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Tim McMahon
oklahoma city–how about oklahoma city thunder Handle the distractions that come with being historically influential?
Such is the challenge facing the defending champions after the Thunder won last season’s title by matching the best 25-game start in NBA history.
Oklahoma City punches its ticket to Las Vegas win 138-89 Above phoenix sun in Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinals at Paycom Center. It was the most lopsided defeat in Phoenix history and its largest defeat of the season, but the Thunder have become more regular in losing during a 24–1 start than they had ever experienced before in 2015–16. Golden State Warriors,
Oklahoma City has outscored opponents by an average of 17.4 points this season, putting the Thunder on pace to break the record of plus-12.9 average point differential set last season. Seventeen of the Thunder’s wins have come by double-digit margins.
“Winning is never boring. There were times when some players on our team were getting frustrated,” Thunder forward jalen williams Citing the 73-point loss, he said memphis grizzlies On December 2, 2021. “So I think a lot of people have that in the back of their minds. Even for me, my first year we didn’t win a ton – we were strong, but I think I have that in the back of my mind. And you can’t get bored of the process.”
It’s kind of an accomplishment for an opponent to lead the Thunder far enough to crown MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander To play in the fourth quarter.
This did not happen on Wednesday. After scoring 28 points in 27 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander checked out along with the rest of Oklahoma City’s starters with 3:32 remaining in the third quarter. At that time the Thunder were ahead by 41, which increased to 53 in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we had good mental toughness tonight,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, whose team has been ahead by 20 or more points more than once in 25 games. “It’s hard to play with a lead. It’s hard not to get distracted by the score. I thought the group starting the third quarter came out and had the first punch, and that energy continued into the third. Then in the fourth quarter the group did a great job of making plays on the next possession. That’s how you build habits. You can take steps back in games like this, even if you ultimately win the game.”
Oklahoma City is 72-10 in its last 82 regular season games and has outscored opponents by 1,189 points over that span. According to ESPN Research, this is the best point differential in any 82-game span in NBA history.
The 2015-16 Warriors’ single-season record of 73 wins seems within reach in Oklahoma City, but the Thunder have relegated that discussion to the category of potential distractions.
It was the Thunder’s 16th consecutive win, tying a franchise record for longest winning streak.
“Not focusing on the winning streak,” Daigneault said. “You just have to play the next possession, be better the next day, win the next quarter and compete in the next game. And then if you do that and you’re present in that process, sometimes you look up and you win a few games in a row. But we definitely need to understand, we still have a lot of improvement to make. We have a lot of things to maintain and a lot of competitive challenges ahead.”
Daigneault said he is not worried about setting complacency with the Thunder because the franchise’s players have consistently demonstrated the level of commitment and focus required to deal with the “competitive challenge” that comes with extraordinary success. He pointed out that the majority of the roster – including stars Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Chet Holmgren –There is still developmental potential as players approach or are past their peak.
Several Oklahoma City players emphasized that the team’s priority was to remain in the present and not get caught up in past accomplishments or future prospects.
“I would say it starts with the standard that we have,” said Holmgren, who had 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in the win. “It continues with the respect we have for each other and the joy we get from doing this together. And then it all culminates in trying to learn from every experience — good, bad, close games, blowouts, whatever. Just try to keep learning from them, keep getting better and have fun while we’re doing it.”
