For the first time since 2001, four of the top five picks in the NBA draft did not play college basketball in the United States.
No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama will join the San Antonio Spurs after having played in France&rsquo;s top league.
The third pick, Scoot Henderson, went to the Portland Trail Blazers after two seasons with the G League Ignite. Last season, he averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 25 games, including a 28- point outburst in a preseason game against Wembanyama&rsquo;s Metropolitans 92 squad.
The next two picks, twins Amen and Ausar Thompson, played for Overtime Elite, an Atlanta-based pro league for 16- to 20-year-olds. Amen Thompson went to the Houston Rockets, while Ausar went to the Detroit Pistons.
&ldquo;When you see somebody elite, you know it,&rdquo; Pistons general manager Troy Weaver said. &ldquo;I think Halle Berry is pretty in church or in the grocery store. So I think that you can kind of figure it out when you see something pretty special.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

For the first time since 2001, four of the top five picks in the NBA draft did not play college basketball in the United States.
No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama will join the San Antonio Spurs after having played in France&rsquo;s top league.
The third pick, Scoot Henderson, went to the Portland Trail Blazers after two seasons with the G League Ignite. Last season, he averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 25 games, including a 28- point outburst in a preseason game against Wembanyama&rsquo;s Metropolitans 92 squad.
The next two picks, twins Amen and Ausar Thompson, played for Overtime Elite, an Atlanta-based pro league for 16- to 20-year-olds. Amen Thompson went to the Houston Rockets, while Ausar went to the Detroit Pistons.
&ldquo;When you see somebody elite, you know it,&rdquo; Pistons general manager Troy Weaver said. &ldquo;I think Halle Berry is pretty in church or in the grocery store. So I think that you can kind of figure it out when you see something pretty special.&rdquo;
The picks showed the increasing viability of overseas and domestic minor leagues as paths to the NBA. Henderson said his time in the G League made him the most prepared player in the draft.
&ldquo;We play against pros every night and guys that killed college, guys that killed overseas, guys that are going up and down in the league, coming down just to play against us, to show that they can dominate draft picks or whatever the case may be,&rdquo; he said.
The only top-five pick who played in college was Brandon Miller, a one-and-done player out of Alabama who went to the Charlotte Hornets at No. 2.
Wembanyama played the past three seasons in France&rsquo;s Pro A. Last season, he led the league in scoring, rebounding and blocks. He was the youngest regular-season MVP in league history and its defensive player of the year.
&ldquo;Can&rsquo;t really describe it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Still fresh. Best thing in my life, you know. Best night of my life. Dreaming about this for so long. It&rsquo;s a dream come true. It&rsquo;s incredible.&rdquo;
Miller was a first-team Associated Press All-American, averaging 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
The Thompson twins led the City Reapers to the Overtime Elite championship last season. Ausar was the regular-season and Finals MVP while Amen was an all-league first-team pick and posted a league-best 9.2 assists per game during the Overtime Elite playoffs.

For the first time since 2001, four of the top five picks in the NBA draft did not play college basketball in the United States.

None and done: 4 of the top 5 NBA draft picks didn’t play in NCAA

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; The Oklahoma City Thunder created the kind of momentum they wanted to take into the All-Star break.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to help the Thunder roll past the Houston Rockets 133-96 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 8 of 16 on field goals and 13 of 15 on free throws. The first-time All-Star played just three quarters because Oklahoma City was up 116-78 heading into the fourth.
Thunder guard Josh Giddey said coach Mark Daigneault helped the team stay focused.
&ldquo;Guys know the break&rsquo;s coming up and it&rsquo;s easy to look past it and kind of brush this game off and just get through it and head into the break,&rdquo; Giddey said. &ldquo;But coach really emphasized running the finish line. I think we did a really good job of that tonight.&rdquo;
The Thunder enter the break with a 28-29 record after finishing last season 24-58. They are positioned to make a run at a playoff spot in the second half of the season.
&nbsp;

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; The Oklahoma City Thunder created the kind of momentum they wanted to take into the All-Star break.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to help the Thunder roll past the Houston Rockets 133-96 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 8 of 16 on field goals and 13 of 15 on free throws. The first-time All-Star played just three quarters because Oklahoma City was up 116-78 heading into the fourth.
Thunder guard Josh Giddey said coach Mark Daigneault helped the team stay focused.
&ldquo;Guys know the break&rsquo;s coming up and it&rsquo;s easy to look past it and kind of brush this game off and just get through it and head into the break,&rdquo; Giddey said. &ldquo;But coach really emphasized running the finish line. I think we did a really good job of that tonight.&rdquo;
The Thunder enter the break with a 28-29 record after finishing last season 24-58. They are positioned to make a run at a playoff spot in the second half of the season.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re aware of the race for the play-in and the playoff spots. ... Every game we can get, we need,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Lu Dort scored 15 points, Jalen Williams had 13 and Jaylin Williams added eight points and a season-high 16 rebounds for the Thunder, who posted their largest victory margin of the season.
&nbsp;

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; The Oklahoma City Thunder created the kind of momentum they wanted to take into the All-Star break.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to help the Thunder roll past the Houston Rockets 133-96 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 8 of 16 on field goals and 13 of 15 on free throws. The first-time All-Star played just three quarters because Oklahoma City was up 116-78 heading into the fourth.
Thunder guard Josh Giddey said coach Mark Daigneault helped the team stay focused.
&ldquo;Guys know the break&rsquo;s coming up and it&rsquo;s easy to look past it and kind of brush this game off and just get through it and head into the break,&rdquo; Giddey said. &ldquo;But coach really emphasized running the finish line. I think we did a really good job of that tonight.&rdquo;
The Thunder enter the break with a 28-29 record after finishing last season 24-58. They are positioned to make a run at a playoff spot in the second half of the season.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re aware of the race for the play-in and the playoff spots. ... Every game we can get, we need,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Lu Dort scored 15 points, Jalen Williams had 13 and Jaylin Williams added eight points and a season-high 16 rebounds for the Thunder, who posted their largest victory margin of the season.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t settle tonight,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;Transition, we got out and ran. Offensively, we hit the paint. We got to the line a ton. We got to the rim and we sprayed the ball for open shots. I thought we made the right play the majority of the night. So credit to the guys who played together on that end.&rdquo;
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 15 points and Jalen Green added 14 for the Rockets, who lost their seventh straight game and enter the break with the worst record in the NBA.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to take some time over the break and not think about it for a little while,&rdquo; Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. &ldquo;But then I am going to take a good amount of the break and really kind of figure out what the next 20, however many games looks like. And maybe there&rsquo;ll be some some different things, different rotations, different schemes at times.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points in the first half to help Oklahoma City take a 76-54 lead.
The Thunder continued to dominate, outscoring the Rockets 40-24 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 points in the period.
&nbsp;

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; The Oklahoma City Thunder created the kind of momentum they wanted to take into the All-Star break.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to help the Thunder roll past the Houston Rockets 133-96 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 8 of 16 on field goals and 13 of 15 on free throws. The first-time All-Star played just three quarters because Oklahoma City was up 116-78 heading into the fourth.
Thunder guard Josh Giddey said coach Mark Daigneault helped the team stay focused.
&ldquo;Guys know the break&rsquo;s coming up and it&rsquo;s easy to look past it and kind of brush this game off and just get through it and head into the break,&rdquo; Giddey said. &ldquo;But coach really emphasized running the finish line. I think we did a really good job of that tonight.&rdquo;
The Thunder enter the break with a 28-29 record after finishing last season 24-58. They are positioned to make a run at a playoff spot in the second half of the season.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re aware of the race for the play-in and the playoff spots. ... Every game we can get, we need,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Lu Dort scored 15 points, Jalen Williams had 13 and Jaylin Williams added eight points and a season-high 16 rebounds for the Thunder, who posted their largest victory margin of the season.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t settle tonight,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;Transition, we got out and ran. Offensively, we hit the paint. We got to the line a ton. We got to the rim and we sprayed the ball for open shots. I thought we made the right play the majority of the night. So credit to the guys who played together on that end.&rdquo;
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 15 points and Jalen Green added 14 for the Rockets, who lost their seventh straight game and enter the break with the worst record in the NBA.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to take some time over the break and not think about it for a little while,&rdquo; Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. &ldquo;But then I am going to take a good amount of the break and really kind of figure out what the next 20, however many games looks like. And maybe there&rsquo;ll be some some different things, different rotations, different schemes at times.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points in the first half to help Oklahoma City take a 76-54 lead.
The Thunder continued to dominate, outscoring the Rockets 40-24 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 points in the period.
TIP-INS
Rockets: G Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate was issued a technical foul in the first quarter after he disagreed with a foul that was called against him. C Alperen Sengun and F/C Usman Garuba were called for technicals later in the quarter. ... G Kevin Porter Jr. missed his 17th straight game with a bruised left foot. ... Garuba was issued a Flagrant 1 for a push in the fourth quarter.
Thunder: Oklahoma City was called for defensive three seconds twice in the first quarter. ... Held the Rockets to 22.7% shooting in the first quarter. ... Held the Rockets to 33.7% shooting.
THUNDER DEBUT
Thunder forward/center Dario Saric debuted after he was acquired in a trade with the Phoenix Suns. He had 12 points and five rebounds in 14 minutes.
&nbsp;

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; The Oklahoma City Thunder created the kind of momentum they wanted to take into the All-Star break.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to help the Thunder roll past the Houston Rockets 133-96 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 8 of 16 on field goals and 13 of 15 on free throws. The first-time All-Star played just three quarters because Oklahoma City was up 116-78 heading into the fourth.
Thunder guard Josh Giddey said coach Mark Daigneault helped the team stay focused.
&ldquo;Guys know the break&rsquo;s coming up and it&rsquo;s easy to look past it and kind of brush this game off and just get through it and head into the break,&rdquo; Giddey said. &ldquo;But coach really emphasized running the finish line. I think we did a really good job of that tonight.&rdquo;
The Thunder enter the break with a 28-29 record after finishing last season 24-58. They are positioned to make a run at a playoff spot in the second half of the season.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re aware of the race for the play-in and the playoff spots. ... Every game we can get, we need,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Lu Dort scored 15 points, Jalen Williams had 13 and Jaylin Williams added eight points and a season-high 16 rebounds for the Thunder, who posted their largest victory margin of the season.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t settle tonight,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;Transition, we got out and ran. Offensively, we hit the paint. We got to the line a ton. We got to the rim and we sprayed the ball for open shots. I thought we made the right play the majority of the night. So credit to the guys who played together on that end.&rdquo;
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 15 points and Jalen Green added 14 for the Rockets, who lost their seventh straight game and enter the break with the worst record in the NBA.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to take some time over the break and not think about it for a little while,&rdquo; Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. &ldquo;But then I am going to take a good amount of the break and really kind of figure out what the next 20, however many games looks like. And maybe there&rsquo;ll be some some different things, different rotations, different schemes at times.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points in the first half to help Oklahoma City take a 76-54 lead.
The Thunder continued to dominate, outscoring the Rockets 40-24 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 points in the period.
TIP-INS
Rockets: G Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate was issued a technical foul in the first quarter after he disagreed with a foul that was called against him. C Alperen Sengun and F/C Usman Garuba were called for technicals later in the quarter. ... G Kevin Porter Jr. missed his 17th straight game with a bruised left foot. ... Garuba was issued a Flagrant 1 for a push in the fourth quarter.
Thunder: Oklahoma City was called for defensive three seconds twice in the first quarter. ... Held the Rockets to 22.7% shooting in the first quarter. ... Held the Rockets to 33.7% shooting.
THUNDER DEBUT
Thunder forward/center Dario Saric debuted after he was acquired in a trade with the Phoenix Suns. He had 12 points and five rebounds in 14 minutes.
&ldquo;I thought he was good,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;Plays the right way. Certainly has a great feel for the game stylistically. Just a guy that you don&rsquo;t have to over coach what we&rsquo;re doing and stuff. He just kind of plays basketball, figures things out.&rdquo;

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder roll past the Houston Rockets 133-96.

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 29, helps Thunder dominate Rockets

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Trae Young felt right at home in Oklahoma City against the Thunder.
The high-scoring Atlanta Hawks guard grew up in nearby Norman, Oklahoma, and played his one season of college ball at the University of Oklahoma. Thunder fans cheered when Young was introduced with Atlanta&rsquo;s starters, and he gave them a show.
Young had 33 points and 11 assists, helping the Hawks beat the Thunder 137-132 on Wednesday night.
Young grew up watching the Thunder during their glory days with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It wasn&rsquo;t his first time playing in Oklahoma City, but it was still surreal.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always fun,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I mean, I always get a lot of love and support out here and it&rsquo;s always great coming back here and playing in front of these fans. I grew up obviously, going to a lot of these Thunder games, and so to be on that court is crazy.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Trae Young felt right at home in Oklahoma City against the Thunder.
The high-scoring Atlanta Hawks guard grew up in nearby Norman, Oklahoma, and played his one season of college ball at the University of Oklahoma. Thunder fans cheered when Young was introduced with Atlanta&rsquo;s starters, and he gave them a show.
Young had 33 points and 11 assists, helping the Hawks beat the Thunder 137-132 on Wednesday night.
Young grew up watching the Thunder during their glory days with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It wasn&rsquo;t his first time playing in Oklahoma City, but it was still surreal.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always fun,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I mean, I always get a lot of love and support out here and it&rsquo;s always great coming back here and playing in front of these fans. I grew up obviously, going to a lot of these Thunder games, and so to be on that court is crazy.&rdquo;
He dissected the Thunder defense by making 10 of 20 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.
&nbsp;

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Trae Young felt right at home in Oklahoma City against the Thunder.
The high-scoring Atlanta Hawks guard grew up in nearby Norman, Oklahoma, and played his one season of college ball at the University of Oklahoma. Thunder fans cheered when Young was introduced with Atlanta&rsquo;s starters, and he gave them a show.
Young had 33 points and 11 assists, helping the Hawks beat the Thunder 137-132 on Wednesday night.
Young grew up watching the Thunder during their glory days with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It wasn&rsquo;t his first time playing in Oklahoma City, but it was still surreal.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always fun,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I mean, I always get a lot of love and support out here and it&rsquo;s always great coming back here and playing in front of these fans. I grew up obviously, going to a lot of these Thunder games, and so to be on that court is crazy.&rdquo;
He dissected the Thunder defense by making 10 of 20 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.
&ldquo;I had a lot of respect for the way he played tonight,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. &ldquo;I thought he really controlled the game, especially early, and it really loosened us up defensively. And you know, that obviously was the game for us.&rdquo;
Dejounte Murray scored 21 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 20 for the Hawks, who shot a season-high 59.5% from the field to snap a two-game losing streak.
&nbsp;

