OKC Dives South to ATL

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021

Tip-Off Time: 6:30 p.m. CT

Television: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Radio: 98.1 FM WWLS the Sports Animal and the Thunder Radio Network

The past three games have been chances for the Thunder coaching staff to explore its roster and give players opportunities that they may not have received with a full complement of players. As a result, with the Thunder down three starters on Tuesday, Thunder two-way center Moses Brown made his second consecutive appearance in the starting lineup for the Thunder (also his second career NBA start) while also logging his fourth consecutive game scoring a career high in points.

Brown played a significant role in the Thunder’s second quarter where the group overcame an early 18-point deficit against Chicago. His activity around the rim earned him a double-double by halftime and by the end of the night, the 7-foot-2 center posted 20 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks which made him just the second player in OKC history to record such a stat line.

“He's a factor down there. He creates space for us to penetrate and then if his man helps he's going to be loose on the glass,” said Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault following Tuesday’s game. “I thought tonight showed a pretty good indication of what he's capable of on the glass and in terms of finishing plays around the basket.”

Leading the Thunder in scoring was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who recorded 21 points the hard way. All but three of SGA’s points came from inside of the lane on tough, high-level-of-difficulty drives to the basket. His 21 points gave him his 3,000th career point in the NBA.

Despite the impressive performances by SGA and Brown, the Thunder fell to Chicago 123-102 on Tuesday and will look to right the ship going into Atlanta ­– the second stop of its four game road trip.

“Compete more defensively. I feel like that was the biggest thing. Take care of the ball, obviously - a lot of points off turnovers in the past two games really,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “I feel like we'll be alright though. We'll have another opportunity, another crack at it. We'll be alright.”

The Thunder’s last meeting with the Hawks took place in late-February, pre-All-Star Break. In that game the Thunder demonstrated what Coach Daigneault referred to at the time as “the epitome of guys playing with pace, creating advantages for each other and spraying the ball around to find the open man.” The squad dished out 31 assists on 46 made baskets which led to the Thunder winning 118-109 while shooting above 50% for the game

Since then, the Hawks have a new face at the head coach spot in Nate McMillan and are currently riding an historic six-game winning streak. Atlanta’s defense has played a key role in its winning trend as it has allowed the second-fewest points per game over those past six contests at just 101.2 per game while also allowing the second-lowest field goal percentage and 3-point percentage.

On the offensive end, third year guard Trae Young has led the Hawks in scoring with 26 points per night, but in its last win over Houston on Sunday, it was former Thunder player Danilo Gallinari who led the Hawks in scoring with 29 points with five made 3-pointers. Gallinari who started at center for Atlanta’s big man Clint Capela (heel pain), has now scored 20 or more points four times in the Hawk’s last five games.

Two of the top scorers of the 2018 draft class will be going head-to-head on Thursday and that’s Young and Gilgeous-Alexander. The two guards lead their respective teams in points, assists and free throw attempts per game.

Over his career, Young has historically performed below his average against the Thunder averaging 19 points on just 35 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent from the 3-point line. Comparatively, Young averages just over 24 points per game against the rest of the league and shoots at a 42.9 percent clip from the field and 35 percent from deep. Keep an eye out on the offensive contributions from these two third-year point guards.

Three-Point Attempts — While the last time these two teams met, the Thunder ended up switching uniforms at halftime, number of jerseys will not be the stat to watch in Thursday’s matchup. Throughout the season both the Thunder and the Hawks have established their abilities to defend the 3-point line as they are tied for first in the league in total games this season holding their opponents to below 35 percent shooting. Both teams also sit in the top five in the league in overall opponent 3-point percentage per contest. Be on the lookout for a strong effort by both teams to contest each look behind the line and force shooters to put the ball on the deck.

Thunder wing Kenrich Williams posted 14 points off the bench in the Thunder’s game on Tuesday. His active cutting without the ball and shooting versatility made him an easy target for backdoor cuts and trail passes. Interestingly, it has been Thunder guard Ty Jerome who has connected with Williams on several of those plays.

The two playmakers have now recorded three consecutive games with 10 or more points for the Thunder which marks a career-high-tying mark for Williams and a career-high streak for the second-year Jerome.