Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder outlast hot-shooting Hawks for home win

The OKC Thunder secured a hard-earned 140-129 home win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

OKC (28-5) won despite the hot shooting of Atlanta, which went 25 for 54 from deep (46.3%). The Thunder was led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who recorded 39 points and six assists in 36 minutes.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

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Hooping runs in the family for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace

Gilgeous-Alexander looked like he’d gotten the last word. An and-one jumper with just 3.4 seconds remaining that seemingly served as the exclamation point on his 15-point first quarter.

But the Hawks had one more rebuttal. And it came from none other than Gilgeous-Alexander’s cousin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who gathered the inbound pass and took two dribbles before launching a halfcourt shot at the buzzer.

It splashed through the net, silencing the Paycom Center crowd. Even Gilgeous-Alexander had no words to say, as he simply shook his head while walking back to OKC’s bench.

Alexander-Walker continued his breakout campaign Monday by finishing with 30 points and five assists in 40 minutes. And he wasn’t the only relative of a Thunder player who shined.

So did Keaton Wallace, Cason’s older brother. The 26-year-old guard got his two-way contract converted to a standard deal in October, and he capitalized on his minutes off the bench Monday. He racked up nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from deep in only 12 minutes.

But the last word belonged to Cason, who drilled a 3-pointer that gave OKC a 138-129 lead with 2:02 remaining. And it happened right in front of Atlanta’s bench, where Keaton watched on.

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Lu Dort still has his teammates’ trust

Lu Dort looked up at the rafters in frustration.

He’d just launched an open 3-pointer from the top of the arc early in the third quarter only to see it clank off the rim. That marked his fourth missed triple of the night on as many tries.

It was yet another ice-cold contest for Dort, who entered Monday shooting just 33.1% from deep on the season. A drastic dropoff for a player who shot a career-high 41.2% in that department last season.

But Dort’s empty stare into space was brought back down to Earth by an outstretched hand. It belonged to Jalen Williams, who was quick to dap up his struggling teammate.

And when Dort finally drained a 3-pointer a few possessions later, Williams was just as quick to react. He threw both hands in the air in celebration of the overdue bucket.

Dort still finished Monday with just six points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field (1 for 7 from deep) in 23 minutes. But one constant during his shaky season has been the support of his teammates, who know he’s capable of knocking down shots.

And they know they’ll need Dort to do exactly that to provide some needed floor spacing.

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OKC brought the aggression in the second half

Williams soared toward the rim with bad intentions.

It was the same rim that was kind to Atlanta throughout the entire first half. The one that helped the Hawks score an eye-watering 74 points on 47.3% shooting from the field and 45.2% shooting from deep.

But a steal by Ajay Mitchell set up a clear path to the basket for Williams early in the fourth quarter. And the ferocious forward took all of his frustration out in that moment, as he threw down a two-handed dunk that nearly ripped that rim off the backboard.

That aggression had been missing for OKC in the first half. But the Thunder came out swinging in the third quarter, outscoring the Hawks 43-29, and it landed enough haymakers in the fourth quarter to escape with a win.

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Tip-ins

OKC was without Brooks Barnhizer (G League two-way), Ousmane Dieng (right calf strain), Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus strain), Thomas Sorber (right ACL surgery recovery), Nikola Topić (surgery recovery) and Jaylin Williams (right heel bursitis).
Atlanta was without Jalen Johnson (illness), Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Trae Young (right quad contusion).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in 104 straight games. It’s the second-longest streak in NBA history, only trailing Wilt Chamberlain (126).

Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.