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Trae Young felt right at home in Oklahoma City against the Thunder.
The high-scoring Atlanta Hawks guard grew up in nearby Norman, Oklahoma, and played his one season of college ball at the University of Oklahoma. Thunder fans cheered when Young was introduced with Atlanta&rsquo;s starters, and he gave them a show.
Young had 33 points and 11 assists, helping the Hawks beat the Thunder 137-132 on Wednesday night.
Young grew up watching the Thunder during their glory days with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It wasn&rsquo;t his first time playing in Oklahoma City, but it was still surreal.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always fun,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I mean, I always get a lot of love and support out here and it&rsquo;s always great coming back here and playing in front of these fans. I grew up obviously, going to a lot of these Thunder games, and so to be on that court is crazy.&rdquo;
He dissected the Thunder defense by making 10 of 20 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.
&ldquo;I had a lot of respect for the way he played tonight,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. &ldquo;I thought he really controlled the game, especially early, and it really loosened us up defensively. And you know, that obviously was the game for us.&rdquo;
Dejounte Murray scored 21 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 20 for the Hawks, who shot a season-high 59.5% from the field to snap a two-game losing streak.
&ldquo;To guard a team, that&rsquo;s that dynamic, we had to be a lot tighter than we were tonight,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;And it was just kind of &mdash; it was death by paper cut. It was kind of everything. It was transition, it was fouling. It was a little bit of the glass. And then, you know, just a lack of discipline.&rdquo;
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points and Jalen Williams added 24 for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City almost got away with their poor defensive effort. Williams stole the ball from Young and dunked to cut Atlanta&rsquo;s lead to 133-132 with 15.3 seconds left. Atlanta&rsquo;s John Collins was fouled with 14.5 seconds remaining. He made both free throws to make it 135-132.
Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the hoop to try to get quick points, but Murray blocked his shot. Gilgeous-Alexander rebounded and missed again, and Murray came up with the ball. Murray was fouled and made two free throws at the other end with 2.7 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.
&nbsp;

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Trae Young felt right at home in Oklahoma City against the Thunder.
The high-scoring Atlanta Hawks guard grew up in nearby Norman, Oklahoma, and played his one season of college ball at the University of Oklahoma. Thunder fans cheered when Young was introduced with Atlanta&rsquo;s starters, and he gave them a show.
Young had 33 points and 11 assists, helping the Hawks beat the Thunder 137-132 on Wednesday night.
Young grew up watching the Thunder during their glory days with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It wasn&rsquo;t his first time playing in Oklahoma City, but it was still surreal.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always fun,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I mean, I always get a lot of love and support out here and it&rsquo;s always great coming back here and playing in front of these fans. I grew up obviously, going to a lot of these Thunder games, and so to be on that court is crazy.&rdquo;
He dissected the Thunder defense by making 10 of 20 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.
&ldquo;I had a lot of respect for the way he played tonight,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. &ldquo;I thought he really controlled the game, especially early, and it really loosened us up defensively. And you know, that obviously was the game for us.&rdquo;
Dejounte Murray scored 21 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 20 for the Hawks, who shot a season-high 59.5% from the field to snap a two-game losing streak.
&ldquo;To guard a team, that&rsquo;s that dynamic, we had to be a lot tighter than we were tonight,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;And it was just kind of &mdash; it was death by paper cut. It was kind of everything. It was transition, it was fouling. It was a little bit of the glass. And then, you know, just a lack of discipline.&rdquo;
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points and Jalen Williams added 24 for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City almost got away with their poor defensive effort. Williams stole the ball from Young and dunked to cut Atlanta&rsquo;s lead to 133-132 with 15.3 seconds left. Atlanta&rsquo;s John Collins was fouled with 14.5 seconds remaining. He made both free throws to make it 135-132.
Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the hoop to try to get quick points, but Murray blocked his shot. Gilgeous-Alexander rebounded and missed again, and Murray came up with the ball. Murray was fouled and made two free throws at the other end with 2.7 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.
&ldquo;I think we let one slip tonight for sure,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said. &ldquo;Offense was good enough, we just didn&rsquo;t bring it defensively. They made us pay.&rdquo;
The teams were tied at 77 at halftime. It was the most points the Hawks have scored in a half this season. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points and Young had 22 before the break. Atlanta shot 58.3% from the field in the first half, while Oklahoma City shot 56.9%.
Atlanta led 109-104 at the end of the third quarter, then scored the first 10 points of the fourth. Oklahoma City responded with a 9-0 run to trim its deficit to six and force Atlanta to call a timeout. The game was close the rest of the way.
TIP-INS
Hawks: F De&rsquo;Andre Hunter sat out with asthma symptoms. ... Murray was called for a technical foul in the second quarter. ... Young was called for a technical in the third. ... Collins had 19 points and 10 rebounds. ... Capela had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
&nbsp;

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Trae Young felt right at home in Oklahoma City against the Thunder.
The high-scoring Atlanta Hawks guard grew up in nearby Norman, Oklahoma, and played his one season of college ball at the University of Oklahoma. Thunder fans cheered when Young was introduced with Atlanta&rsquo;s starters, and he gave them a show.
Young had 33 points and 11 assists, helping the Hawks beat the Thunder 137-132 on Wednesday night.
Young grew up watching the Thunder during their glory days with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It wasn&rsquo;t his first time playing in Oklahoma City, but it was still surreal.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always fun,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I mean, I always get a lot of love and support out here and it&rsquo;s always great coming back here and playing in front of these fans. I grew up obviously, going to a lot of these Thunder games, and so to be on that court is crazy.&rdquo;
He dissected the Thunder defense by making 10 of 20 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.
&ldquo;I had a lot of respect for the way he played tonight,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. &ldquo;I thought he really controlled the game, especially early, and it really loosened us up defensively. And you know, that obviously was the game for us.&rdquo;
Dejounte Murray scored 21 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 20 for the Hawks, who shot a season-high 59.5% from the field to snap a two-game losing streak.
&ldquo;To guard a team, that&rsquo;s that dynamic, we had to be a lot tighter than we were tonight,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;And it was just kind of &mdash; it was death by paper cut. It was kind of everything. It was transition, it was fouling. It was a little bit of the glass. And then, you know, just a lack of discipline.&rdquo;
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points and Jalen Williams added 24 for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City almost got away with their poor defensive effort. Williams stole the ball from Young and dunked to cut Atlanta&rsquo;s lead to 133-132 with 15.3 seconds left. Atlanta&rsquo;s John Collins was fouled with 14.5 seconds remaining. He made both free throws to make it 135-132.
Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the hoop to try to get quick points, but Murray blocked his shot. Gilgeous-Alexander rebounded and missed again, and Murray came up with the ball. Murray was fouled and made two free throws at the other end with 2.7 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.
&ldquo;I think we let one slip tonight for sure,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said. &ldquo;Offense was good enough, we just didn&rsquo;t bring it defensively. They made us pay.&rdquo;
The teams were tied at 77 at halftime. It was the most points the Hawks have scored in a half this season. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points and Young had 22 before the break. Atlanta shot 58.3% from the field in the first half, while Oklahoma City shot 56.9%.
Atlanta led 109-104 at the end of the third quarter, then scored the first 10 points of the fourth. Oklahoma City responded with a 9-0 run to trim its deficit to six and force Atlanta to call a timeout. The game was close the rest of the way.
TIP-INS
Hawks: F De&rsquo;Andre Hunter sat out with asthma symptoms. ... Murray was called for a technical foul in the second quarter. ... Young was called for a technical in the third. ... Collins had 19 points and 10 rebounds. ... Capela had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Thunder: G Tre Mann stole an inbounds pass, elevated, cocked the ball back and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1618424125638471681" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unleashed a towering right-handed jam</a>&nbsp;in the final minute of the first quarter. ... G Josh Giddey had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Trae Young had 33 points and 11 assists, helping the Atlanta Hawks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 137-132.

Young’s 33 points, 11 assists lead Hawks past Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Joe each scored 23 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Indiana Pacers 126-106 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.
Joe, a reserve, tied a career high with seven made 3-pointers in just 22 minutes. 
Lu Dort had 22 points and a career-high 11 rebounds and Kenrich Williams added 12 points and a career-best 10 assists for the Thunder. Oklahoma City shot 50.5% from the field and made 16 of 38 3-pointers.
All four of Oklahoma City's victories during the streak have been by double digits. The Thunder are 7-2 in 2023.
Andrew Nembhard scored 18 points for the Pacers, who lost their fifth straight. Buddy Hield, who entered the night averaging 18 points per contest, scored just three points on 1-for-4 shooting in 19 minutes. Indiana shot 41.5% from the floor.
The Pacers were without guard Tyrese Haliburton. The NBA's assist leader suffered sprains to his left knee and elbow last week and is expected to be out for at least another week.
The Thunder led 58-44 at halftime behind 17 points from Dort. Oklahoma City shot 68% in the period to lead 100-73 heading into the fourth.
TIP-INS
Pacers: Hield played college basketball at the nearby University of Oklahoma and was cheered when he was announced as a starter. ... Went nearly four minutes without a made field goal at the start of the game. ... Indiana's bench was issued a technical foul in the second quarter. ... C Myles Turner had six blocks.
Thunder: Had 11 assists on 12 baskets in the first quarter and 41 assists on 47 baskets overall. ... Shot 60% in the first quarter to take a 36-20 lead. ... G Josh Giddey fouled out with 16 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in 29 minutes. 
UP NEXT
Pacers: At Denver on Friday night.
Thunder: At Sacramento on Friday night.
___
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___
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Joe each scored 23 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Indiana Pacers 126-106 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.
Joe, a reserve, tied a career high with seven made 3-pointers in just 22 minutes.
Lu Dort had 22 points and a career-high 11 rebounds and Kenrich Williams added 12 points and a career-best 10 assists for the Thunder. Oklahoma City shot 50.5% from the field and made 16 of 38 3-pointers.
All four of Oklahoma City's victories during the streak have been by double digits. The Thunder are 7-2 in 2023.
Andrew Nembhard scored 18 points for the Pacers, who lost their fifth straight. Buddy Hield, who entered the night averaging 18 points per contest, scored just three points on 1-for-4 shooting in 19 minutes. Indiana shot 41.5% from the floor.
The Pacers were without guard Tyrese Haliburton. The NBA's assist leader suffered sprains to his left knee and elbow last week and is expected to be out for at least another week.
The Thunder led 58-44 at halftime behind 17 points from Dort. Oklahoma City shot 68% in the period to lead 100-73 heading into the fourth.
TIP-INS
Pacers: Hield played college basketball at the nearby University of Oklahoma and was cheered when he was announced as a starter. ... Went nearly four minutes without a made field goal at the start of the game. ... Indiana's bench was issued a technical foul in the second quarter. ... C Myles Turner had six blocks.
Thunder: Had 11 assists on 12 baskets in the first quarter and 41 assists on 47 baskets overall. ... Shot 60% in the first quarter to take a 36-20 lead. ... G Josh Giddey fouled out with 16 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in 29 minutes.
UP NEXT
Pacers: At Denver on Friday night.
Thunder: At Sacramento on Friday night.
___
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___
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Joe each scored 23 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Indiana Pacers 126-106 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.
Joe, a reserve, tied a career high with seven made 3-pointers in just 22 minutes.
Lu Dort had 22 points and a career-high 11 rebounds and Kenrich Williams added 12 points and a career-best 10 assists for the Thunder. Oklahoma City shot 50.5% from the field and made 16 of 38 3-pointers.
All four of Oklahoma City's victories during the streak have been by double digits. The Thunder are 7-2 in 2023.
Andrew Nembhard scored 18 points for the Pacers, who lost their fifth straight. Buddy Hield, who entered the night averaging 18 points per contest, scored just three points on 1-for-4 shooting in 19 minutes. Indiana shot 41.5% from the floor.
The Pacers were without guard Tyrese Haliburton. The NBA's assist leader suffered sprains to his left knee and elbow last week and is expected to be out for at least another week.
The Thunder led 58-44 at halftime behind 17 points from Dort. Oklahoma City shot 68% in the period to lead 100-73 heading into the fourth.
TIP-INS
Pacers: Hield played college basketball at the nearby University of Oklahoma and was cheered when he was announced as a starter. ... Went nearly four minutes without a made field goal at the start of the game. ... Indiana's bench was issued a technical foul in the second quarter. ... C Myles Turner had six blocks.
Thunder: Had 11 assists on 12 baskets in the first quarter and 41 assists on 47 baskets overall. ... Shot 60% in the first quarter to take a 36-20 lead. ... G Josh Giddey fouled out with 16 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in 29 minutes.
&nbsp;

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Joe each scored 23 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Indiana Pacers 126-106.

