Mark Daigneault wowed by Thunder's 'ridiculous' defender
11/02/2024 06:23 PM
The Portland Trail Blazers erased a 17-point deficit to pull even at halftime against head coach Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder. A phenomenal 44-point second quarter pulled the game close, keeping the Trail Blazers in it before the Thunder intensified their league-leading defense. They stopped Portland in its tracks amid a 38-17 third quarter in favor of the only undefeated team atop the Western Conference standings. Lu Dort shined on the defensive end of the floor, and it didn't go unnoticed.
Daigneault talked about Dort's impact throughout the game, specifically in the second half when the Thunder grabbed a 106-85 lead at the end of the third quarter.
"Great competitiveness. I just thought the physicality, intensity; connectedness was big time. A lot of toughness plays. The Dort steals were ridiculous. Great offensive rebounding quarter. Great activity and help," Daigneault said. "I just thought end of the second quarter, we deviated a little bit from the plan. And, they got really loose and made us play, credit to them. Then, we got back back on track. It was good to see us find those solutions and lean on those solutions in a game that got really tight."
Dort finished with eight points, five rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. He strung together stops that led to open buckets early and often throughout the second half and remained consistent in getting ahead of fast-break opportunities.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 30 points on 12-of-18 attempts, seven rebounds, six assists, and one steal, and Jalen Williams added 22 points, five rebounds, and four steals. The starting pair made their presences felt on both ends of the floor, while Dort remained a constant thorn to the side of Portland's offense.
It never rekindled its offensive rhythm, even after turning in one of their best quarters of the regular season.
Thunder's undefeated start takes historic turn vs. Trail Blazers
Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder are on an unprecedented 5-0 run to start the regular season. After beating the Portland Trail Blazers, the undefeated Thunder made NBA history for winning by 12+ points in all of their early-season victories.
After the win, head coach Mark Daigneault expressed his satisfaction with how the defense triggered the Thunder's offense when it needed to thrive.
"I thought San Antonio was our weakest outing offensively in the four games just in terms of the way we want to play, and tonight was maybe our best," Daigneault said. "And they were physical with us. They had really good defenders on the floor, yet we solved problems with five guys tonight."
With a win against the Clippers on Saturday, the Thunder could go 6-0.
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