Oklahoma City looked to overcome its Summer League struggles but ran into more trouble.
The Thunder lost to the Golden State Warriors 90-83 on Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center. Although the Thunder were winless in Vegas going into the game, they had an opportunity to play spoiler. The Warriors were 3-0 and needed a win to clinch a spot in the semifinals.
Oklahoma City never stopped battling throughout the fourth quarter and was within one possession for much of the final frame. After Keyontae Johnson cut the Warriors’ lead to one, Golden State responded and used a Jackson Rowe 3-pointer to extend the lead to five in the final minute, which would end up being too much for the Thunder to overcome.
Ousmane Dieng’s Summer League was over before Vegas started, but a few other key players were also shut down early. Friday night’s game marked the second contest without Adam Flagler, Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell.
After the Thunder looked good offensively in their first game without them, Friday was a much different story. The Thunder shot 27-of-71 from the floor and 14-of-41 from 3-point range.
Hunter Maldonado starred for the Thunder early, scoring 14 points in the first half on his way to 25. He also showed some of his abilities defensively and finished with three steals.
His quick start helped the Thunder enter halftime trailing by only three points. Oklahoma City closed the half on an 8-0 run, which included five points from Maldonado.
Pat Spencer led the way for Golden State in the first half, scoring 10. He finished the game with 17. Although neither team could get much going in the third quarter, Golden State tried to rebuild its double-digit lead.
Oklahoma City will finish its Summer League schedule on Saturday with a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.
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Source link : https://www.si.com/nba/thunder/news/okc-thunder-fall-to-warriors-in-defensive-summer-league-battle-01j36h4pr4kx
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Publish date : 2024-07-20 00:16:42
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