Thunder beat Pacers 126-106 for 4th straight victory

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-109 on Sunday night.
It was supposed to be a showdown between two of the league's top scorers in Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas guard Luka Doncic, but Doncic — the NBA’s scoring leader with 34 points per game — sat out with a sore left ankle. Doncic <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-pelicans-dallas-mavericks-nba-sports-zion-williamson-1caae432ce1f5baf2812f3f86c5ecb86">had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists</a> Saturday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Even with Doncic out, the Thunder knew they couldn’t afford to take it easy.
“It’s a testament to their maturity and their commitment level,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of his players. “And really, it’s (a) zero and zero mindset, it’s a 48-minute game, it’s being where your feet are inside of the game.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, a guard who entered the night fourth in the league with 30.9 points per game, made 11 of 17 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws. Christian Wood, who led the Mavericks with 27 points and 16 rebounds, said his team knew the scouting report on Gilgeous-Alexander and it didn't matter. 
“He’s a great player,” Wood said. “He’s been having a great season all year. He was getting left, getting downhill, getting to his spots, creating for others when he got to his spots, getting a lot of and-ones, getting to the free throw line.”
It was Oklahoma City's third straight double-digit win at home to start the new year. The Thunder beat Boston 150-117 on Jan. 3 and Washington 127-110 on Friday.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 21 points and eight assists for the Mavericks, who have lost five of eight.
Oklahoma City led 69-55 at halftime, then Gilgeous-Alexander took over in the third quarter. He drove to the hoop, was fouled and somehow flipped the ball in with 28 seconds left in the period. His free throw gave the Thunder a 94-82 lead. His floater at the buzzer rattled in to push Oklahoma City's edge to 96-83. He scored 17 points in the quarter on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. 
The Thunder put it out of reach in the fourth. A steal by Gilgeous-Alexander led to a dunk by Lu Dort that put Oklahoma City ahead 116-98 with 4:26 to play.
Daigneault said the Thunder turned the tide with defense.
“Second-quarter defense was great, second-half defense was pretty good,” he said. “I thought they earned the stuff they got in the second half.”
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Made 6 of 10 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 34-33 lead. They made 8 of 29 3s the rest of the game ... Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 points, but he made just 6 of 18 field goals. ... Coach Jason Kidd was issued a technical foul in the fourth quarter.
Thunder: Shot 54.3% from the field in the first half and made 9 of 15 3-pointers. ... Reserves outscored Dallas' 35-27 ... G Josh Giddey played just 26 minutes because of foul trouble. He finished with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and five fouls.
SECOND QUARTERS
Oklahoma City has turned in three consecutive dominant second quarters at home.
The Thunder outscored Boston 40-21 in the second, then outscored Washington 33-25 and Dallas 36-21.
GIDDEY'S 3S
Giddey has struggled with 3-pointers in his short career, but the second-year guard has found his stroke lately. The career 29% 3-point shooter has made 9 of 18 from beyond the arc in his past four games and brought his season percentage up to 35.5%.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
Thunder: Visit the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
___
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___
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-109 on Sunday night.
It was supposed to be a showdown between two of the league's top scorers in Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas guard Luka Doncic, but Doncic &mdash; the NBA&rsquo;s scoring leader with 34 points per game &mdash; sat out with a sore left ankle. Doncic had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists Saturday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Even with Doncic out, the Thunder knew they couldn&rsquo;t afford to take it easy.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a testament to their maturity and their commitment level,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of his players. &ldquo;And really, it&rsquo;s (a) zero and zero mindset, it&rsquo;s a 48-minute game, it&rsquo;s being where your feet are inside of the game.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander, a guard who entered the night fourth in the league with 30.9 points per game, made 11 of 17 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws. Christian Wood, who led the Mavericks with 27 points and 16 rebounds, said his team knew the scouting report on Gilgeous-Alexander and it didn't matter.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great player,&rdquo; Wood said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been having a great season all year. He was getting left, getting downhill, getting to his spots, creating for others when he got to his spots, getting a lot of and-ones, getting to the free throw line.&rdquo;
It was Oklahoma City's third straight double-digit win at home to start the new year. The Thunder beat Boston 150-117 on Jan. 3 and Washington 127-110 on Friday.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 21 points and eight assists for the Mavericks, who have lost five of eight.
Oklahoma City led 69-55 at halftime, then Gilgeous-Alexander took over in the third quarter. He drove to the hoop, was fouled and somehow flipped the ball in with 28 seconds left in the period. His free throw gave the Thunder a 94-82 lead. His floater at the buzzer rattled in to push Oklahoma City's edge to 96-83. He scored 17 points in the quarter on 7-for-10 shooting from the field.
The Thunder put it out of reach in the fourth. A steal by Gilgeous-Alexander led to a dunk by Lu Dort that put Oklahoma City ahead 116-98 with 4:26 to play.
Daigneault said the Thunder turned the tide with defense.
&ldquo;Second-quarter defense was great, second-half defense was pretty good,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I thought they earned the stuff they got in the second half.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Made 6 of 10 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 34-33 lead. They made 8 of 29 3s the rest of the game ... Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 points, but he made just 6 of 18 field goals. ... Coach Jason Kidd was issued a technical foul in the fourth quarter.
Thunder: Shot 54.3% from the field in the first half and made 9 of 15 3-pointers. ... Reserves outscored Dallas' 35-27 ... G Josh Giddey played just 26 minutes because of foul trouble. He finished with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and five fouls.
SECOND QUARTERS
Oklahoma City has turned in three consecutive dominant second quarters at home.
The Thunder outscored Boston 40-21 in the second, then outscored Washington 33-25 and Dallas 36-21.
GIDDEY'S 3S
Giddey has struggled with 3-pointers in his short career, but the second-year guard has found his stroke lately. The career 29% 3-point shooter has made 9 of 18 from beyond the arc in his past four games and brought his season percentage up to 35.5%.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
Thunder: Visit the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-109 on Sunday night.
It was supposed to be a showdown between two of the league's top scorers in Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas guard Luka Doncic, but Doncic &mdash; the NBA&rsquo;s scoring leader with 34 points per game &mdash; sat out with a sore left ankle. Doncic had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists Saturday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Even with Doncic out, the Thunder knew they couldn&rsquo;t afford to take it easy.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a testament to their maturity and their commitment level,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of his players. &ldquo;And really, it&rsquo;s (a) zero and zero mindset, it&rsquo;s a 48-minute game, it&rsquo;s being where your feet are inside of the game.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander, a guard who entered the night fourth in the league with 30.9 points per game, made 11 of 17 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws. Christian Wood, who led the Mavericks with 27 points and 16 rebounds, said his team knew the scouting report on Gilgeous-Alexander and it didn't matter.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great player,&rdquo; Wood said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been having a great season all year. He was getting left, getting downhill, getting to his spots, creating for others when he got to his spots, getting a lot of and-ones, getting to the free throw line.&rdquo;
It was Oklahoma City's third straight double-digit win at home to start the new year. The Thunder beat Boston 150-117 on Jan. 3 and Washington 127-110 on Friday.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 21 points and eight assists for the Mavericks, who have lost five of eight.
Oklahoma City led 69-55 at halftime, then Gilgeous-Alexander took over in the third quarter. He drove to the hoop, was fouled and somehow flipped the ball in with 28 seconds left in the period. His free throw gave the Thunder a 94-82 lead. His floater at the buzzer rattled in to push Oklahoma City's edge to 96-83. He scored 17 points in the quarter on 7-for-10 shooting from the field.
The Thunder put it out of reach in the fourth. A steal by Gilgeous-Alexander led to a dunk by Lu Dort that put Oklahoma City ahead 116-98 with 4:26 to play.
Daigneault said the Thunder turned the tide with defense.
&ldquo;Second-quarter defense was great, second-half defense was pretty good,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I thought they earned the stuff they got in the second half.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Made 6 of 10 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 34-33 lead. They made 8 of 29 3s the rest of the game ... Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 points, but he made just 6 of 18 field goals. ... Coach Jason Kidd was issued a technical foul in the fourth quarter.
Thunder: Shot 54.3% from the field in the first half and made 9 of 15 3-pointers. ... Reserves outscored Dallas' 35-27 ... G Josh Giddey played just 26 minutes because of foul trouble. He finished with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and five fouls.
SECOND QUARTERS
Oklahoma City has turned in three consecutive dominant second quarters at home.
The Thunder outscored Boston 40-21 in the second, then outscored Washington 33-25 and Dallas 36-21.
GIDDEY'S 3S
Giddey has struggled with 3-pointers in his short career, but the second-year guard has found his stroke lately. The career 29% 3-point shooter has made 9 of 18 from beyond the arc in his past four games and brought his season percentage up to 35.5%.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
Thunder: Visit the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-109 on Sunday night.
It was supposed to be a showdown between two of the league's top scorers in Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas guard Luka Doncic, but Doncic &mdash; the NBA&rsquo;s scoring leader with 34 points per game &mdash; sat out with a sore left ankle. Doncic had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists Saturday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Even with Doncic out, the Thunder knew they couldn&rsquo;t afford to take it easy.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a testament to their maturity and their commitment level,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of his players. &ldquo;And really, it&rsquo;s (a) zero and zero mindset, it&rsquo;s a 48-minute game, it&rsquo;s being where your feet are inside of the game.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander, a guard who entered the night fourth in the league with 30.9 points per game, made 11 of 17 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws. Christian Wood, who led the Mavericks with 27 points and 16 rebounds, said his team knew the scouting report on Gilgeous-Alexander and it didn't matter.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great player,&rdquo; Wood said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been having a great season all year. He was getting left, getting downhill, getting to his spots, creating for others when he got to his spots, getting a lot of and-ones, getting to the free throw line.&rdquo;
It was Oklahoma City's third straight double-digit win at home to start the new year. The Thunder beat Boston 150-117 on Jan. 3 and Washington 127-110 on Friday.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 21 points and eight assists for the Mavericks, who have lost five of eight.
Oklahoma City led 69-55 at halftime, then Gilgeous-Alexander took over in the third quarter. He drove to the hoop, was fouled and somehow flipped the ball in with 28 seconds left in the period. His free throw gave the Thunder a 94-82 lead. His floater at the buzzer rattled in to push Oklahoma City's edge to 96-83. He scored 17 points in the quarter on 7-for-10 shooting from the field.
The Thunder put it out of reach in the fourth. A steal by Gilgeous-Alexander led to a dunk by Lu Dort that put Oklahoma City ahead 116-98 with 4:26 to play.
Daigneault said the Thunder turned the tide with defense.
&ldquo;Second-quarter defense was great, second-half defense was pretty good,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I thought they earned the stuff they got in the second half.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Made 6 of 10 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 34-33 lead. They made 8 of 29 3s the rest of the game ... Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 points, but he made just 6 of 18 field goals. ... Coach Jason Kidd was issued a technical foul in the fourth quarter.
Thunder: Shot 54.3% from the field in the first half and made 9 of 15 3-pointers. ... Reserves outscored Dallas' 35-27 ... G Josh Giddey played just 26 minutes because of foul trouble. He finished with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and five fouls.
SECOND QUARTERS
Oklahoma City has turned in three consecutive dominant second quarters at home.
The Thunder outscored Boston 40-21 in the second, then outscored Washington 33-25 and Dallas 36-21.
GIDDEY'S 3S
Giddey has struggled with 3-pointers in his short career, but the second-year guard has found his stroke lately. The career 29% 3-point shooter has made 9 of 18 from beyond the arc in his past four games and brought his season percentage up to 35.5%.
&nbsp;

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-109.

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 33, leads Thunder past Mavericks

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers for the second time in three days, 101-98 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a good week against Portland — he hit a winning basket as time expired against the Trail Blazers on Monday, also in Oklahoma City, to highlight a 35-point performance. 
It was the third straight win for Oklahoma City. The streak follows a five-game losing skid.
“I thought the guys really did a nice job of carrying over the lessons from last game,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “We knew they (Trail Blazers) were going to be better, and I thought they were. And I thought we were better, too.”
Damian Lillard, who entered the game averaging 28.3 points, finished with 16 points on 6-for-19 shooting for the Trail Blazers. Anfernee Simons, who started the night averaging 23.2 points, scored 12 on 4-for-11 shooting.
It was the third time this season the Thunder allowed fewer than 100 points.
“It’s a five-man defense," Daigneault said. "We were a five-man defense tonight, and I was very impressed with the execution.”
Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points. 
Lillard missed his first six shots and didn’t score until halfway through the second quarter. Still, the Trail Blazers led 54-49 at halftime despite Gilgeous-Alexander's 18 points. 
The Thunder led 99-98 in the closing seconds. Oklahoma City's Josh Giddey rebounded his miss, but Lillard tied him up and forced a jump ball that Portland won.
Lillard missed a difficult 18-foot fadeaway with Lu Dort guarding him, and the Thunder rebounded with 0.9 seconds remaining. 
“It was a tough shot,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. “He probably lost his balance on it and just had to heave something that was too late. He was committed to it at that point.”
Dort continues to add to his reputation as a top perimeter defender.
“The guy’s just a monster defensively,” Daigneault said. “Lillard’s a monster offensively. He’s such a good player. It’s just another vintage game for him (Dort) and we start to get used to them. He’s probably had about five of these this year where he’s played against a top-notch opponent and just does his thing.”
Dort appreciated the help he got defending Lillard throughout the night.
“It’s not easy,” Dort said. “He’s a great player. I felt like it was another challenge, honestly. We won the last game down to the wire, and I kind of knew he would come out a little more aggressive. I felt like it wasn’t just me, it was my teammates. I just felt like we did a good job of being there.”
Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws with 0.3 seconds left, and Portland couldn't get a shot off on its final possession. 
QUOTABLE
Billups on Portland attempting nine free throws the entire game: “That really doesn’t happen with us. Nine free throws for the whole game. We attack all night. I guess we didn’t get fouled tonight.”
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: C Jusuf Nurkic returned after missing Monday’s game with right calf soreness. ... Lillard was issued a technical in the third quarter. He also was called for one on Monday against the Thunder. ... F Justice Winslow left the game with a left ankle sprain in the third quarter and did not return.
Thunder: Giddey returned after missing two games due to illness. ... F/C Jeremiah Robinson-Earl sat out with a sprained right ankle. ... Oklahoma City improved to 9-7 at home this season. ... Jalen Williams scored 15 points and Lu Dort added 14 for the Thunder.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Visit the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Thunder: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
___
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___
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers for the second time in three days, 101-98 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a good week against Portland &mdash; he hit a winning basket as time expired against the Trail Blazers on Monday, also in Oklahoma City, to highlight a 35-point performance.
It was the third straight win for Oklahoma City. The streak follows a five-game losing skid.
&ldquo;I thought the guys really did a nice job of carrying over the lessons from last game,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. &ldquo;We knew they (Trail Blazers) were going to be better, and I thought they were. And I thought we were better, too.&rdquo;
Damian Lillard, who entered the game averaging 28.3 points, finished with 16 points on 6-for-19 shooting for the Trail Blazers. Anfernee Simons, who started the night averaging 23.2 points, scored 12 on 4-for-11 shooting.
It was the third time this season the Thunder allowed fewer than 100 points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a five-man defense," Daigneault said. "We were a five-man defense tonight, and I was very impressed with the execution.&rdquo;
Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points.
Lillard missed his first six shots and didn&rsquo;t score until halfway through the second quarter. Still, the Trail Blazers led 54-49 at halftime despite Gilgeous-Alexander's 18 points.
The Thunder led 99-98 in the closing seconds. Oklahoma City's Josh Giddey rebounded his miss, but Lillard tied him up and forced a jump ball that Portland won.
Lillard missed a difficult 18-foot fadeaway with Lu Dort guarding him, and the Thunder rebounded with 0.9 seconds remaining.
&ldquo;It was a tough shot,&rdquo; Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;He probably lost his balance on it and just had to heave something that was too late. He was committed to it at that point.&rdquo;
Dort continues to add to his reputation as a top perimeter defender.
&ldquo;The guy&rsquo;s just a monster defensively,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;Lillard&rsquo;s a monster offensively. He&rsquo;s such a good player. It&rsquo;s just another vintage game for him (Dort) and we start to get used to them. He&rsquo;s probably had about five of these this year where he&rsquo;s played against a top-notch opponent and just does his thing.&rdquo;
Dort appreciated the help he got defending Lillard throughout the night.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not easy,&rdquo; Dort said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great player. I felt like it was another challenge, honestly. We won the last game down to the wire, and I kind of knew he would come out a little more aggressive. I felt like it wasn&rsquo;t just me, it was my teammates. I just felt like we did a good job of being there.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws with 0.3 seconds left, and Portland couldn't get a shot off on its final possession.
QUOTABLE
Billups on Portland attempting nine free throws the entire game: &ldquo;That really doesn&rsquo;t happen with us. Nine free throws for the whole game. We attack all night. I guess we didn&rsquo;t get fouled tonight.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: C Jusuf Nurkic returned after missing Monday&rsquo;s game with right calf soreness. ... Lillard was issued a technical in the third quarter. He also was called for one on Monday against the Thunder. ... F Justice Winslow left the game with a left ankle sprain in the third quarter and did not return.
Thunder: Giddey returned after missing two games due to illness. ... F/C Jeremiah Robinson-Earl sat out with a sprained right ankle. ... Oklahoma City improved to 9-7 at home this season. ... Jalen Williams scored 15 points and Lu Dort added 14 for the Thunder.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Visit the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Thunder: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers for the second time in three days, 101-98 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a good week against Portland &mdash; he hit a winning basket as time expired against the Trail Blazers on Monday, also in Oklahoma City, to highlight a 35-point performance.
It was the third straight win for Oklahoma City. The streak follows a five-game losing skid.
&ldquo;I thought the guys really did a nice job of carrying over the lessons from last game,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. &ldquo;We knew they (Trail Blazers) were going to be better, and I thought they were. And I thought we were better, too.&rdquo;
Damian Lillard, who entered the game averaging 28.3 points, finished with 16 points on 6-for-19 shooting for the Trail Blazers. Anfernee Simons, who started the night averaging 23.2 points, scored 12 on 4-for-11 shooting.
It was the third time this season the Thunder allowed fewer than 100 points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a five-man defense," Daigneault said. "We were a five-man defense tonight, and I was very impressed with the execution.&rdquo;
Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points.
Lillard missed his first six shots and didn&rsquo;t score until halfway through the second quarter. Still, the Trail Blazers led 54-49 at halftime despite Gilgeous-Alexander's 18 points.
The Thunder led 99-98 in the closing seconds. Oklahoma City's Josh Giddey rebounded his miss, but Lillard tied him up and forced a jump ball that Portland won.
Lillard missed a difficult 18-foot fadeaway with Lu Dort guarding him, and the Thunder rebounded with 0.9 seconds remaining.
&ldquo;It was a tough shot,&rdquo; Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;He probably lost his balance on it and just had to heave something that was too late. He was committed to it at that point.&rdquo;
Dort continues to add to his reputation as a top perimeter defender.
&ldquo;The guy&rsquo;s just a monster defensively,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;Lillard&rsquo;s a monster offensively. He&rsquo;s such a good player. It&rsquo;s just another vintage game for him (Dort) and we start to get used to them. He&rsquo;s probably had about five of these this year where he&rsquo;s played against a top-notch opponent and just does his thing.&rdquo;
Dort appreciated the help he got defending Lillard throughout the night.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not easy,&rdquo; Dort said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great player. I felt like it was another challenge, honestly. We won the last game down to the wire, and I kind of knew he would come out a little more aggressive. I felt like it wasn&rsquo;t just me, it was my teammates. I just felt like we did a good job of being there.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws with 0.3 seconds left, and Portland couldn't get a shot off on its final possession.
QUOTABLE
Billups on Portland attempting nine free throws the entire game: &ldquo;That really doesn&rsquo;t happen with us. Nine free throws for the whole game. We attack all night. I guess we didn&rsquo;t get fouled tonight.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: C Jusuf Nurkic returned after missing Monday&rsquo;s game with right calf soreness. ... Lillard was issued a technical in the third quarter. He also was called for one on Monday against the Thunder. ... F Justice Winslow left the game with a left ankle sprain in the third quarter and did not return.
Thunder: Giddey returned after missing two games due to illness. ... F/C Jeremiah Robinson-Earl sat out with a sprained right ankle. ... Oklahoma City improved to 9-7 at home this season. ... Jalen Williams scored 15 points and Lu Dort added 14 for the Thunder.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Visit the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Thunder: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers for the second time in three days, 101-98 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a good week against Portland &mdash; he hit a winning basket as time expired against the Trail Blazers on Monday, also in Oklahoma City, to highlight a 35-point performance.
It was the third straight win for Oklahoma City. The streak follows a five-game losing skid.
&ldquo;I thought the guys really did a nice job of carrying over the lessons from last game,&rdquo; Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. &ldquo;We knew they (Trail Blazers) were going to be better, and I thought they were. And I thought we were better, too.&rdquo;
Damian Lillard, who entered the game averaging 28.3 points, finished with 16 points on 6-for-19 shooting for the Trail Blazers. Anfernee Simons, who started the night averaging 23.2 points, scored 12 on 4-for-11 shooting.
It was the third time this season the Thunder allowed fewer than 100 points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a five-man defense," Daigneault said. "We were a five-man defense tonight, and I was very impressed with the execution.&rdquo;
Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points.
Lillard missed his first six shots and didn&rsquo;t score until halfway through the second quarter. Still, the Trail Blazers led 54-49 at halftime despite Gilgeous-Alexander's 18 points.
The Thunder led 99-98 in the closing seconds. Oklahoma City's Josh Giddey rebounded his miss, but Lillard tied him up and forced a jump ball that Portland won.
Lillard missed a difficult 18-foot fadeaway with Lu Dort guarding him, and the Thunder rebounded with 0.9 seconds remaining.
&ldquo;It was a tough shot,&rdquo; Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;He probably lost his balance on it and just had to heave something that was too late. He was committed to it at that point.&rdquo;
Dort continues to add to his reputation as a top perimeter defender.
&ldquo;The guy&rsquo;s just a monster defensively,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;Lillard&rsquo;s a monster offensively. He&rsquo;s such a good player. It&rsquo;s just another vintage game for him (Dort) and we start to get used to them. He&rsquo;s probably had about five of these this year where he&rsquo;s played against a top-notch opponent and just does his thing.&rdquo;
Dort appreciated the help he got defending Lillard throughout the night.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not easy,&rdquo; Dort said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great player. I felt like it was another challenge, honestly. We won the last game down to the wire, and I kind of knew he would come out a little more aggressive. I felt like it wasn&rsquo;t just me, it was my teammates. I just felt like we did a good job of being there.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws with 0.3 seconds left, and Portland couldn't get a shot off on its final possession.
QUOTABLE
Billups on Portland attempting nine free throws the entire game: &ldquo;That really doesn&rsquo;t happen with us. Nine free throws for the whole game. We attack all night. I guess we didn&rsquo;t get fouled tonight.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: C Jusuf Nurkic returned after missing Monday&rsquo;s game with right calf soreness. ... Lillard was issued a technical in the third quarter. He also was called for one on Monday against the Thunder. ... F Justice Winslow left the game with a left ankle sprain in the third quarter and did not return.
Thunder: Giddey returned after missing two games due to illness. ... F/C Jeremiah Robinson-Earl sat out with a sprained right ankle. ... Oklahoma City improved to 9-7 at home this season. ... Jalen Williams scored 15 points and Lu Dort added 14 for the Thunder.
&nbsp;

