During the Tuesday night NBA slate, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-107 thanks to a 35-point performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 15-point, 13-rebound performance from Josh Giddey.
In a scorching hot third quarter, Dort made five 3-pointers to help Oklahoma City rally from a 16-point, first-half deficit. In Brooklyn’s last six games, which included four road victories, Mikal Bridges scored 34 points, and Cam Johnson added 23.
Despite looking poised to run away in the first half, the Nets sat on a 62-52 lead at halftime after scoring the final six points. Only two of 10 3-pointers had been made by Oklahoma City at that point.
“The underrated thing about a game like that is when you’re down 16 … (and) a team is playing with that juice, and the game’s not quite going your way, not getting knocked out in that period is the key to winning a game like tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “We didn’t go down 25 and we easily could have. We just kind of hung in there long enough for the game to turn.”
Dort, who made 6 of 11 3-pointers, contributed greatly to the success. The Thunder outscored Brooklyn 38-20 in the third quarter by making 8 of 15 3-point attempts.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder & Brooklyn Nets Updates
“I had it going,” Dort said. “I’m working so hard on my shot. I’ve always got to stay confident and always try to take a good one. Tonight, the ball just found me.”
As the Nets entered the fourth quarter, they trailed 90-82 after missing their seven 3-point attempts. Oklahoma City made it 15 points at the end of the game as they came no closer than five points the rest of the way.
“We didn’t finish the (first) half the right way and that led to the third quarter,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “We talked about, every single possession for this team matters. Every 50-50 ball matters. You’ve got to get dirty. You’ve got to get on the floor. You’ve got to get that possession. … We didn’t do that often enough and we paid for it tonight.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder & Brooklyn Nets Updates
A basket with 6:46 left completed Giddey’s fourth triple-double of the season. Jalen Williams also contributed a 23-point, 10-rebound performance. Meanwhile, Nic Claxton led Brooklyn with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Spencer Dinwiddie had 16 points and 11 assists.
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