Point guard Josh Giddey finished the Thunder’s win over the Warriors on Tuesday with not just 17 points and 11 rebounds, but also a season-high 17 assists.
Among the beneficiaries, of course, was All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 33.
“Guys are making shots,” Giddey told reporters. “I mean, it’s kind of that easy. I mean, I was just making the right play and, you know, 17 assists sounds great, but you give a lot of credit to your teammates. They were in the right spot a lot of tonight. They made shots, made some tough ones as well.”
- Gilgeous-Alexander offered high praise for Giddey. “Josh was his best form tonight,” he told reporters. “He was aggressive, he was downhill, he was making the right basketball play. He never wavered on his aggressiveness and confidence throughout the game.”
- While the Thunder may not win the NBA Draft lottery, they are more or less viewing injured center Chet Holmgren as their top pick next season. A pairing of Holmgren and, say, Victor Wembanyama, with SGA, Giddey and the rest … well, let’s just say it would be promising. But it’s promising even without OKC needing to win the lottery.
- As it stands, the Thunder (31-34) sit in a three-way tie for 10th in the Western Conference and within striking distance of the No. 6 playoff seed.
- But coach Mark Daigneault has avoided talk of the standings. “With where our team is, everything we’re looking at is through the lens of development,” he said, via Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman.
- Gilgeous-Alexander, however, is clearly fired up about the season’s final stretch. ““It’s exciting,” he said, via Mussatto. “Meaningful basketball games are the best part of the season.”
- Rookie guard Jalen Williams missed Tuesday’s win with a right wrist sprain and has also been ruled out Wednesday vs. the Suns. “Beyond that, we’ll see how it goes,” Daigneault said, via Mussatto.
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!