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 101-98.

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 27 as Thunder top Portland again

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Just when it appeared it might be “Dame Time,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stole the show.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a baseline jumper as time expired, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 123-121 on Monday to ruin Damian Lillard's record-setting night.
Gilgeous-Alexander drove to his left and drained a 14-foot pullup over Justise Winslow. The shot capped a 35-point performance for the 24-year-old emerging star who entered the night third in the NBA in scoring.
Lillard said Gilgeous-Alexander is making his mark in the league.
“He’s impressive,” Lillard said. “He’s obviously a really good player. Not just a good young player. He’s coming into his own. I can remember when I was younger and I became the leader of a team. And I was basically introducing myself as the lead guard on the team, and I was going after it, you know, being aggressive. And I see that he’s in that state. He’s trying to show what he can do.”
Lillard had his clutch moment, too. He made a reverse layup with 3.5 seconds remaining to tie it, and finished with 28 points to break Clyde Drexler's franchise career scoring record.
Lillard would have preferred to set the mark in a win, but the achievement was still important to him.
“It’s a great feeling to reach the top,” he said. “It’s been a goal of mine and the list has so many players, great history of our organization, so to finally be No. 1 is a special accomplishment that I’m proud of.” 
Drexler, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, had 18,040 points for the Trail Blazers from 1983-95. Lillard entered the night needing 21 to pass him. 
Lillard tied Drexler's total on a 3-pointer from well beyond the line in the third quarter that put the Trail Blazers up 72-67, then broke the mark on a free throw with 1:33 left in the period. Moments later, the Thunder public address announcer informed the crowd of Lillard’s achievement, and the crowd gave him an ovation. Lillard sat and rested, focused on a game the Trail Blazers were trailing by three points at the time.
“Even during the game tonight, I wasn’t playing focused on getting to the record," Lillard said. "I was playing the game just trying to win. I knew it would happen eventually.” 
The score was tied at 94 heading into the fourth. Anfernee Simons hit back-to-back contested 3s to give Portland a 115-110 lead with about four minutes remaining.
Oklahoma City recovered, and Gilgeous-Alexander finished it off with his final shot.
“I caught it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I was going to try to face up, but I saw the double team so I tried to spin away from it into the shot.”
QUOTABLE
Lillard, on Gilgeous-Alexander: “He’s in a situation where he’s playing free. You know, they believe in him. He’s got a group of guys that understand that he’s the leader. He’s the guy. He’s in a great position. He’s off to a great start.”
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Former Thunder F Jerami Grant scored 26 points. ... Former Thunder head coach Scott Brooks is an assistant in Portland. ... Lillard was issued a technical foul in the second quarter for arguing a foul call against him. ... F Josh Hart also was called for a technical in the second quarter.
Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander missed the previous game with a bruised lower back. ... G Josh Giddey and F Darius Bazley sat out with non-COVID-19 illnesses. ... Gilgeous-Alexander was the only Thunder player to score more than 13 points.
UP NEXT
The teams play again in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Just when it appeared it might be &ldquo;Dame Time,&rdquo; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stole the show.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a baseline jumper as time expired, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 123-121 on Monday to ruin Damian Lillard's record-setting night.
Gilgeous-Alexander drove to his left and drained a 14-foot pullup over Justise Winslow. The shot capped a 35-point performance for the 24-year-old emerging star who entered the night third in the NBA in scoring.
Lillard said Gilgeous-Alexander is making his mark in the league.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s impressive,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s obviously a really good player. Not just a good young player. He&rsquo;s coming into his own. I can remember when I was younger and I became the leader of a team. And I was basically introducing myself as the lead guard on the team, and I was going after it, you know, being aggressive. And I see that he&rsquo;s in that state. He&rsquo;s trying to show what he can do.&rdquo;
Lillard had his clutch moment, too. He made a reverse layup with 3.5 seconds remaining to tie it, and finished with 28 points to break Clyde Drexler's franchise career scoring record.
Lillard would have preferred to set the mark in a win, but the achievement was still important to him.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great feeling to reach the top,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a goal of mine and the list has so many players, great history of our organization, so to finally be No. 1 is a special accomplishment that I&rsquo;m proud of.&rdquo;
Drexler, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, had 18,040 points for the Trail Blazers from 1983-95. Lillard entered the night needing 21 to pass him.
Lillard tied Drexler's total on a 3-pointer from well beyond the line in the third quarter that put the Trail Blazers up 72-67, then broke the mark on a free throw with 1:33 left in the period. Moments later, the Thunder public address announcer informed the crowd of Lillard&rsquo;s achievement, and the crowd gave him an ovation. Lillard sat and rested, focused on a game the Trail Blazers were trailing by three points at the time.
&ldquo;Even during the game tonight, I wasn&rsquo;t playing focused on getting to the record," Lillard said. "I was playing the game just trying to win. I knew it would happen eventually.&rdquo;
The score was tied at 94 heading into the fourth. Anfernee Simons hit back-to-back contested 3s to give Portland a 115-110 lead with about four minutes remaining.
Oklahoma City recovered, and Gilgeous-Alexander finished it off with his final shot.
&ldquo;I caught it,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said. &ldquo;I was going to try to face up, but I saw the double team so I tried to spin away from it into the shot.&rdquo;
QUOTABLE
Lillard, on Gilgeous-Alexander: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in a situation where he&rsquo;s playing free. You know, they believe in him. He&rsquo;s got a group of guys that understand that he&rsquo;s the leader. He&rsquo;s the guy. He&rsquo;s in a great position. He&rsquo;s off to a great start.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Former Thunder F Jerami Grant scored 26 points. ... Former Thunder head coach Scott Brooks is an assistant in Portland. ... Lillard was issued a technical foul in the second quarter for arguing a foul call against him. ... F Josh Hart also was called for a technical in the second quarter.
Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander missed the previous game with a bruised lower back. ... G Josh Giddey and F Darius Bazley sat out with non-COVID-19 illnesses. ... Gilgeous-Alexander was the only Thunder player to score more than 13 points.
UP NEXT
The teams play again in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Just when it appeared it might be &ldquo;Dame Time,&rdquo; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stole the show.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a baseline jumper as time expired, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 123-121 on Monday to ruin Damian Lillard's record-setting night.
Gilgeous-Alexander drove to his left and drained a 14-foot pullup over Justise Winslow. The shot capped a 35-point performance for the 24-year-old emerging star who entered the night third in the NBA in scoring.
Lillard said Gilgeous-Alexander is making his mark in the league.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s impressive,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s obviously a really good player. Not just a good young player. He&rsquo;s coming into his own. I can remember when I was younger and I became the leader of a team. And I was basically introducing myself as the lead guard on the team, and I was going after it, you know, being aggressive. And I see that he&rsquo;s in that state. He&rsquo;s trying to show what he can do.&rdquo;
Lillard had his clutch moment, too. He made a reverse layup with 3.5 seconds remaining to tie it, and finished with 28 points to break Clyde Drexler's franchise career scoring record.
Lillard would have preferred to set the mark in a win, but the achievement was still important to him.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great feeling to reach the top,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a goal of mine and the list has so many players, great history of our organization, so to finally be No. 1 is a special accomplishment that I&rsquo;m proud of.&rdquo;
Drexler, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, had 18,040 points for the Trail Blazers from 1983-95. Lillard entered the night needing 21 to pass him.
Lillard tied Drexler's total on a 3-pointer from well beyond the line in the third quarter that put the Trail Blazers up 72-67, then broke the mark on a free throw with 1:33 left in the period. Moments later, the Thunder public address announcer informed the crowd of Lillard&rsquo;s achievement, and the crowd gave him an ovation. Lillard sat and rested, focused on a game the Trail Blazers were trailing by three points at the time.
&ldquo;Even during the game tonight, I wasn&rsquo;t playing focused on getting to the record," Lillard said. "I was playing the game just trying to win. I knew it would happen eventually.&rdquo;
The score was tied at 94 heading into the fourth. Anfernee Simons hit back-to-back contested 3s to give Portland a 115-110 lead with about four minutes remaining.
Oklahoma City recovered, and Gilgeous-Alexander finished it off with his final shot.
&ldquo;I caught it,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said. &ldquo;I was going to try to face up, but I saw the double team so I tried to spin away from it into the shot.&rdquo;
QUOTABLE
Lillard, on Gilgeous-Alexander: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in a situation where he&rsquo;s playing free. You know, they believe in him. He&rsquo;s got a group of guys that understand that he&rsquo;s the leader. He&rsquo;s the guy. He&rsquo;s in a great position. He&rsquo;s off to a great start.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Former Thunder F Jerami Grant scored 26 points. ... Former Thunder head coach Scott Brooks is an assistant in Portland. ... Lillard was issued a technical foul in the second quarter for arguing a foul call against him. ... F Josh Hart also was called for a technical in the second quarter.
Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander missed the previous game with a bruised lower back. ... G Josh Giddey and F Darius Bazley sat out with non-COVID-19 illnesses. ... Gilgeous-Alexander was the only Thunder player to score more than 13 points.
UP NEXT
The teams play again in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Just when it appeared it might be &ldquo;Dame Time,&rdquo; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stole the show.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a baseline jumper as time expired, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 123-121 on Monday to ruin Damian Lillard's record-setting night.
Gilgeous-Alexander drove to his left and drained a 14-foot pullup over Justise Winslow. The shot capped a 35-point performance for the 24-year-old emerging star who entered the night third in the NBA in scoring.
Lillard said Gilgeous-Alexander is making his mark in the league.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s impressive,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s obviously a really good player. Not just a good young player. He&rsquo;s coming into his own. I can remember when I was younger and I became the leader of a team. And I was basically introducing myself as the lead guard on the team, and I was going after it, you know, being aggressive. And I see that he&rsquo;s in that state. He&rsquo;s trying to show what he can do.&rdquo;
Lillard had his clutch moment, too. He made a reverse layup with 3.5 seconds remaining to tie it, and finished with 28 points to break Clyde Drexler's franchise career scoring record.
Lillard would have preferred to set the mark in a win, but the achievement was still important to him.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great feeling to reach the top,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a goal of mine and the list has so many players, great history of our organization, so to finally be No. 1 is a special accomplishment that I&rsquo;m proud of.&rdquo;
Drexler, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, had 18,040 points for the Trail Blazers from 1983-95. Lillard entered the night needing 21 to pass him.
Lillard tied Drexler's total on a 3-pointer from well beyond the line in the third quarter that put the Trail Blazers up 72-67, then broke the mark on a free throw with 1:33 left in the period. Moments later, the Thunder public address announcer informed the crowd of Lillard&rsquo;s achievement, and the crowd gave him an ovation. Lillard sat and rested, focused on a game the Trail Blazers were trailing by three points at the time.
&ldquo;Even during the game tonight, I wasn&rsquo;t playing focused on getting to the record," Lillard said. "I was playing the game just trying to win. I knew it would happen eventually.&rdquo;
The score was tied at 94 heading into the fourth. Anfernee Simons hit back-to-back contested 3s to give Portland a 115-110 lead with about four minutes remaining.
Oklahoma City recovered, and Gilgeous-Alexander finished it off with his final shot.
&ldquo;I caught it,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said. &ldquo;I was going to try to face up, but I saw the double team so I tried to spin away from it into the shot.&rdquo;
QUOTABLE
Lillard, on Gilgeous-Alexander: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in a situation where he&rsquo;s playing free. You know, they believe in him. He&rsquo;s got a group of guys that understand that he&rsquo;s the leader. He&rsquo;s the guy. He&rsquo;s in a great position. He&rsquo;s off to a great start.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Former Thunder F Jerami Grant scored 26 points. ... Former Thunder head coach Scott Brooks is an assistant in Portland. ... Lillard was issued a technical foul in the second quarter for arguing a foul call against him. ... F Josh Hart also was called for a technical in the second quarter.
Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander missed the previous game with a bruised lower back. ... G Josh Giddey and F Darius Bazley sat out with non-COVID-19 illnesses. ... Gilgeous-Alexander was the only Thunder player to score more than 13 points.
&nbsp;

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a baseline jumper as time expired, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Portland Trail Blazers 123-121.

