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OKLAHOMA CITY — Creating space with the sidestep move, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander swished in the dagger baseline jumper despite Dennis Schroder's contest. For the first time in what feels like forever, OKC had to earn a victory in the final moments of a close contest.
The Oklahoma City Thunder kept their distance from the Detroit Pistons in a 119-103 win. They've won 11 in a row and finish with an NBA record of 29-1 against the Eastern Conference this season.
From the start, this had the makings of another boring blowout. The Thunder sped by the Pistons on the scoreboard with a quick 11-4 lead. That continued as they exited the first quarter with a 41-27 lead. Gilgeous-Alexander had already scored 15 points.
The Thunder looked like they were on the verge of another 20-point lead. Instead, their offense came to a screeching halt. They struggled to score with Gilgeous-Alexander off the floor. The Pistons slowly chipped away. They closed the half on a 12-4 run as Schroder and a red-hot Tim Hardaway Jr. made up for Cade Cunningham's absence.
After the first half, the Thunder only had a 65-59 lead. Despite being severally short-handed, the Pistons were going to force OKC to earn this win — something most teams have failed to do as they were steamrolled on the scoreboard.
Rejunevated, the Thunder scored the first 10 points out of the break. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams led them to a 75-59 lead with a little over nine minutes left in the third quarter. OKC scored 32 points in the frame to create a commanding 97-81 advantage.
Despite the score, the Pistons made the game interesting again with one final run. Malik Beasley's 3-pointer with a little under nine minutes left turned it into a 100-91 contest. Ausar Thompson's second-chance dunk forced the Thunder to call a timeout with just a 102-95 lead.
The Pistons' defense froze out the Thunder's second unit. They struggled to generate buckets. Paul Reed's and-one conversion turned it into a 102-98 contest with a little over six minutes left. Uh oh. After it looked like OKC would cruise to its 29th win over an Eastern squad, feisty Detroit muddied up the game and made things uncomfortable.
Alas, the Thunder were done playing with fire. As Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in, they turned off the stove. Holding onto a 107-103 lead with four minutes left, the Thunder finished the game by scoring 12 points. After Thompson had another second-chance jam, Detroit was scoreless in the final four minutes.
The Thunder's Mount Rushmore each created a highlight in the game-ending 12-0 run. Williams drilled a mid-range jumper, Lu Dort scored on a soul-crushing 3-pointer, Holmgren blocked Jalen Duren at the rim and Gilgeous-Alexander sealed the final result with a signature mid-range jumper.
Just like that, the Thunder's defense stepped up and failed to give up a single point. What felt like a likely down-to-the-wire ending turned into another ho-hum double-digit win for OKC. They've tied the 1972 Lakers for most 10-plus point wins in a season at 50.
The Thunder shot 44% from the field and went 10-of-38 (26.3%) from 3. They shot 25-of-31 on free throws. They had 25 assists on 42 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 33 points. Holmgren had a 22-point double-double. Williams finished with 23 points. Dort had 14 points and seven rebounds. Cason Wallace finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Meanwhile, the Pistons shot 40% from the field and went 10-of-33 (30.3%) from 3. They shot 21-of-25 on free throws. They had 20 assists on 36 baskets. Six Pistons players scored double-digit points.
Hardaway Jr. had 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and shot 5-of-9 from 3. Schroder was limited to 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting and seven assists. Duren tallied 13 points and 13 rebounds. Thompson had 13 points and eight rebounds. Beasley only scored 11 points and shot 3-of-10 from 3.
Inching closer, the Thunder have a non-zero chance to cross 70 wins. It's a little absurd to think out loud about it, but certainly doable. This wasn't a lopsided affair as most thought it'd be once Cunningham was ruled out and several Pistons players were suspended, but it's productive adversity for a group that's faced very little all season.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A
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Another national TV game, another big moment for Gilgeous-Alexander. ESPN didn't get its bang for its buck with this contest once it was flexed because of Cunningham's absence, but it did get to see the 26-year-old put some of the finishing touches to what is a likely MVP campaign.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 33 points on 10-of-26 shooting, six rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-7 from 3 and went 11-of-12 on free throws. He also had three steals and two blocks.
