BY: ROBERT ANTHONY MORALES – Sports On Air USA Correspondent
LOS ANGELES — The Thunder just keeps on rolling. Oklahoma City ended an already surprising season with even more flourish, beating the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, 124-108, in front of a capacity crowd of 18,203 at Paycom Center.
Shae Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points to lead a balanced attack where all five starters finished in double figures. Chet Holmgren had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Giddey added 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists while Ja Williams and Lou Dort combined for 35.
The Thunder now sit in second place in the Western Conference at 22-9 and fourth overall in the league.
“We’ve gotten a lot better. We’ve put in a lot of work. I expect us to get better. I’m not surprised. We’ve got to keep going and keep getting better,” Gilgeous-Alexander told The Associated Press. SGA played for Canada in the FIBA World Cup 2023 held in Manila last September.
The improvement Gilgeous-Alexander harped on was reflected in the Thunder’s 54.2 shooting clip from the field (45-of-83) and 54.5 percent accuracy from three-point distance (18 of 33). Out-rebounded 47-46, the Thunder dished 31 assists that led to several good looks.
“I think we picked up our energy,” Holgrem added. After trailing the opening quarter, 36-33, the Thunder outscored the Nets, 91-72.
Mikal Bridges paced Brooklyn with 22 points. But after waxing hot in the first quarter with 15, he managed only seven through four quarters. He hit 8-of-20 field goals and just 3-of-10 from 3. He also grabbed 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
Nix Claxton and Spencer Dinwiddie had 15 points apiece and Cam Thomas shined with 20 off the bench. In the end, the Nets couldn’t overcome a poor shooting night — 38 percent on field goals (38 of 100) and 26.1 percent from three-point range (12-of-460.
“You look at the stat sheet and we did some really good things tonight. We shared the ball and didn’t turn it over. How many shots did we have? Seventeen more shots. Pretty good recipe for us,” Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said on his post-game presser.
Brooklyn fell to 15-19 for the season.