Gilgeous-Alexander hits game-winner as Thunder edge Blazers

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — For a few moments, it seemed like the glory days for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“MVP! MVP!” chants rained down for a Thunder player late in a win, like they often did during the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook era.
This time, the chants were for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The new face of the franchise scored 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and the Thunder rallied from 15 points down in the second half to beat the Orlando Magic 116-108 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win.
Gilgeous-Alexander made all three of his field goals and 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander, the fifth-year guard who averages 31.5 points, could do even more.
“Great poise,” Daigneault said. “That’s probably the thing that stands out about that stretch. I still don’t think he’s playing his best basketball for 48 at least, and I don’t think he will (think so) either after tonight. But in the fourth quarter, for sure."
Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 18 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.
“He was tough,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We knew that was how crafty and tricky he can be getting to the paint. Obviously, he hit some tough shots, hit some tough 2s.”
Aleksej Pokusevski added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who improved to 4-3 and have a winning record for the first time since nine games into the 2020-21 season.
Wendell Carter Jr. tied a career high with 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Franz Wagner added 20 points for Orlando. Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Orlando led 66-63 at halftime, then scored the first nine points of the third quarter. The Magic extended the lead to 86-71 with just under 5 minutes left in the third quarter. The Thunder chipped away, and Orlando led just 88-85 heading into the fourth.
Pokusevski made a 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 105-104 lead with just over 4 minutes to play, and he later made a layup to put Oklahoma City ahead 109-106. Lu Dort hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to put the Thunder up six and in control for good.
“That group at the end of the third really got us back in the game and just shifted the tone in the game a little bit,” Daigneault said. “And then the group down the stretch did a great job.”
The Thunder scored 30 points off 25 Orlando turnovers. 
“You don’t give yourself an opportunity,” Mosley said. “Those are lost possessions. We’ve got to learn to take care of the basketball in crunch time and understand the possession of the basketball is the most important thing, and we’ve got to do it by committee.”
TIP-INS
Magic: C Mo Bamba was called for a technical in the second quarter. ... Orlando was issued a technical in the fourth quarter for a second delay of game. ... Outrebounded the Thunder 49-36. ... F Bol Bol had four blocks. He entered the night ranked fourth in the league with 2.4 per game. He also had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Thunder: G Josh Giddey had 10 assists in his return from an ankle injury. ... Rookie G Jalen Williams scored six points in his first career start. ... Gilgeous-Alexander missed a free throw after making his first 34 this season. He blew past the previous Thunder record of 23 consecutive makes to start a season set by Danilo Gallinari in 2019.
UP NEXT
Magic: Host the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
Thunder: Host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; For a few moments, it seemed like the glory days for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
&ldquo;MVP! MVP!&rdquo; chants rained down for a Thunder player late in a win, like they often did during the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook era.
This time, the chants were for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The new face of the franchise scored 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and the Thunder rallied from 15 points down in the second half to beat the Orlando Magic 116-108 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win.
Gilgeous-Alexander made all three of his field goals and 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander, the fifth-year guard who averages 31.5 points, could do even more.
&ldquo;Great poise,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s probably the thing that stands out about that stretch. I still don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s playing his best basketball for 48 at least, and I don&rsquo;t think he will (think so) either after tonight. But in the fourth quarter, for sure."
Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 18 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.
&ldquo;He was tough,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;We knew that was how crafty and tricky he can be getting to the paint. Obviously, he hit some tough shots, hit some tough 2s.&rdquo;
Aleksej Pokusevski added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who improved to 4-3 and have a winning record for the first time since nine games into the 2020-21 season.
Wendell Carter Jr. tied a career high with 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Franz Wagner added 20 points for Orlando. Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Orlando led 66-63 at halftime, then scored the first nine points of the third quarter. The Magic extended the lead to 86-71 with just under 5 minutes left in the third quarter. The Thunder chipped away, and Orlando led just 88-85 heading into the fourth.
Pokusevski made a 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 105-104 lead with just over 4 minutes to play, and he later made a layup to put Oklahoma City ahead 109-106. Lu Dort hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to put the Thunder up six and in control for good.
&ldquo;That group at the end of the third really got us back in the game and just shifted the tone in the game a little bit,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;And then the group down the stretch did a great job.&rdquo;
The Thunder scored 30 points off 25 Orlando turnovers.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t give yourself an opportunity,&rdquo; Mosley said. &ldquo;Those are lost possessions. We&rsquo;ve got to learn to take care of the basketball in crunch time and understand the possession of the basketball is the most important thing, and we&rsquo;ve got to do it by committee.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Magic: C Mo Bamba was called for a technical in the second quarter. ... Orlando was issued a technical in the fourth quarter for a second delay of game. ... Outrebounded the Thunder 49-36. ... F Bol Bol had four blocks. He entered the night ranked fourth in the league with 2.4 per game. He also had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Thunder: G Josh Giddey had 10 assists in his return from an ankle injury. ... Rookie G Jalen Williams scored six points in his first career start. ... Gilgeous-Alexander missed a free throw after making his first 34 this season. He blew past the previous Thunder record of 23 consecutive makes to start a season set by Danilo Gallinari in 2019.
UP NEXT
Magic: Host the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
Thunder: Host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; For a few moments, it seemed like the glory days for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
&ldquo;MVP! MVP!&rdquo; chants rained down for a Thunder player late in a win, like they often did during the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook era.
This time, the chants were for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The new face of the franchise scored 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and the Thunder rallied from 15 points down in the second half to beat the Orlando Magic 116-108 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win.
Gilgeous-Alexander made all three of his field goals and 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander, the fifth-year guard who averages 31.5 points, could do even more.
&ldquo;Great poise,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s probably the thing that stands out about that stretch. I still don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s playing his best basketball for 48 at least, and I don&rsquo;t think he will (think so) either after tonight. But in the fourth quarter, for sure."
Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 18 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.
&ldquo;He was tough,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;We knew that was how crafty and tricky he can be getting to the paint. Obviously, he hit some tough shots, hit some tough 2s.&rdquo;
Aleksej Pokusevski added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who improved to 4-3 and have a winning record for the first time since nine games into the 2020-21 season.
Wendell Carter Jr. tied a career high with 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Franz Wagner added 20 points for Orlando. Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Orlando led 66-63 at halftime, then scored the first nine points of the third quarter. The Magic extended the lead to 86-71 with just under 5 minutes left in the third quarter. The Thunder chipped away, and Orlando led just 88-85 heading into the fourth.
Pokusevski made a 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 105-104 lead with just over 4 minutes to play, and he later made a layup to put Oklahoma City ahead 109-106. Lu Dort hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to put the Thunder up six and in control for good.
&ldquo;That group at the end of the third really got us back in the game and just shifted the tone in the game a little bit,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;And then the group down the stretch did a great job.&rdquo;
The Thunder scored 30 points off 25 Orlando turnovers.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t give yourself an opportunity,&rdquo; Mosley said. &ldquo;Those are lost possessions. We&rsquo;ve got to learn to take care of the basketball in crunch time and understand the possession of the basketball is the most important thing, and we&rsquo;ve got to do it by committee.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Magic: C Mo Bamba was called for a technical in the second quarter. ... Orlando was issued a technical in the fourth quarter for a second delay of game. ... Outrebounded the Thunder 49-36. ... F Bol Bol had four blocks. He entered the night ranked fourth in the league with 2.4 per game. He also had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Thunder: G Josh Giddey had 10 assists in his return from an ankle injury. ... Rookie G Jalen Williams scored six points in his first career start. ... Gilgeous-Alexander missed a free throw after making his first 34 this season. He blew past the previous Thunder record of 23 consecutive makes to start a season set by Danilo Gallinari in 2019.
&nbsp;
___
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___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; For a few moments, it seemed like the glory days for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
&ldquo;MVP! MVP!&rdquo; chants rained down for a Thunder player late in a win, like they often did during the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook era.
This time, the chants were for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The new face of the franchise scored 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and the Thunder rallied from 15 points down in the second half to beat the Orlando Magic 116-108 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win.
Gilgeous-Alexander made all three of his field goals and 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander, the fifth-year guard who averages 31.5 points, could do even more.
&ldquo;Great poise,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s probably the thing that stands out about that stretch. I still don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s playing his best basketball for 48 at least, and I don&rsquo;t think he will (think so) either after tonight. But in the fourth quarter, for sure."
Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 18 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.
&ldquo;He was tough,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;We knew that was how crafty and tricky he can be getting to the paint. Obviously, he hit some tough shots, hit some tough 2s.&rdquo;
Aleksej Pokusevski added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who improved to 4-3 and have a winning record for the first time since nine games into the 2020-21 season.
Wendell Carter Jr. tied a career high with 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Franz Wagner added 20 points for Orlando. Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Orlando led 66-63 at halftime, then scored the first nine points of the third quarter. The Magic extended the lead to 86-71 with just under 5 minutes left in the third quarter. The Thunder chipped away, and Orlando led just 88-85 heading into the fourth.
Pokusevski made a 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 105-104 lead with just over 4 minutes to play, and he later made a layup to put Oklahoma City ahead 109-106. Lu Dort hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to put the Thunder up six and in control for good.
&ldquo;That group at the end of the third really got us back in the game and just shifted the tone in the game a little bit,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;And then the group down the stretch did a great job.&rdquo;
The Thunder scored 30 points off 25 Orlando turnovers.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t give yourself an opportunity,&rdquo; Mosley said. &ldquo;Those are lost possessions. We&rsquo;ve got to learn to take care of the basketball in crunch time and understand the possession of the basketball is the most important thing, and we&rsquo;ve got to do it by committee.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Magic: C Mo Bamba was called for a technical in the second quarter. ... Orlando was issued a technical in the fourth quarter for a second delay of game. ... Outrebounded the Thunder 49-36. ... F Bol Bol had four blocks. He entered the night ranked fourth in the league with 2.4 per game. He also had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Thunder: G Josh Giddey had 10 assists in his return from an ankle injury. ... Rookie G Jalen Williams scored six points in his first career start. ... Gilgeous-Alexander missed a free throw after making his first 34 this season. He blew past the previous Thunder record of 23 consecutive makes to start a season set by Danilo Gallinari in 2019.
&nbsp;
___
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; For a few moments, it seemed like the glory days for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
&ldquo;MVP! MVP!&rdquo; chants rained down for a Thunder player late in a win, like they often did during the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook era.
This time, the chants were for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The new face of the franchise scored 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and the Thunder rallied from 15 points down in the second half to beat the Orlando Magic 116-108 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win.
Gilgeous-Alexander made all three of his field goals and 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander, the fifth-year guard who averages 31.5 points, could do even more.
&ldquo;Great poise,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s probably the thing that stands out about that stretch. I still don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s playing his best basketball for 48 at least, and I don&rsquo;t think he will (think so) either after tonight. But in the fourth quarter, for sure."
Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 18 field goals and 10 of 11 free throws.
&ldquo;He was tough,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;We knew that was how crafty and tricky he can be getting to the paint. Obviously, he hit some tough shots, hit some tough 2s.&rdquo;
Aleksej Pokusevski added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who improved to 4-3 and have a winning record for the first time since nine games into the 2020-21 season.
Wendell Carter Jr. tied a career high with 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Franz Wagner added 20 points for Orlando. Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Orlando led 66-63 at halftime, then scored the first nine points of the third quarter. The Magic extended the lead to 86-71 with just under 5 minutes left in the third quarter. The Thunder chipped away, and Orlando led just 88-85 heading into the fourth.
Pokusevski made a 3-pointer to give the Thunder a 105-104 lead with just over 4 minutes to play, and he later made a layup to put Oklahoma City ahead 109-106. Lu Dort hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds remaining to put the Thunder up six and in control for good.
&ldquo;That group at the end of the third really got us back in the game and just shifted the tone in the game a little bit,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;And then the group down the stretch did a great job.&rdquo;
The Thunder scored 30 points off 25 Orlando turnovers.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t give yourself an opportunity,&rdquo; Mosley said. &ldquo;Those are lost possessions. We&rsquo;ve got to learn to take care of the basketball in crunch time and understand the possession of the basketball is the most important thing, and we&rsquo;ve got to do it by committee.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Magic: C Mo Bamba was called for a technical in the second quarter. ... Orlando was issued a technical in the fourth quarter for a second delay of game. ... Outrebounded the Thunder 49-36. ... F Bol Bol had four blocks. He entered the night ranked fourth in the league with 2.4 per game. He also had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Thunder: G Josh Giddey had 10 assists in his return from an ankle injury. ... Rookie G Jalen Williams scored six points in his first career start. ... Gilgeous-Alexander missed a free throw after making his first 34 this season. He blew past the previous Thunder record of 23 consecutive makes to start a season set by Danilo Gallinari in 2019.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points and the Thunder rallied from 15 points down to beat the Magic 116-108.

