*set on the road down three points with five minutes to go. But they came up a little* short* as Detroit closed out the win with shotmaking and execution.

Final: Pistons (43-14) def. Thunder (45-15), 124-116

Nuggets and Notes:

• The Thunder played a strong, disciplined first half, but their sputtering offense started leading to semi-transition opportunities that energized the sluggish Pistons. And without their two best bigs, OKC was routinely overpowered inside by Jalen Duren and the Pistons’ drive-and-crashers once Detroit got downhill. The All-Star reserve cleaned up for 29 points and 15 rebounds. The game was lost as the dam burst in the second and third quarters, when Detroit had a 146.9 ORTG and 50% offensive rebound rate.
• *In a game that the Pistons made 35-54 of their shots in the paint , grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, and blocked the Thunder 12 times, all the figurative recap cliches strike close to home: OKC came up short. OKC was shorthanded. OKC played up to the competition. OKC was undermanned.
• 16 offensive rebounds would be a league-leading number per game, but it feels low. Detroit finished with 70 points in the paint—more than doubling the Thunder’s total—and took 26 free throws. Turns out, lacking your most skilled guards, plural, and your most imposing centers, plural, creates some vulnerabilities on the court.
• When you look at those hideous stats close to the basket, you wonder how the Thunder weren’t blown out. OKC continued to shoot well from three (18-49) and moved the ball, with 4 or more assists from each of Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, J-Will, Lu Dort, and Nikola Topic. They cashed in their second-chance points (30) and went 20-21 from the line. There are no moral victories in the standings, but this was another game full of encouraging little things that grew my confidence in the If Healthy Thunder’s postseason fate.
• J-Will has been pretty excellent as a defensive cog for a lot of this season, complementing and leaning on elite help from quicker, springier athletes roaming the frontcourt (namely Chet, IHart, JDub, and Caruso). As the only big patrolling the lane, his smarts and size aren’t nearly enough to perturb the opposing team above the rim.
• Cason Wallace (23 points on 9-17 shooting) stayed aggressive and effective, frequenting the paint when no one else could and hitting timely shots all night.
• Jared McCain scored 20 in a season-high 30 minutes, taking the lead on more possessions and starting the second half in Joe’s place.
• Aaron Wiggins: role model. Wiggins has been great this season, holding up particularly well on defense while picking his spots to score. He's struggled when assuming more playmaking duties, averaging 2.3 assists and 2.1 turnovers over his last 15 games, and coughed it up three more times against Detroit. But Wiggins led OKC with 6 assists and almost saved basketball by next-man-upping the key stretch in the fourth to give the Thunder a shot. He scored 8 straight OKC points, and 10 of 15 as they closed a 106-92 gap to 111-107 with four minutes remaining.
• When Duren magically blew a wide open dunk, just for him to get a three-point play instead, it felt like the game just wasn’t gonna go the Thunder’s way.

• Detroit went up 101-89 on that backbreaker but, of course, J-Will drew a ridiculous and-one of his own on the very next trip down the floor. Game still on.
• There were several moments like that where the Thunder could've resigned to the notion that it just wasn't their night and let go of the rope. But the team fought back to stay within striking distance over and over and over and over again.
• It's painful to watch OKC exert so much effort forcing misses just to lose the rebound and scramble again. During that crucial junction, with the Thunder down 108-105 in the fourth, Steve Novak Duncan Robinson's airball sailing out of bounds felt like a just end to a possession well defended. Instead, Paul Reed threw it off J-Will, and Javonte Green cashed in the Pistons’ fourth straight shot attempt.

• Cade Cunningham (29 pts, 13 ast, 6 stocks, 8 tov) was a menace on defense and got the better of Dort on several occasions, but never got comfortable enough to fully break out against OKC’s thin backcourt.
• Isaiah Joe had a rough first half (1-5) before exiting with a glute contusion. Mark Daigneault dusted off Branden Carlson for just a few minutes before Carlson, too, exited with an injury. Jaylin Williams rolled his ankle in the first quarter but looked okay the rest of the way.
• Branden Carlson has played more games for the Thunder this season than Isaiah Hartenstein. And Hartenstein has only been the fourth-most hurt OKC player. Any more Thunder injuries should be illegal.
• It's a real shame he's not named Branden Barlson, robbing us of having double Bs on every two-way contract. We even could’ve added Bruised Butt (Isaiah Joe) as a temporary B Boy with Brooks Barnhizer and Buddy Boeheim. Alass.