SGA, Thunder give glimpse into future in play-in win over Pelicans

John Fanta

College basketball announcer and reporter

NBA play-in tournament resumes Wednesday, with seed 10 Oklahoma City Thunder knock nine seeds New Orleans Pelicans on the road.

OKC will now face Minnesota on Friday with the eighth seed in the West in line.

This is the writer of FOX Sports by John Fanta Lessons learned from the Thunder-Pelicans:

The second-youngest roster in NBA history has made enough strides in the 2022-23 campaign to call it a success, with ample room for growth in the future. On Wednesday night, fighting for their season, the kids showed that the wait in Oklahoma City for a nominee in the West may not be as long as originally planned at the time. this point a year ago.

The 10th seed Thunder announced in New Orleans, turning the game around with a third-round lead and continuing to knock out the Pelicans in the NBA play-in, 123-118. With the win, OKC advances to Friday night’s win-or-go game against the Timberwolves in Minnesota at 9:30 p.m. ET. The winner gets the eighth seed in the West and the series with the top seed Denver nuggets.

Lesson learned: The Thunder showed the NBA world, in an isolated TV window, that the organization has a lot of potential and upside, and if this team is a factor in the years to come, Monday. Fourth can be considered as the starting point.

In the biggest spot of his NBA career to date, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander it was amazing in the end time, scoring the highest 32 in the game, eight of which came in the final 1:40 minute. The 24-year-old, who is playing his fourth season at Oklahoma City, looked smooth with kick in a game where the Thunder arbitrarily hit the belt, earning 58 points in the paint. SGA’s big night comes as no surprise as he’s been scoring more than 31 points per game during the season.

But to last longer Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and company, OKC’s supporting cast would have to step up — and it did exactly that. This is a shining moment for Josh Giddey And Lu Dort.

First, it’s a myth to think Giddey turned 20 after watching Wednesday night’s game. The 6th overall pick in the 2021 draft was a reverse pick at the time and we’ve all seen why with the performance he showed in New Orleans, culminating in career with 31 points, along with 10 assists and 9 points. replay. Reaching a perfect 5 to 5 with 5 assists in the third inning, Giddey played a huge role along with Gilgeous-Alexander’s 17 points helping the Thunder overcome the Pelicans 39-24 in the frame. and lead by 9 points.

For Dort, Wednesday night comes as a reward for all the nights he’s worked for the organization over the past four years. The 23-year-old scored a top 27 of the season, taking two clutch free throws to extend the lead to three with six seconds remaining.

These knockouts mean different things to different teams, and in being eliminated, New Orleans helps its draft source after a poor season. That is for another day.

Wednesday night for the Thunder was about seizing the moment, their core posting a collective best hour and Oklahoma City coming on the radar and extending the season by another 48 minutes. This Thunder team’s poise over the long haul is really impressive in the laning atmosphere, with Ingram (30 points, 7 assists) poised for his team and looking like he’s unstoppable barrier. But OKC just kept looking for ways to hit back, doing a great job defending in the final minutes and letting McCollum down all night in the 5-15 shooting period.

Come to think of it: The leap of a season came after huge news last August, when it finished 2nd in overall picks and claimed to be unicorns. Chet Holmgren was ruled out for his entire rookie season because of a Lisfranc injury to his right foot.

Sam Presti should be smiling, because his plan is taking shape and he has a new core that has only scratched the surface. Oh, and Holmgren? The fate of the organization does not depend on him. He can certainly speed the build up even more, but Presti owns 15 first-round picks in the next five NBA Draws. He sits beautifully, and Thunder still stands.

Two big notes:

The 10th seed entered Wednesday night 0-4 in the previous two years of the NBA play-in. That record of not winning is gone, because of both Bulls and Thunder went away with the first victory raptor and Pelicans, respectively.

Interest: Top laners are leading 3-1 in the play-in tournament, and that number could easily have been 4-0 if the Timberwolves hadn’t been knocked out in Los Angeles. A sign of things to come as the knockouts get underway in earnest? We shall see.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to being a main presenter on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.

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