Taking on Gary Trent Jr., Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drove left before he spun right and scored on a fadeaway short mid-range jumper. Flexing his creativity, the MVP candidate only needed one hand to flick the shot through the basket. Just a ridiculous bucket where you see his creativity as an artist on the hardwood.
The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Milwaukee Bucks in a 121-105 win. It completed a three-game sweep of their gauntlet road trip against Eastern Conference playoff squads.
Both teams were deadlocked with each other to start. The Bucks left the first quarter with a slight 26-24 lead. The low-scoring first frame looked like a video game simulation compared to what happened next. The Thunder went on a 29-15 scoring run in the second quarter to build a double-digit lead.
After Giannis Antetkounmpo got Chet Holmgren to bite for a pump-fake for the reverse jam, the Bucks went scoreless in nearly the final five minutes of the first half. The Thunder entered halftime with a 53-41 halftime lead. Isaiah Hartenstein and Holmgren manned the second-unit lineups against the big Bucks.
After Hartenstein scored on a floater and Kenrich Williams stole the ball to feed Holmgren for the layup, the Bucks quickly called a timeout less than a minute into the second half. That didn’t do much as the Thunder scored 39 points in the third quarter. They exited with a 92-74 lead.
With their bench lineup, it didn’t take the Thunder long to balloon their lead to 25 points. Isaiah Joe converted an outside look and they were suddenly up 99-74 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. With a lead that large, the final 10 minutes became trivial.
The Bucks crowd slowly dwindled and the rest of the contest turned into a stat-padding fest where Antetokounmpo tried to get a triple-double and Gilgeous-Alexander checked back in to cross the 30-point mark. Milwaukee prettied up the final score at the end, but don’t let it fool you.
The Thunder shot 52% from the field and went 10-of-29 (34.5%) from 3. They shot 19-of-25 on free throws. They had 30 assists on 46 baskets. Five Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 31 points and eight assists. Hartenstein had a 24-point double-double. Holmgren finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Joe scored 19 points off the bench. Alex Caruso had 10 points and five assists.
Meanwhile, the Bucks shot 40% from the field and went 13-of-34 (38.2%) from 3. They shot 26-of-33 on free throws. They had 21 assists on 33 baskets. Five Bucks players scored double-digit points.
Antetokounmpo was held to 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Damian Lillard had 19 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Kyle Kuzma scored 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Gary Trent Jr. had 12 points and Kevin Porter Jr. had 11 points off the bench.
Considering how tall the Bucks’ lineup is, the Thunder likely had this matchup circled to test their Holmgren-Hartenstein duo. After being inconsistent, it’s fair to say that they fit together well against large and physical frontcourts. In terms of the actual result, blowing out the Bucks should never be overlooked. But OKC has made it easy to do so this season.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-minus
In the final moments, you could see a Gatorade logo underneath Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Converse shoes. The MVP candidate might as well have recreated the infamous Jimmy Butler Bubble meme as his battery flashed red and near empty.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points on 11-of-27 shooting, eight assists and two rebounds. He shot 0-of-5 from 3 and went 9-of-11 on free throws. He also had a block.
Playing against the Bucks, Gilgeous-Alexander has historically struggled against their defense. They have enough athleticism and size to force the drive-heavy scorer to settle for jumpers. You’re fine with that on most nights. But on the second night of a road back-to-back where the first game was physically taxing, that’s asking a bit too much.
You could tell Gilgeous-Alexander’s legs were nearly gone by the end. His jumper didn’t fall at the efficient clip it usually does. It took every ounce of energy to score his 17 points in the second half. The rest of the Thunder likely knew he was near empty and carried him with an outstanding defensive performance.
It was a nice change of pace. Especially after Gilgeous-Alexander carried them to an improbable win the night before. If the worst version of the MVP candidate is a high-volume 30-point outing, then that’s a ridiculous floor to have that speaks about his all-time scoring ability.
Isaiah Hartenstein: A-plus
Cutting to the basket, Hartenstein received Holmgren’s touch pass from the post. The Bucks’ brain malfunctioned as the two seven-footers tag-teamed to get an easy dunk. This was the best they’ve looked all season in a productive road trip that served as a company retreat to build on their rapport.
Hartenstein finished with 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting, 12 rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-3 on free throws. The 26-year-old enjoyed a career-high in points.
The Thunder have to be excited about Hartenstein against the Bucks. He shut Brook Lopez out and was a constant paint threat as a lob finisher. His patented floater was also utilized. A league-best defense had one of its best six-minute stretches between the second and third quarter where Milwaukee was scoreless.
It’s not necessarily about the Bucks, but what the Thunder could do if they must rely on their double-big lineup. Milwaukee is on the extreme side of the scale with its gigantic starting lineup, where 6-foot-6 Taurean Prince is in the backcourt. For OKC to shut it down shows its potential as a weapon in a playoff series.
Chet Holmgren: B-plus
Collecting Joe’s miss, Holmgren quickly slammed down and yelled his lungs out. His veins popped out as the Thunder bench stood up and celebrated the second-chance bucket to keep OKC’s lead at 25 points.
Holmgren finished with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, eight rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-4 from 3 and went 2-of-4 on free throws.
After he sat out the first leg of this back-to-back to rest, Holmgren looked the freshest out of all the Thunder’s starters. He was a scoring threat inside the paint and knocked down critical outside shots to keep the Bucks distant on the scoreboard.
Against Antetokounmpo, Holmgren held the two-time MVP winner in check. Quite the accomplishment. He was easy to forget and didn’t really turn it up until the second half when the game was already decided. Not that it matters, but this proves that the Thunder would likely win the NBA Cup if the 22-year-old was healthy.
Isaiah Joe: A
Turning this into a blowout, Joe’s corner 3-pointer in the early stages of the fourth quarter sealed the final result. With the number of players out, the Thunder needed their bench squad to step up and they did.
Joe finished with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, six rebounds and two assists. He shot 5-of-9 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws.
It was a hot night outside for Joe. He can step up as a bucket-getter off the bench when he gets into rhythm. That’s quite the juxtaposition to the top-heavy Bucks, who will rely on Kuzma to be their third-best player in a hopeful playoff run. The Thunder remains ridiculously deep.
