Coach Wes Unseld Jr. knew the danger. He said before the game that he needed to keep Thunder rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out of the paint, but the guard moved like a freight train all night, picking up speed in the midcourt of the court to keep him on the move. I continued running until I turned right when it was full of . towards his defenders. There was a time when the Wizards (17-23) didn’t have to give way — Gilgeous-Alexander had a wide lane to drive.
Unseld also talked about Oklahoma City’s prowess in transition, and the crowd had to shake their heads at the speed of the Thunder’s play as if it were a tennis match. Oklahoma City’s frenzied defense laid the foundation for the win, pushing Washington to his 20th turnover.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points to lead the five Thunder scorers in double digits. Josh Guiddy added his 20.
Washington lost guard Bradley again Beal expected to miss at least two more games With what the team calls a low-grade hamstring strain. But the Wizards are used to playing without a star guard by now.
Kristaps Porzingis took responsibility for not setting the tone. On rare occasions, he requested to speak to reporters in the locker room after a game rather than asking them to speak to him.
“It was definitely a tough match, but I wanted to take responsibility. [Daniel Gafford] I myself did not set a defensive tone from the beginning. …so that’s what was on my mind and I wanted to say [it]’ said Porzingis.
The Thunder’s lockdown defense regularly thrashed Washington players on a near-full court, making a fuss at the top of the key and often forcing turnovers. Washington couldn’t keep up, turning the ball more than six times in the first quarter and falling into a 20-point deficit, making it 26 points before halftime.
Unseld said his team’s problem wasn’t in the formula, but in effort plays such as aggressive rebounding and 50/50 balls.
“You have to dig deep and find out,” says Unseld. “Find a way to generate your own juice, your own energy, and get out there and compete at a high level.”
The Wizards were so flustered on offense that it affected their defense. Gilgeous-Alexander was strong in the early paint, but didn’t need to carry the team. Thunder manager Mike DeNyoto had a pretty deep rotation with 9 people and everyone was active.
“He’s very patient. He has the best pace in the NBA,” Kyle Kuzma said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “He doesn’t force wild shots. He always takes the extra dribble. he’s doing a great job he can get in the paint anytime obviously their attack is predicted [on] They are doing a great job by allowing him to get into the paint. ”
Meanwhile, Unseld was desperate for spark, so he called in backup guard Jordan Goodwin and backup wing Will Burton.
They were no help. Oklahoma City (17-22) entered the locker room with his 26 points and from the field he made his 3-pointers in his 10th inning with a shooting percentage of 54%. The Wizards hit his 11th turnover.
The Thunder shot 51 percent from the field and made 17 3-shooters. Washington pushed in the second half and in the fourth quarter he could only come as close as 14th.
Kuzma led the league with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Daniel Gafford had 15 points and nine rebounds. Porzingis had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Burton came off the bench with 14 points.
Here’s what else you should know about the Wizards’ loss.
When the NBA announced its first return of the All-Star Game on Thursday, Kuzma received the seventh-most votes among Eastern Conference frontcourt players. Kuzma, who has a career-high in minutes played (35.2), was the only Wizards player among the top 10 vote-getters at both guard and big man.
One of the side effects of Unseld tightening his rotation last month was a reduced role for Goodwin. The backup guard said he hadn’t played meaningfully since Dec. 22 before Friday. The Wizards need a spirited, disruptive player like Goodwin to match the Thunder’s energy, and Goodwin wreaked havoc on defense, as he made his 4-for-5 off the field. On shooting he scored his 9 points in 22 minutes.
Porzingis took responsibility for the lack of defensive effort, but the problems were far-reaching. Rui Hachimura recently delivered a welcome burst of energy off the bench, but he didn’t rebound on Friday for the first time this season.