It wasn't on his usual efficiency, but Gilgeous-Alexander still managed to cross the 30-point threshold. Give credit to the Pistons, elite wing defenders like Thompson have given the 26-year-old fits all season. This game and the next game will give him a healthy dosage of Ausar and Amen.
The jumper didn't fall for Gilgeous-Alexander at the rate it usually did. After a quick 15 points in the first quarter, he was held to 18 points the rest of the way. He got to the free-throw line at a decent clip but that became his source of offense.
As both teams struggled to score in the fourth quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander only needed to hit on one of his signature mid-range jumpers to seal the result. A final trip to the free-throw line allowed him to get drowned out by loud "MVP" chants. Considering ESPN's MVP straw poll results, that looks inevitable.
Chet Holmgren: A-plus
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Grabbing a steal, Holmgren jogged down the court in a fastbreak situation. Only needing to beat out a slow-footed Duren, the seven-footer twisted his legs like a pretzel and hit a circus one-handed layup to get an and-one opportunity.
Holmgren finished with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 11 rebounds and four assists. He shot 0-of-5 from 3 but went 8-of-9 on free throws. He also had six blocks and two steals.
This shouldn't be breaking news, but Holmgren turned in one of his best games in recent memory as he slid down to his natural center position with Isaiah Hartenstein coming off the bench. This monster outing proved what we already knew — the 22-year-old is best individually served as a center.
Fading in the background too many times, Holmgren was featured early. He had nine points in the first quarter. All his buckets came at the rim as he was a roaming alley-oop threat. He remained active inside as the Pistons could only resort to fouling him and sending him to the free-throw line to earn his points.
A busy night as a rim protector allowed him to rack up his block numbers. With a lack of go-to scorers, barreling into the paint was their only hope to get points. All that did was result in Holmgren ticking up his block average. The seven-footer is a mismatch nightmare against traditional bigs and Duren's forgettable game was a reminder of that.
The Thunder already knows what they have with Holmgren at center. This was a reminder of how they still have that curveball in their back pocket. They could rely on it as a strikeout pitch in the playoffs but the double-big lineup has produced enough positive results to continue to lean on that even if it means sacrificing some of the 22-year-old's brilliance.
Jalen Williams: A-minus
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Completely open at the right-wing spot, Williams quickly swished in an outside catch-and-shoot look as the final seconds ticked away. You can't do that. The Pistons played solid half-court defense but the Thunder's deep bag of tricks resulted in an open look for their second All-Star.
Williams finished with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting, five rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-6 from 3 and went 3-of-6 on free throws. He also had a block.
Williams had better luck on his jumper than Gilgeous-Alexander. He found his spots without much resistance and scored on mid-range looks. The drive-heavy scorer also found himself bodying through several Pistons defenders to get to the rim or the free-throw line.
This was one of the better games from the Thunder's trio. Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Williams each scored 20-plus points. That's seldom happened this season due to injuries and role changes. But this was a nice throwback to what they're capable of doing.
Lu Dort: B
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Needing a specific player to get stopped, Dort is the ultimate cheat code. Two poor Pistons role players had to deal with his defensive wrath with Cunningham out. After holding Beasley scoreless in the first half, the Thunder put Dort on Hardaway Jr. after 21 first-half points. The result? Just two points the rest of the way.
Dort finished with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, seven rebounds and an assist. He shot 4-of-9 from 3. He also had a steal.
The outside shots were very much welcomed. With the rest of the Thunder struggling from deep, he made four of their 10 outside buckets. On the flip side, Dort helped out his case to bring home awards by showing out on national television.
After some national talking heads have brought up Dort, the Defensive Player of the Year award remains up for grabs after it felt like Draymond Green successfully self-campaigned to win it. Everybody on the Thunder has had turns pitching to voters why he should win it. His main argument is shutting out the opposition's best scorer. Add this game to that list.
Highlights:
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder do just enough to beat Pistons in 119-103 win
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