Gilgeous-Alexander's 34 help Thunder push win streak to 4

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is experiencing the rehab process for the first time.
The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-e35ce7ed0c54f4cb629f59a7385a82c5">No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft</a> suffered a right foot injury during a pro-am game in August while defending as LeBron James drove to the basket on a fast break. He had surgery, and the Thunder <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-faecc6fbc3fbe571e2dffb76033a7c90">declared him out for the season</a>.
“I’ve never had a serious injury in my life, so I didn’t really know, I had nothing to base it off of and compare to,” Holmgren said Thursday. “So when it happened, I had to get it looked at and see how serious it was. I didn’t imagine anything like this.”
Holmgren, a versatile 7-footer who had great moments during summer league, is dealing with being sidelined as the Thunder start training camp this week.
“Definitely something that I really had to put my mind to and spend some time to think on," he said. "And kind of come to some conclusions on things and really settle my mind so I could kind of stop focusing on what happened and focus in on what’s going to happen, what I've got to do to get where I need to be.” 
Even without practicing, he has already left an impression on his teammates.
“He’s a great guy,” guard Lu Dort said. “I can already feel a connection with me and the rest of the team. He’s a pretty vocal guy, too. He talks a lot, and that’s good for the team.”
Holmgren said his only workout limitation is that he can’t put weight on the injured foot. So, that forces him to focus on other aspects of the game. Coach Mark Daigneault said Holmgren has been working hard on film study. 
“It just comes down to putting my mental energy towards it, learning how to really be a professional in areas off the court,” Holmgren said. “I’ve dedicated so much time to really hustling at my craft on the court. Now, this event is making me step back and kind of rework how how I do things. And one of those ways is to become professional with watching film and speaking with coaches, trying to learn, watching what’s happening and really being engaged, in trying to get better with different avenues.”
Holmgren has spoken with Joel Embiid about his injury. Embiid, the reigning NBA scoring champion, was the No. 3 pick in 2014 before missing his first two seasons with foot issues. 
Holmgren hopes he can recover as well as Embiid.
“What I’m trying to do right now is just kind of soak up all the knowledge of how things are done around here, how they’re going to be done going forward," Holmgren said. "So when I’m ready to get get back in there, I can just kind of seamlessly plug myself in.” 
Holmgren is expected to be ready for the start of next season. He said he’s trying to keep his thoughts positive.
“It all comes down to keeping a level head because there’s so many ups and downs,” he said. “Unfortunately, this is a down. But I’ve got to keep my head level and focus on getting better. And no matter what the circumstances are, that’s the goal.”
Daigneault believes Holmgren's mindset will net positive results.
“We’d like him to be out here,” Daigneault said. “But since he’s not, we’re certainly going to make a lot of investments, and the thing that makes me the most optimistic about that is the approach that he takes.”
___
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___
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is experiencing the rehab process for the first time.
The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-e35ce7ed0c54f4cb629f59a7385a82c5">No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft</a> suffered a right foot injury during a pro-am game in August while defending as LeBron James drove to the basket on a fast break. He had surgery, and the Thunder <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-faecc6fbc3fbe571e2dffb76033a7c90">declared him out for the season</a>.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had a serious injury in my life, so I didn&rsquo;t really know, I had nothing to base it off of and compare to,&rdquo; Holmgren said Thursday. &ldquo;So when it happened, I had to get it looked at and see how serious it was. I didn&rsquo;t imagine anything like this.&rdquo;
Holmgren, a versatile 7-footer who had great moments during summer league, is dealing with being sidelined as the Thunder start training camp this week.
&ldquo;Definitely something that I really had to put my mind to and spend some time to think on," he said. "And kind of come to some conclusions on things and really settle my mind so I could kind of stop focusing on what happened and focus in on what&rsquo;s going to happen, what I've got to do to get where I need to be.&rdquo;
Even without practicing, he has already left an impression on his teammates.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great guy,&rdquo; guard Lu Dort said. &ldquo;I can already feel a connection with me and the rest of the team. He&rsquo;s a pretty vocal guy, too. He talks a lot, and that&rsquo;s good for the team.&rdquo;
Holmgren said his only workout limitation is that he can&rsquo;t put weight on the injured foot. So, that forces him to focus on other aspects of the game. Coach Mark Daigneault said Holmgren has been working hard on film study.
&ldquo;It just comes down to putting my mental energy towards it, learning how to really be a professional in areas off the court,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve dedicated so much time to really hustling at my craft on the court. Now, this event is making me step back and kind of rework how how I do things. And one of those ways is to become professional with watching film and speaking with coaches, trying to learn, watching what&rsquo;s happening and really being engaged, in trying to get better with different avenues.&rdquo;
Holmgren has spoken with Joel Embiid about his injury. Embiid, the reigning NBA scoring champion, was the No. 3 pick in 2014 before missing his first two seasons with foot issues.
Holmgren hopes he can recover as well as Embiid.
&ldquo;What I&rsquo;m trying to do right now is just kind of soak up all the knowledge of how things are done around here, how they&rsquo;re going to be done going forward," Holmgren said. "So when I&rsquo;m ready to get get back in there, I can just kind of seamlessly plug myself in.&rdquo;
Holmgren is expected to be ready for the start of next season. He said he&rsquo;s trying to keep his thoughts positive.
&ldquo;It all comes down to keeping a level head because there&rsquo;s so many ups and downs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Unfortunately, this is a down. But I&rsquo;ve got to keep my head level and focus on getting better. And no matter what the circumstances are, that&rsquo;s the goal.&rdquo;
Daigneault believes Holmgren's mindset will net positive results.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;d like him to be out here,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;But since he&rsquo;s not, we&rsquo;re certainly going to make a lot of investments, and the thing that makes me the most optimistic about that is the approach that he takes.&rdquo;
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is experiencing the rehab process for the first time.
The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-e35ce7ed0c54f4cb629f59a7385a82c5">No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft</a> suffered a right foot injury during a pro-am game in August while defending as LeBron James drove to the basket on a fast break. He had surgery, and the Thunder <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-faecc6fbc3fbe571e2dffb76033a7c90">declared him out for the season</a>.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had a serious injury in my life, so I didn&rsquo;t really know, I had nothing to base it off of and compare to,&rdquo; Holmgren said Thursday. &ldquo;So when it happened, I had to get it looked at and see how serious it was. I didn&rsquo;t imagine anything like this.&rdquo;
Holmgren, a versatile 7-footer who had great moments during summer league, is dealing with being sidelined as the Thunder start training camp this week.
&ldquo;Definitely something that I really had to put my mind to and spend some time to think on," he said. "And kind of come to some conclusions on things and really settle my mind so I could kind of stop focusing on what happened and focus in on what&rsquo;s going to happen, what I've got to do to get where I need to be.&rdquo;
Even without practicing, he has already left an impression on his teammates.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great guy,&rdquo; guard Lu Dort said. &ldquo;I can already feel a connection with me and the rest of the team. He&rsquo;s a pretty vocal guy, too. He talks a lot, and that&rsquo;s good for the team.&rdquo;
Holmgren said his only workout limitation is that he can&rsquo;t put weight on the injured foot. So, that forces him to focus on other aspects of the game. Coach Mark Daigneault said Holmgren has been working hard on film study.
&ldquo;It just comes down to putting my mental energy towards it, learning how to really be a professional in areas off the court,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve dedicated so much time to really hustling at my craft on the court. Now, this event is making me step back and kind of rework how how I do things. And one of those ways is to become professional with watching film and speaking with coaches, trying to learn, watching what&rsquo;s happening and really being engaged, in trying to get better with different avenues.&rdquo;
Holmgren has spoken with Joel Embiid about his injury. Embiid, the reigning NBA scoring champion, was the No. 3 pick in 2014 before missing his first two seasons with foot issues.
Holmgren hopes he can recover as well as Embiid.
&ldquo;What I&rsquo;m trying to do right now is just kind of soak up all the knowledge of how things are done around here, how they&rsquo;re going to be done going forward," Holmgren said. "So when I&rsquo;m ready to get get back in there, I can just kind of seamlessly plug myself in.&rdquo;
Holmgren is expected to be ready for the start of next season. He said he&rsquo;s trying to keep his thoughts positive.
&ldquo;It all comes down to keeping a level head because there&rsquo;s so many ups and downs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Unfortunately, this is a down. But I&rsquo;ve got to keep my head level and focus on getting better. And no matter what the circumstances are, that&rsquo;s the goal.&rdquo;
Daigneault believes Holmgren's mindset will net positive results.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;d like him to be out here,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;But since he&rsquo;s not, we&rsquo;re certainly going to make a lot of investments, and the thing that makes me the most optimistic about that is the approach that he takes.&rdquo;

Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is experiencing the rehab process for the first time.
The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-e35ce7ed0c54f4cb629f59a7385a82c5">No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft</a> suffered a right foot injury during a pro-am game in August while defending as LeBron James drove to the basket on a fast break. He had surgery, and the Thunder <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-faecc6fbc3fbe571e2dffb76033a7c90">declared him out for the season</a>.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had a serious injury in my life, so I didn&rsquo;t really know, I had nothing to base it off of and compare to,&rdquo; Holmgren said Thursday. &ldquo;So when it happened, I had to get it looked at and see how serious it was. I didn&rsquo;t imagine anything like this.&rdquo;
Holmgren, a versatile 7-footer who had great moments during summer league, is dealing with being sidelined as the Thunder start training camp this week.
&ldquo;Definitely something that I really had to put my mind to and spend some time to think on," he said. "And kind of come to some conclusions on things and really settle my mind so I could kind of stop focusing on what happened and focus in on what&rsquo;s going to happen, what I've got to do to get where I need to be.&rdquo;
Even without practicing, he has already left an impression on his teammates.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great guy,&rdquo; guard Lu Dort said. &ldquo;I can already feel a connection with me and the rest of the team. He&rsquo;s a pretty vocal guy, too. He talks a lot, and that&rsquo;s good for the team.&rdquo;
Holmgren said his only workout limitation is that he can&rsquo;t put weight on the injured foot. So, that forces him to focus on other aspects of the game. Coach Mark Daigneault said Holmgren has been working hard on film study.
&ldquo;It just comes down to putting my mental energy towards it, learning how to really be a professional in areas off the court,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve dedicated so much time to really hustling at my craft on the court. Now, this event is making me step back and kind of rework how how I do things. And one of those ways is to become professional with watching film and speaking with coaches, trying to learn, watching what&rsquo;s happening and really being engaged, in trying to get better with different avenues.&rdquo;
Holmgren has spoken with Joel Embiid about his injury. Embiid, the reigning NBA scoring champion, was the No. 3 pick in 2014 before missing his first two seasons with foot issues.
Holmgren hopes he can recover as well as Embiid.
&ldquo;What I&rsquo;m trying to do right now is just kind of soak up all the knowledge of how things are done around here, how they&rsquo;re going to be done going forward," Holmgren said. "So when I&rsquo;m ready to get get back in there, I can just kind of seamlessly plug myself in.&rdquo;
Holmgren is expected to be ready for the start of next season. He said he&rsquo;s trying to keep his thoughts positive.
&ldquo;It all comes down to keeping a level head because there&rsquo;s so many ups and downs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Unfortunately, this is a down. But I&rsquo;ve got to keep my head level and focus on getting better. And no matter what the circumstances are, that&rsquo;s the goal.&rdquo;
Daigneault believes Holmgren's mindset will net positive results.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;d like him to be out here,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;But since he&rsquo;s not, we&rsquo;re certainly going to make a lot of investments, and the thing that makes me the most optimistic about that is the approach that he takes.&rdquo;

Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is experiencing the rehab process for the first time.
The &nbsp;suffered a right foot injury during a pro-am game in August while defending as LeBron James drove to the basket on a fast break. He had surgery, and the Thunder <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-faecc6fbc3fbe571e2dffb76033a7c90">declared him out for the season</a>.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had a serious injury in my life, so I didn&rsquo;t really know, I had nothing to base it off of and compare to,&rdquo; Holmgren said Thursday. &ldquo;So when it happened, I had to get it looked at and see how serious it was. I didn&rsquo;t imagine anything like this.&rdquo;
Holmgren, a versatile 7-footer who had great moments during summer league, is dealing with being sidelined as the Thunder start training camp this week.
&ldquo;Definitely something that I really had to put my mind to and spend some time to think on," he said. "And kind of come to some conclusions on things and really settle my mind so I could kind of stop focusing on what happened and focus in on what&rsquo;s going to happen, what I've got to do to get where I need to be.&rdquo;
Even without practicing, he has already left an impression on his teammates.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great guy,&rdquo; guard Lu Dort said. &ldquo;I can already feel a connection with me and the rest of the team. He&rsquo;s a pretty vocal guy, too. He talks a lot, and that&rsquo;s good for the team.&rdquo;
Holmgren said his only workout limitation is that he can&rsquo;t put weight on the injured foot. So, that forces him to focus on other aspects of the game. Coach Mark Daigneault said Holmgren has been working hard on film study.
&ldquo;It just comes down to putting my mental energy towards it, learning how to really be a professional in areas off the court,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve dedicated so much time to really hustling at my craft on the court. Now, this event is making me step back and kind of rework how how I do things. And one of those ways is to become professional with watching film and speaking with coaches, trying to learn, watching what&rsquo;s happening and really being engaged, in trying to get better with different avenues.&rdquo;
Holmgren has spoken with Joel Embiid about his injury. Embiid, the reigning NBA scoring champion, was the No. 3 pick in 2014 before missing his first two seasons with foot issues.
Holmgren hopes he can recover as well as Embiid.
&ldquo;What I&rsquo;m trying to do right now is just kind of soak up all the knowledge of how things are done around here, how they&rsquo;re going to be done going forward," Holmgren said. "So when I&rsquo;m ready to get get back in there, I can just kind of seamlessly plug myself in.&rdquo;
Holmgren is expected to be ready for the start of next season. He said he&rsquo;s trying to keep his thoughts positive.
&ldquo;It all comes down to keeping a level head because there&rsquo;s so many ups and downs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Unfortunately, this is a down. But I&rsquo;ve got to keep my head level and focus on getting better. And no matter what the circumstances are, that&rsquo;s the goal.&rdquo;
Daigneault believes Holmgren's mindset will net positive results.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;d like him to be out here,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;But since he&rsquo;s not, we&rsquo;re certainly going to make a lot of investments, and the thing that makes me the most optimistic about that is the approach that he takes.&rdquo;

Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is experiencing the rehab process for the first time.
The No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft&nbsp;suffered a right foot injury during a pro-am game in August while defending as LeBron James drove to the basket on a fast break. He had surgery, and the Thunder <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-faecc6fbc3fbe571e2dffb76033a7c90" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared him out for the season</a>.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had a serious injury in my life, so I didn&rsquo;t really know, I had nothing to base it off of and compare to,&rdquo; Holmgren said Thursday. &ldquo;So when it happened, I had to get it looked at and see how serious it was. I didn&rsquo;t imagine anything like this.&rdquo;
Holmgren, a versatile 7-footer who had great moments during summer league, is dealing with being sidelined as the Thunder start training camp this week.
&ldquo;Definitely something that I really had to put my mind to and spend some time to think on," he said. "And kind of come to some conclusions on things and really settle my mind so I could kind of stop focusing on what happened and focus in on what&rsquo;s going to happen, what I've got to do to get where I need to be.&rdquo;
Even without practicing, he has already left an impression on his teammates.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great guy,&rdquo; guard Lu Dort said. &ldquo;I can already feel a connection with me and the rest of the team. He&rsquo;s a pretty vocal guy, too. He talks a lot, and that&rsquo;s good for the team.&rdquo;
Holmgren said his only workout limitation is that he can&rsquo;t put weight on the injured foot. So, that forces him to focus on other aspects of the game. Coach Mark Daigneault said Holmgren has been working hard on film study.
&ldquo;It just comes down to putting my mental energy towards it, learning how to really be a professional in areas off the court,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve dedicated so much time to really hustling at my craft on the court. Now, this event is making me step back and kind of rework how how I do things. And one of those ways is to become professional with watching film and speaking with coaches, trying to learn, watching what&rsquo;s happening and really being engaged, in trying to get better with different avenues.&rdquo;
Holmgren has spoken with Joel Embiid about his injury. Embiid, the reigning NBA scoring champion, was the No. 3 pick in 2014 before missing his first two seasons with foot issues.
Holmgren hopes he can recover as well as Embiid.
&ldquo;What I&rsquo;m trying to do right now is just kind of soak up all the knowledge of how things are done around here, how they&rsquo;re going to be done going forward," Holmgren said. "So when I&rsquo;m ready to get get back in there, I can just kind of seamlessly plug myself in.&rdquo;
Holmgren is expected to be ready for the start of next season. He said he&rsquo;s trying to keep his thoughts positive.
&ldquo;It all comes down to keeping a level head because there&rsquo;s so many ups and downs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Unfortunately, this is a down. But I&rsquo;ve got to keep my head level and focus on getting better. And no matter what the circumstances are, that&rsquo;s the goal.&rdquo;
Daigneault believes Holmgren's mindset will net positive results.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;d like him to be out here,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;But since he&rsquo;s not, we&rsquo;re certainly going to make a lot of investments, and the thing that makes me the most optimistic about that is the approach that he takes.&rdquo;

Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is experiencing the rehab process for the first time.
The No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA draft&nbsp;suffered a right foot injury during a pro-am game in August while defending as LeBron James drove to the basket on a fast break. He had surgery, and the Thunder <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-faecc6fbc3fbe571e2dffb76033a7c90" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared him out for the season</a>.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never had a serious injury in my life, so I didn&rsquo;t really know, I had nothing to base it off of and compare to,&rdquo; Holmgren said Thursday. &ldquo;So when it happened, I had to get it looked at and see how serious it was. I didn&rsquo;t imagine anything like this.&rdquo;
Holmgren, a versatile 7-footer who had great moments during summer league, is dealing with being sidelined as the Thunder start training camp this week.
&ldquo;Definitely something that I really had to put my mind to and spend some time to think on," he said. "And kind of come to some conclusions on things and really settle my mind so I could kind of stop focusing on what happened and focus in on what&rsquo;s going to happen, what I've got to do to get where I need to be.&rdquo;
Even without practicing, he has already left an impression on his teammates.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great guy,&rdquo; guard Lu Dort said. &ldquo;I can already feel a connection with me and the rest of the team. He&rsquo;s a pretty vocal guy, too. He talks a lot, and that&rsquo;s good for the team.&rdquo;
Holmgren said his only workout limitation is that he can&rsquo;t put weight on the injured foot. So, that forces him to focus on other aspects of the game. Coach Mark Daigneault said Holmgren has been working hard on film study.
&ldquo;It just comes down to putting my mental energy towards it, learning how to really be a professional in areas off the court,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve dedicated so much time to really hustling at my craft on the court. Now, this event is making me step back and kind of rework how how I do things. And one of those ways is to become professional with watching film and speaking with coaches, trying to learn, watching what&rsquo;s happening and really being engaged, in trying to get better with different avenues.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Holmgren has spoken with Joel Embiid about his injury. Embiid, the reigning NBA scoring champion, was the No. 3 pick in 2014 before missing his first two seasons with foot issues.
Holmgren hopes he can recover as well as Embiid.
&ldquo;What I&rsquo;m trying to do right now is just kind of soak up all the knowledge of how things are done around here, how they&rsquo;re going to be done going forward," Holmgren said. "So when I&rsquo;m ready to get get back in there, I can just kind of seamlessly plug myself in.&rdquo;
Holmgren is expected to be ready for the start of next season. He said he&rsquo;s trying to keep his thoughts positive.
&ldquo;It all comes down to keeping a level head because there&rsquo;s so many ups and downs,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Unfortunately, this is a down. But I&rsquo;ve got to keep my head level and focus on getting better. And no matter what the circumstances are, that&rsquo;s the goal.&rdquo;
Daigneault believes Holmgren's mindset will net positive results.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;d like him to be out here,&rdquo; Daigneault said. &ldquo;But since he&rsquo;s not, we&rsquo;re certainly going to make a lot of investments, and the thing that makes me the most optimistic about that is the approach that he takes.&rdquo;

Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren is experiencing the rehab process for the first time.

Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren learns ways of NBA while on the mend

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The injury bug usually waits until midseason to start bothering the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This time, it attacked in the offseason.
No. 2 overall draft pick Chet Holmgren was ruled out for the season after suffering a foot injury last month. Now, top returning scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss at least a few weeks with a sprained ligament in his left knee.
Those injuries got much of the attention at Oklahoma City’s media day on Monday. 
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists last season before getting shut down with a sore right ankle. After the All-Star break, he averaged 30.4 points on 54% shooting in 13 games and scored at least 30 points 10 times. 
He had recovered from the ankle injury but got hurt during a recent workout and woke up with stiffness in the knee. An MRI revealed a grade 2 MCL sprain. While he’s expected to miss preseason action, he may be ready for the season opener.
“I feel a lot better,” Gilgeous-Alexander said Monday. “Headed in the right direction for sure. In terms of a timetable, we’ll see.”
But Monday wasn’t all about injured players. Forward Darius Bazley, who averaged 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last season before breaking a bone in his right knee, bulked up from 208 pounds to 220 and changed his jersey number from 7 to 55. 
Guard Tre Mann, who averaged 10.4 points per game last season, came in with several new tattoos sprawled across a significantly more muscular arm.
And there are other rookies ready to take the spotlight.
Frenchman Ousmane Dieng, a 6-foot-10 forward, averaged 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds for the New Zealand Breakers last season. Jalen Williams, a 6-6 guard, averaged 18 points and 4.2 assists last season as a junior at Santa Clara. Jaylin Williams, a 6-10, 240-pound forward, averaged 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for Arkansas last season. 
They will force players such as second-year forward Aaron Wiggins to be at their best during training camp.
“Guys are going to be really gritty, really aggressive with the mindset to kind of prove themselves,” Wiggins said. “Everybody has something to prove. I think it calls for a very competitive training camp. It’ll be a fun one. It’ll be one where we all kind of get to test one another and see where we stand and how we can fit in.”
GIDDEY UP
Josh Giddey has high expectations after making the All-Rookie second team last season.
The Australian guard averaged 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game last season and was named Western Conference rookie of the month four times. He recorded three straight triple-doubles just before going down for the season with a sore right hip.
But he knew he had work to do in the summer. The 19-year-old made just 26.3% of his 3 pointers last season.
“I spent a lot of time obviously focusing on areas I need to get better at — shooting the ball, in the weight room a lot,” he said.
DORT RETURNS
Guard Lu Dort signed a contract extension after increasing his scoring output from 14.0 points per game two seasons ago to 17.2 last season.
He had surgery on the torn labrum in his left shoulder in March, and he’s ready to go this season. He said he wants to become a better decision maker when he attacks the basket.
Now heading into his fourth year, he also wants to be more of a leader.
“I can have a bigger role, just being a little more vocal,” he said. “Just the fact that I went through some of the stuff that the young guys are going through right now, I feel like I can help them and talk to them and all that.”
O, CANADA
Gilgeous-Alexander was a force for Canada's national team this summer, highlighted by a 32-point performance against Dominican Republic in July.
“I got to play with some guys I grew up with, so that was a good time,” he said. “And then it just kept me in a little bit more basketball shape going into the summer. Obviously games are different, the flow and stuff, so that was good, just for like reps. And then just representing my country — something that I’ve always wanted to do.”
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; The injury bug usually waits until midseason to start bothering the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This time, it attacked in the offseason.
No. 2 overall draft pick Chet Holmgren was ruled out for the season after suffering a foot injury last month. Now, top returning scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss at least a few weeks with a sprained ligament in his left knee.
Those injuries got much of the attention at Oklahoma City&rsquo;s media day on Monday.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists last season before getting shut down with a sore right ankle. After the All-Star break, he averaged 30.4 points on 54% shooting in 13 games and scored at least 30 points 10 times.
He had recovered from the ankle injury but got hurt during a recent workout and woke up with stiffness in the knee. An MRI revealed a grade 2 MCL sprain. While he&rsquo;s expected to miss preseason action, he may be ready for the season opener.
&ldquo;I feel a lot better,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said Monday. &ldquo;Headed in the right direction for sure. In terms of a timetable, we&rsquo;ll see.&rdquo;
But Monday wasn&rsquo;t all about injured players. Forward Darius Bazley, who averaged 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last season before breaking a bone in his right knee, bulked up from 208 pounds to 220 and changed his jersey number from 7 to 55.
Guard Tre Mann, who averaged 10.4 points per game last season, came in with several new tattoos sprawled across a significantly more muscular arm.
And there are other rookies ready to take the spotlight.
Frenchman Ousmane Dieng, a 6-foot-10 forward, averaged 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds for the New Zealand Breakers last season. Jalen Williams, a 6-6 guard, averaged 18 points and 4.2 assists last season as a junior at Santa Clara. Jaylin Williams, a 6-10, 240-pound forward, averaged 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for Arkansas last season.
They will force players such as second-year forward Aaron Wiggins to be at their best during training camp.
&ldquo;Guys are going to be really gritty, really aggressive with the mindset to kind of prove themselves,&rdquo; Wiggins said. &ldquo;Everybody has something to prove. I think it calls for a very competitive training camp. It&rsquo;ll be a fun one. It&rsquo;ll be one where we all kind of get to test one another and see where we stand and how we can fit in.&rdquo;
GIDDEY UP
Josh Giddey has high expectations after making the All-Rookie second team last season.
The Australian guard averaged 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game last season and was named Western Conference rookie of the month four times. He recorded three straight triple-doubles just before going down for the season with a sore right hip.
But he knew he had work to do in the summer. The 19-year-old made just 26.3% of his 3 pointers last season.
&ldquo;I spent a lot of time obviously focusing on areas I need to get better at &mdash; shooting the ball, in the weight room a lot,&rdquo; he said.
DORT RETURNS
Guard Lu Dort signed a contract extension after increasing his scoring output from 14.0 points per game two seasons ago to 17.2 last season.
He had surgery on the torn labrum in his left shoulder in March, and he&rsquo;s ready to go this season. He said he wants to become a better decision maker when he attacks the basket.
Now heading into his fourth year, he also wants to be more of a leader.
&ldquo;I can have a bigger role, just being a little more vocal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Just the fact that I went through some of the stuff that the young guys are going through right now, I feel like I can help them and talk to them and all that.&rdquo;
O, CANADA
Gilgeous-Alexander was a force for Canada's national team this summer, highlighted by a 32-point performance against Dominican Republic in July.
&ldquo;I got to play with some guys I grew up with, so that was a good time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And then it just kept me in a little bit more basketball shape going into the summer. Obviously games are different, the flow and stuff, so that was good, just for like reps. And then just representing my country &mdash; something that I&rsquo;ve always wanted to do.&rdquo;
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; The injury bug usually waits until midseason to start bothering the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This time, it attacked in the offseason.
No. 2 overall draft pick Chet Holmgren was ruled out for the season after suffering a foot injury last month. Now, top returning scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss at least a few weeks with a sprained ligament in his left knee.
Those injuries got much of the attention at Oklahoma City&rsquo;s media day on Monday.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists last season before getting shut down with a sore right ankle. After the All-Star break, he averaged 30.4 points on 54% shooting in 13 games and scored at least 30 points 10 times.
He had recovered from the ankle injury but got hurt during a recent workout and woke up with stiffness in the knee. An MRI revealed a grade 2 MCL sprain. While he&rsquo;s expected to miss preseason action, he may be ready for the season opener.
&ldquo;I feel a lot better,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said Monday. &ldquo;Headed in the right direction for sure. In terms of a timetable, we&rsquo;ll see.&rdquo;
But Monday wasn&rsquo;t all about injured players. Forward Darius Bazley, who averaged 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last season before breaking a bone in his right knee, bulked up from 208 pounds to 220 and changed his jersey number from 7 to 55.
Guard Tre Mann, who averaged 10.4 points per game last season, came in with several new tattoos sprawled across a significantly more muscular arm.
And there are other rookies ready to take the spotlight.
Frenchman Ousmane Dieng, a 6-foot-10 forward, averaged 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds for the New Zealand Breakers last season. Jalen Williams, a 6-6 guard, averaged 18 points and 4.2 assists last season as a junior at Santa Clara. Jaylin Williams, a 6-10, 240-pound forward, averaged 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for Arkansas last season.
They will force players such as second-year forward Aaron Wiggins to be at their best during training camp.
&ldquo;Guys are going to be really gritty, really aggressive with the mindset to kind of prove themselves,&rdquo; Wiggins said. &ldquo;Everybody has something to prove. I think it calls for a very competitive training camp. It&rsquo;ll be a fun one. It&rsquo;ll be one where we all kind of get to test one another and see where we stand and how we can fit in.&rdquo;
GIDDEY UP
Josh Giddey has high expectations after making the All-Rookie second team last season.
The Australian guard averaged 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game last season and was named Western Conference rookie of the month four times. He recorded three straight triple-doubles just before going down for the season with a sore right hip.
But he knew he had work to do in the summer. The 19-year-old made just 26.3% of his 3 pointers last season.
&ldquo;I spent a lot of time obviously focusing on areas I need to get better at &mdash; shooting the ball, in the weight room a lot,&rdquo; he said.
DORT RETURNS
Guard Lu Dort signed a contract extension after increasing his scoring output from 14.0 points per game two seasons ago to 17.2 last season.
He had surgery on the torn labrum in his left shoulder in March, and he&rsquo;s ready to go this season. He said he wants to become a better decision maker when he attacks the basket.
Now heading into his fourth year, he also wants to be more of a leader.
&ldquo;I can have a bigger role, just being a little more vocal,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Just the fact that I went through some of the stuff that the young guys are going through right now, I feel like I can help them and talk to them and all that.&rdquo;
O, CANADA
Gilgeous-Alexander was a force for Canada's national team this summer, highlighted by a 32-point performance against Dominican Republic in July.
&ldquo;I got to play with some guys I grew up with, so that was a good time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And then it just kept me in a little bit more basketball shape going into the summer. Obviously games are different, the flow and stuff, so that was good, just for like reps. And then just representing my country &mdash; something that I&rsquo;ve always wanted to do.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Despite injury woes heading into the new season, the Oklahoma City Thunder believe they're headed in the right direction.

Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander injuries affect Thunder camp

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder general manager Sam Presti has a stunningly successful history with high draft picks.
Back when the Thunder were still the Seattle SuperSonics, Presti made Kevin Durant the No. 2 overall pick in 2007 and Russell Westbrook No. 4 overall in 2008. The team moved to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season before Presti selected James Harden third overall in 2009. The trio took the Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012, and all three were on the NBA's 75th Anniversary team listing the 75 greatest players in league history.
Presti picked Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren No. 2 overall Thursday. Holmgren knows all about the previous high picks, but he isn’t interested in comparisons.
“It’s hard to miss those guys and what they’ve done if you watch a lot of basketball, and I watch a lot of basketball,” Holmgren said Saturday during his introductory media session. “They’ve done some special things here as well as other places, wherever they’ve gone. Great players. It’s not necessarily pressure, it’s just that I have expectations and goals for myself and I want to work hard to achieve those.”
Presti wouldn’t say adding Holmgren marked a shift from collecting assets to pushing forward, but he feels Holmgren is an important piece in the Thunder's future plans. Oklahoma City went 24-58 last season and missed the playoffs for a second straight year after a decade-long run of success that included four trips to the Western Conference Finals. Now, they have a player with star potential to go with the young talent they have been developing in recent years.
“We want to have a long run of sustained success that’s going to take some time to get to that point,” Presti said after the draft. “We think he’s (Holmgren) a critical part to it, but we’re going to have to put him in positions to be successful. I’m very confident he’ll be ready, willing and able to put in all the work. That’s one of the things about him that was really attractive.”
Of the past selections, Holmgren is most similar to Durant — a versatile, slender 7-footer who played one year of college ball. And the way he describes his game sounds a lot like what Durant does.
“Just going out there and being a great floor spacer, vertically and horizontally, whether it’s lob threats, space the floor from three, find them in transition — whatever it might be that coach draws up, I feel like I can go out there and help execute that and help make my teammates better as well as them helping me be better,” he said.
Holmgren looks forward to joining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 24.5 points last season and Giddey was on the all-rookie second team.
“I feel like I fit in pretty well with them,” Holmgren said. "Obviously, they’re great players. They can do a lot of things on the basketball court. Shai is known as a really good scorer. He can get anywhere on the floor that he wants to without much help, and Josh is a great passer. Both of them really shift the defense and move the defense.”
Holmgren has heard the comments that his 195-pound frame might be a hindrance in the league. But critics said that about Durant, too.
“People are going to question whatever you do, no matter what you do,” Holmgren said. “I have a lot of effort that I put into every single day, the work that I do to reach my goals, so I really don’t have extra effort left around to give to paying attention to what random people are saying on this talk show or that talk show.”
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; Thunder general manager Sam Presti has a stunningly successful history with high draft picks.
Back when the Thunder were still the Seattle SuperSonics, Presti made Kevin Durant the No. 2 overall pick in 2007 and Russell Westbrook No. 4 overall in 2008. The team moved to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season before Presti selected James Harden third overall in 2009. The trio took the Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2012, and all three were on the NBA's 75th Anniversary team listing the 75 greatest players in league history.
Presti picked Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren No. 2 overall Thursday. Holmgren knows all about the previous high picks, but he isn&rsquo;t interested in comparisons.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to miss those guys and what they&rsquo;ve done if you watch a lot of basketball, and I watch a lot of basketball,&rdquo; Holmgren said Saturday during his introductory media session. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve done some special things here as well as other places, wherever they&rsquo;ve gone. Great players. It&rsquo;s not necessarily pressure, it&rsquo;s just that I have expectations and goals for myself and I want to work hard to achieve those.&rdquo;
Presti wouldn&rsquo;t say adding Holmgren marked a shift from collecting assets to pushing forward, but he feels Holmgren is an important piece in the Thunder's future plans. Oklahoma City went 24-58 last season and missed the playoffs for a second straight year after a decade-long run of success that included four trips to the Western Conference Finals. Now, they have a player with star potential to go with the young talent they have been developing in recent years.
&ldquo;We want to have a long run of sustained success that&rsquo;s going to take some time to get to that point,&rdquo; Presti said after the draft. &ldquo;We think he&rsquo;s (Holmgren) a critical part to it, but we&rsquo;re going to have to put him in positions to be successful. I&rsquo;m very confident he&rsquo;ll be ready, willing and able to put in all the work. That&rsquo;s one of the things about him that was really attractive.&rdquo;
Of the past selections, Holmgren is most similar to Durant &mdash; a versatile, slender 7-footer who played one year of college ball. And the way he describes his game sounds a lot like what Durant does.
&ldquo;Just going out there and being a great floor spacer, vertically and horizontally, whether it&rsquo;s lob threats, space the floor from three, find them in transition &mdash; whatever it might be that coach draws up, I feel like I can go out there and help execute that and help make my teammates better as well as them helping me be better,&rdquo; he said.
Holmgren looks forward to joining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 24.5 points last season and Giddey was on the all-rookie second team.
&ldquo;I feel like I fit in pretty well with them,&rdquo; Holmgren said. "Obviously, they&rsquo;re great players. They can do a lot of things on the basketball court. Shai is known as a really good scorer. He can get anywhere on the floor that he wants to without much help, and Josh is a great passer. Both of them really shift the defense and move the defense.&rdquo;
Holmgren has heard the comments that his 195-pound frame might be a hindrance in the league. But critics said that about Durant, too.
&ldquo;People are going to question whatever you do, no matter what you do,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;I have a lot of effort that I put into every single day, the work that I do to reach my goals, so I really don&rsquo;t have extra effort left around to give to paying attention to what random people are saying on this talk show or that talk show.&rdquo;

Thunder GM Sam Presti has a stunningly successful history with high draft picks. Is Chet Holmgren his next star prospect?

Thunder GM Sam Presti hopes Chet Holmgren is latest star draft pick

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder chose Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night and hit the accelerator on their rebuild by adding three of the top 12 selections. 
In Holmgren, the Thunder got a versatile 7-footer who was a second-team Associated Press All-American in his only college season. He averaged 14.1 points and 9.9 rebounds and ranked fourth nationally with 3.7 blocks per game for the Zags. 
Thunder general manager Sam Presti believes Holmgren will be a good fit.
“We’re pretty comfortable with the idea of him blending in with the group that we have,” Presti said. “He was the person for Oklahoma City. He was the person for the Thunder.”
He will join a young team led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 24.5 points last season, and Josh Giddey, last year's No. 6 overall pick who made the All-Rookie second team.
“I think it’s a great situation, great dynamic playing with guys like Josh and Shai as well as everybody down the roster,” Holmgren said. “It’s a lot of great players there with unique skill sets. I feel like I can kind of pair up with them and help enhance theirs as well as have their skill sets enhance mine.”
The New York Knicks traded the No. 11 pick -- 19-year-old French forward Ousmane Dieng -- to the Thunder for three future conditional first-round picks. Dieng played for the New Zealand Breakers last season and averaged 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds.
He had more immediate concerns than playing for the Thunder.
“I think I need to buy a new phone because I need an American number, so I will need to buy that," he said. 
The Thunder then took Santa Clara guard Jalen Williams at No. 12. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 18 points and 4.2 assists last season as a junior. He’s the first Santa Clara player picked since Steve Nash was selected 15th overall in 1996.
Williams played against Holmgren twice last season in the West Coast Conference.
“He’s super talented,” Williams said. “It’s kind of cool that we get to go through this experience together now instead of being enemies on the court.”
Holmgren shot 61% from 3-point range and 39% from 3-point range last season — the kind of efficiency that could help a Thunder team that ranked last in the league in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and scoring last season. His skill could help him be effective as he works to add to his slender 195-pound frame.
“He’s going to have to adjust and learn like any player,” Presti said. “I think he’s unique. I think sometimes, unique is beneficial, and I think some of the things that make him unique can be leveraged and utilized.”
The Thunder's core includes Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey, Lu Dort, Darius Bazley and Tre Mann. Dort is one of the league’s best defensive players when healthy. Bazley is an athletic wing player and Mann was an explosive scorer off the bench. Gilgeous-Alexander, the oldest player in that group, is just short of his 24th birthday.
The Thunder hope Holmgren eventually can help them regain some of the glory from the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook era. The Thunder went to the Western Conference Finals four times with that duo and the NBA Finals once. The Thunder have not won a playoff series since Durant left and have missed the playoffs the past two seasons. They went 24-58 last season.
The franchise has had success early in drafts in the past, selecting Durant No. 2 overall in 2007, Westbrook No. 4 overall in 2008 and James Harden No. 3 in 2009.
The Thunder selected Arkansas’ Jaylin Williams with the 34th overall pick. The 6-10, 240-pound forward averaged 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last season. He shot 46% from the field and led the nation with 54 charges drawn. 
The Thunder also picked UCLA’s Peyton Watson at No. 30 overall, though he is going to the Denver Nuggets. The Thunder acquired JaMychal Green and a 2027 protected first-round pick from the Nuggets for the rights to Watson and two future second-round picks.
Green has appeared in 487 career games and posted averages of 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds on 47% shooting.
___
AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.
___ Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/NBA">https://apnews.com/hub/NBA</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

The Oklahoma City Thunder chose Gonzaga&rsquo;s Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night and hit the accelerator on their rebuild by adding three of the top 12 selections.
In Holmgren, the Thunder got a versatile 7-footer who was a second-team Associated Press All-American in his only college season. He averaged 14.1 points and 9.9 rebounds and ranked fourth nationally with 3.7 blocks per game for the Zags.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti believes Holmgren will be a good fit.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re pretty comfortable with the idea of him blending in with the group that we have,&rdquo; Presti said. &ldquo;He was the person for Oklahoma City. He was the person for the Thunder.&rdquo;
He will join a young team led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 24.5 points last season, and Josh Giddey, last year's No. 6 overall pick who made the All-Rookie second team.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a great situation, great dynamic playing with guys like Josh and Shai as well as everybody down the roster,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot of great players there with unique skill sets. I feel like I can kind of pair up with them and help enhance theirs as well as have their skill sets enhance mine.&rdquo;
The New York Knicks traded the No. 11 pick -- 19-year-old French forward Ousmane Dieng -- to the Thunder for three future conditional first-round picks. Dieng played for the New Zealand Breakers last season and averaged 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds.
He had more immediate concerns than playing for the Thunder.
&ldquo;I think I need to buy a new phone because I need an American number, so I will need to buy that," he said.
The Thunder then took Santa Clara guard Jalen Williams at No. 12. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 18 points and 4.2 assists last season as a junior. He&rsquo;s the first Santa Clara player picked since Steve Nash was selected 15th overall in 1996.
Williams played against Holmgren twice last season in the West Coast Conference.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s super talented,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of cool that we get to go through this experience together now instead of being enemies on the court.&rdquo;
Holmgren shot 61% from 3-point range and 39% from 3-point range last season &mdash; the kind of efficiency that could help a Thunder team that ranked last in the league in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and scoring last season. His skill could help him be effective as he works to add to his slender 195-pound frame.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to have to adjust and learn like any player,&rdquo; Presti said. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s unique. I think sometimes, unique is beneficial, and I think some of the things that make him unique can be leveraged and utilized.&rdquo;
The Thunder's core includes Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey, Lu Dort, Darius Bazley and Tre Mann. Dort is one of the league&rsquo;s best defensive players when healthy. Bazley is an athletic wing player and Mann was an explosive scorer off the bench. Gilgeous-Alexander, the oldest player in that group, is just short of his 24th birthday.
The Thunder hope Holmgren eventually can help them regain some of the glory from the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook era. The Thunder went to the Western Conference Finals four times with that duo and the NBA Finals once. The Thunder have not won a playoff series since Durant left and have missed the playoffs the past two seasons. They went 24-58 last season.
The franchise has had success early in drafts in the past, selecting Durant No. 2 overall in 2007, Westbrook No. 4 overall in 2008 and James Harden No. 3 in 2009.
The Thunder selected Arkansas&rsquo; Jaylin Williams with the 34th overall pick. The 6-10, 240-pound forward averaged 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last season. He shot 46% from the field and led the nation with 54 charges drawn.
The Thunder also picked UCLA&rsquo;s Peyton Watson at No. 30 overall, though he is going to the Denver Nuggets. The Thunder acquired JaMychal Green and a 2027 protected first-round pick from the Nuggets for the rights to Watson and two future second-round picks.
Green has appeared in 487 career games and posted averages of 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds on 47% shooting.
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AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.
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___
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The Oklahoma City Thunder chose Gonzaga&rsquo;s Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night and hit the accelerator on their rebuild by adding three of the top 12 selections.
In Holmgren, the Thunder got a versatile 7-footer who was a second-team Associated Press All-American in his only college season. He averaged 14.1 points and 9.9 rebounds and ranked fourth nationally with 3.7 blocks per game for the Zags.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti believes Holmgren will be a good fit.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re pretty comfortable with the idea of him blending in with the group that we have,&rdquo; Presti said. &ldquo;He was the person for Oklahoma City. He was the person for the Thunder.&rdquo;
He will join a young team led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 24.5 points last season, and Josh Giddey, last year's No. 6 overall pick who made the All-Rookie second team.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a great situation, great dynamic playing with guys like Josh and Shai as well as everybody down the roster,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot of great players there with unique skill sets. I feel like I can kind of pair up with them and help enhance theirs as well as have their skill sets enhance mine.&rdquo;
The New York Knicks traded the No. 11 pick -- 19-year-old French forward Ousmane Dieng -- to the Thunder for three future conditional first-round picks. Dieng played for the New Zealand Breakers last season and averaged 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds.
He had more immediate concerns than playing for the Thunder.
&ldquo;I think I need to buy a new phone because I need an American number, so I will need to buy that," he said.
The Thunder then took Santa Clara guard Jalen Williams at No. 12. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 18 points and 4.2 assists last season as a junior. He&rsquo;s the first Santa Clara player picked since Steve Nash was selected 15th overall in 1996.
Williams played against Holmgren twice last season in the West Coast Conference.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s super talented,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of cool that we get to go through this experience together now instead of being enemies on the court.&rdquo;
Holmgren shot 61% from 3-point range and 39% from 3-point range last season &mdash; the kind of efficiency that could help a Thunder team that ranked last in the league in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and scoring last season. His skill could help him be effective as he works to add to his slender 195-pound frame.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to have to adjust and learn like any player,&rdquo; Presti said. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s unique. I think sometimes, unique is beneficial, and I think some of the things that make him unique can be leveraged and utilized.&rdquo;
The Thunder's core includes Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey, Lu Dort, Darius Bazley and Tre Mann. Dort is one of the league&rsquo;s best defensive players when healthy. Bazley is an athletic wing player and Mann was an explosive scorer off the bench. Gilgeous-Alexander, the oldest player in that group, is just short of his 24th birthday.
The Thunder hope Holmgren eventually can help them regain some of the glory from the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook era. The Thunder went to the Western Conference Finals four times with that duo and the NBA Finals once. The Thunder have not won a playoff series since Durant left and have missed the playoffs the past two seasons. They went 24-58 last season.
The franchise has had success early in drafts in the past, selecting Durant No. 2 overall in 2007, Westbrook No. 4 overall in 2008 and James Harden No. 3 in 2009.
The Thunder selected Arkansas&rsquo; Jaylin Williams with the 34th overall pick. The 6-10, 240-pound forward averaged 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last season. He shot 46% from the field and led the nation with 54 charges drawn.
The Thunder also picked UCLA&rsquo;s Peyton Watson at No. 30 overall, though he is going to the Denver Nuggets. The Thunder acquired JaMychal Green and a 2027 protected first-round pick from the Nuggets for the rights to Watson and two future second-round picks.
Green has appeared in 487 career games and posted averages of 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds on 47% shooting.
___
AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

In Holmgren, the Thunder got a versatile 7-footer who was a second-team Associated Press All-American in his only college season.

Thunder take Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren with No. 2 overall pick

Cliff Brunt is a writer for the Associated Press.